Uttar Pradesh Tourism MICE and Event Assistance (Tourism Policy 2022)

What is the Uttar Pradesh MICE and event assistance?

Uttar Pradesh MICE and event assistance is not a standalone application-based welfare scheme. MICE, Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions: is a declared focus segment of the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Policy 2022, and the financial support available for hosting and attending such events sits inside the incentives chapter of that policy. The Department of Tourism, Government of Uttar Pradesh administers it, and the sanctioning authority is the State Level Special Tourism Committee (SLSTC).

According to the Tourism Policy 2022, MICE "is a growing segment of the tourism sector and overtaking the traditional business trips segment" and is expected to bring in high-spending visitors. The policy commits the state to three things under this head: identifying suitable locations such as Agra and Ghaziabad for state-of-the-art convention centres supported by an events ecosystem, placing special emphasis on attracting international and national multilateral meetings and mega expositions to the state, and helping entrepreneurs collaborate with hotel and transport associations so that MICE projects become financially viable.

Anyone searching for a "UP MICE scheme" should understand what actually exists. There is no separate MICE application form and no personal cash benefit. What exists is three concrete money routes, and each has a different eligibility test.

How much money is available and under what head?

1. Event assistance of up to Rs 10 lakh per event. The Tourism Policy 2022, under the ICT enablement incentives, states that the State Government will facilitate and support the organisation of national and international tour and travel marts, seminars, exhibitions and other events in Uttar Pradesh which employ digital platforms and new Information Technology. Financial assistance of up to Rs 10 lakh per such event is provided on the approval of the state level committee. This is the closest thing in the policy to a conference-hosting grant, and the digital-platform condition is not optional.

2. Marketing and promotion incentive of up to Rs 1 lakh per international event. All tourism service providers operating in the state and registered with the department are eligible for a financial incentive of up to 50 percent of the space rent actually paid, subject to a maximum of Rs 30,000 per national event or Rs 1,00,000 per international event. Three limits apply: the incentive can be availed by a maximum of 20 tourism service providers every financial year; it is given to a maximum of 3 firms per event on a first-come first-served basis; and it is available only for events at which the Department of Tourism, Uttar Pradesh has not itself taken a pavilion. At the beginning of each financial year the department notifies the names and number of domestic and international travel marts and roadshows for which the incentive is available, so the qualifying list changes annually.

3. Capital subsidy for building a convention centre. The policy defines a Convention Centre for MICE activities as a covered facility with a minimum carpet area of 5,000 sq ft, at least one convention hall, one exhibition hall, one restaurant and parking, designed to hold conventions, conferences and exhibitions, with a seating capacity of at least 500 persons. A facility meeting that definition is an eligible tourism unit and can claim the general capital investment subsidy, 25 percent of investment capped at Rs 2 crore for investment from Rs 10 lakh up to Rs 10 crore, 20 percent capped at Rs 7.5 crore up to Rs 50 crore, 15 percent capped at Rs 20 crore up to Rs 200 crore, and 10 percent for larger projects. The capital subsidy is released in full only after the unit successfully starts commercial operations.

A fourth route is worth knowing because MICE organisers often qualify for it: tour and travel operators can receive a one-time incentive of Rs 10 lakh or 25 percent of the production cost, whichever is lower, for an audio or video guide, digital publicity material, a mobile application, website, metaverse build, artificial intelligence, robotics or virtual reality asset.

Who is eligible for MICE assistance in Uttar Pradesh?

You can claim if:

• You are a tourism unit or tourism service provider registered with the Department of Tourism, Uttar Pradesh — a hotel, resort, convention centre, tour operator, travel agency or event company.
• You are a registered commercial entity with a GST registration number. The policy requires this of eligible tourism units.
• Your event is held in Uttar Pradesh for the Rs 10 lakh event assistance, and it uses digital platforms or new information technology.
• For the space-rent incentive, you are participating in a travel mart or roadshow that the department has notified for that financial year, and the department has not taken its own pavilion at that event.
• Your claim is placed before, and approved by, the State Level Special Tourism Committee.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You are an individual seeking a personal benefit. This is an industry incentive; there is no citizen application and no individual payout.
• You are not registered with UP Tourism as a tourism unit or service provider, or you have no GST registration.
• Your event is held outside Uttar Pradesh and you are claiming the Rs 10 lakh event assistance, which is tied to events organised in the state.
• The travel mart you attended is not on the department's notified list for that year, or the department had its own pavilion there.
• You are the fourth or later firm to claim for the same event, or the 21st claimant in that financial year, both caps are hard.
• Your event involves no digital platform or IT component, for the ICT-linked event assistance.

What documents are required?

How to apply for UP Tourism MICE and event assistance

1. Register the unit with the Department of Tourism, Uttar Pradesh under the Tourism Policy 2022, and obtain the registration certificate. Nothing can be claimed without it.
2. Check the department's annual notification at the start of the financial year for the list of domestic and international travel marts and roadshows for which the marketing incentive is open that year.
3. Submit the proposal to the Directorate of Tourism at Paryatan Bhavan, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, or through the incentive portal at up-tourismportal.in, with the concept note, budget, registration certificate and GST details. Apply before the event where the assistance is for organising it.
4. Attend the departmental screening. The proposal is examined by the department and placed before the State Level Special Tourism Committee, which reviews, approves and sanctions all financial incentives to eligible tourism units.
5. File the claim after the event with the space rent invoice, proof of payment, photographs, participation certificate and audited expenditure statement.
6. Receive the sanction and the transfer to the registered entity's bank account after the committee's approval order is issued.

How to check the status of a claim

1. Log in to the incentive portal at up-tourismportal.in with the credentials created at registration, and open the incentive application section.
2. Quote the application or file number in any follow-up with the Directorate of Tourism.
3. Follow up with the Regional Tourist Officer of your division for file movement, and with the Directorate at dg-upt@up.gov.in for committee decisions.

Common reasons a MICE claim is rejected

• The applicant is not a registered tourism unit with UP Tourism.
• The event was not on the notified list for that financial year.
• The cap was already exhausted to 20 providers a year, or 3 firms for that event.
• The department had a pavilion at the same event, which disqualifies the space-rent claim.
• No digital or IT component in an event claiming the ICT-linked assistance.
• Space rent could not be separated from a bundled invoice, so the reimbursable base could not be established.
• The claim was filed after the event where prior approval was required.

Key dates

The Uttar Pradesh Tourism Policy 2022 came into effect on 23 November 2022 and remains in force for 5 years or until substituted. The marketing and promotion incentive resets at the start of each financial year on 1 April, when both the 20-provider cap and the notified event list refresh.

Grievance redressal

• Directorate of Tourism, Uttar Pradesh, Rajarshi Purushottam Das Tandon Paryatan Bhavan, C-13 Vipin Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, email dg-upt@up.gov.in.
• UP Tourism Investor Facilitation Cell, set up under the policy as the converging body for tourism investors, and the Investment Facilitation Centre for information on incentives.
• Jansunwai, the Uttar Pradesh integrated grievance portal at jansunwai.up.nic.in, for a tracked written complaint.