Odisha Opens a MICE Incentive Portal
Odisha’s Tourism Department launched the Odisha MICE Incentive Portal on 4 October 2026. Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida inaugurated it at Mayfair Sanctuary in Bhubaneswar, inside the seventh Odisha Travel Bazaar. The bazaar ran from 3 to 5 October. The department convened the roundtable with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
The portal takes financial incentive applications from event organisers and tourism operators. Launch coverage in the New Indian Express, BusinessLine and OdishaPlus describes it as India’s first dedicated MICE incentive portal.
What the Room Incentive Pays
The portal applies the Odisha Tourism (Amendment) Policy, 2026, notified on 19 January 2026. The department issued operational guidelines for MICE and destination wedding incentives on 3 June 2026.
A MICE event earns INR 1,000 per room per day in the lean season, which the guidelines define as 1 April to 30 September. The event must book at least 100 rooms a day in accommodation classified three-star or above by the Ministry of Tourism, or listed by the department. At least half the occupants each day must be participants from outside Odisha. The payout covers only the rooms those out-of-state participants occupy.
Destination weddings sit on a separate clause. The rate is INR 1,000 per room per day across the same window, with a daily minimum of 50 rooms. Both families must live outside Odisha, and the ceremony must be held inside the state. An organiser claims each event once.
Who Can Claim
The guidelines name the eligible applicants: event managers, destination management companies, tour operators, hotel owners, wedding planners and clients, plus any entity the client authorises. Eligible accommodation is a unit classified three-star or above by the Ministry of Tourism, plus any unit the department lists.
The Clock a Planner Works To
An applicant files with the Director of the Tourism Department at least one month before the event starts. Late applications go to the department for a case-by-case decision. The department acknowledges receipt within three working days.
The post-event claim carries hotel room booking records, a participant list with place of residence, invoices for rooms and banquets, proof of payment and event photographs. It is ordinarily due within 90 days of the event’s completion.
Verification runs through the hotel’s authorised person and the department’s Facilitation Cell. The cell reads the preliminary scrutiny report and the hotel’s reverification report, then recommends the sanction. A rejection carries its reasons within 30 days. False or misleading information ends the claim, cancels the incentive and recovers money already disbursed.
What the State Pairs With the Room Incentive
The amended policy raises the ceiling on the capital investment subsidy for convention centres and MICE infrastructure from Rs 20 crore to Rs 120 crore, the Times of India reports. Balwant Singh, the department’s Commissioner-cum-Secretary, presented the Odisha Tourism Investment Policy at the same session and said the enhanced structure should lift investor confidence.
The Times of India reports that Bhubaneswar hosts at least 12 large conferences or events in star-category hotels in an average year. The ministry of tourism’s national MICE strategy projects Bhubaneswar as an emerging MICE destination among 11 cities in its tier-II challengers category.
Parida told the roundtable that the government simplifies approvals across MICE events, destination weddings, sports events and cultural heritage projects. Sabbas Joseph, a Wizcraft Group co-founder who chairs the FICCI MICE Tourism Committee, presented the committee’s roadmap for putting local rituals, craft traditions and cuisine into corporate conferences. Ranveer Brar, the state’s brand ambassador for Odia cuisine, asked for documentation of local food, artisans, markets and festivals.
What the Guidelines Leave Open
The guidelines publish a rate for 1 April to 30 September and no rate for October to March. They publish no ceiling on a single event’s incentive and no annual cap on claims per organiser.