Madhya Pradesh Tourism Policy 2025

Madhya Pradesh has introduced its comprehensive Tourism Policy 2025. Delineating a five-year strategic framework (2025–2030) aimed at establishing the state as a preeminent tourism destination within India. This initiative transcends a mere policy; it constitutes a strategic blueprint for sustainable tourism in India. Meticulously designed to reconcile accelerated economic development. With the imperative preservation of the state’s cultural heritage, wildlife reserves, and natural landscapes.

This policy primarily focuses on leveraging substantial private investment, public-private partnerships (PPPs), and digital innovation to modernise tourism infrastructure. With explicit objectives to elevate tourism. Contribution to the state’s GDP is expected to be 4–5% by 2028 and 8–10% by 2047. Madhya Pradesh is positioning itself as a focal point for tourism investment prospects.

The policy demonstrates a progressive strategy. Encompassing enhancements in connectivity and tourist services, alongside the promotion of eco-tourism, wellness and spiritual circuits, and adventure tourism. Initial indicators, such as new investment proposals and confirmed job creation, underscore. Its transformative capacity positions Madhya Pradesh as a significant contributor to India’s sustainable tourism sector.

Major Provisions, Incentives, and Regulatory Changes

Attracting Investment: The 2025 policy offers generous capital subsidies and grants for tourism projects. Mega‐projects (investment > ₹100 crore) receive special benefits: land allocation. At government rates for up to 90 years and capital grants of 15–30% (capped at ₹90 crore). For example, over 1,000 hectares of investable land (for hotels, resorts, golf courses, caravan parks, etc.). Have been identified by the state to be auctioned or leased under the policy. Capital investment subsidies (generally 15%) apply across categories (heritage hotels, star hotels, convention centres, wellness resorts, etc.). And special incentives (up to 40%) are provided for projects like ropeways. In remote areas and new aviation tourism (seaplanes, aero-sports). Start-up entrepreneurs are encouraged to participate in tenders, and women. And tribal enterprises receive additional support (e.g. training and subsidies for women guides).

Regulatory Facilitation: A key change is a single‐window clearance system managed by a new Investment Promotion Cell under the MP Tourism Board. This cell will coordinate land allotment, transparent bidding. And quick approvals for heritage properties and tourism zones, ensuring timely project approvals. The policy also offers tax relief: exemptions or rebates on stamp duty. And registration fees for new tourism projects (especially heritage hotels). Continuing and expanding a practice from the 2016 policy. Overall, the regulations aim for transparency and speed. All approvals (environmental, building, fire, and forest) are to be consolidated through the one‐stop portal.

Sector-wise Focus

Madhya Pradesh’s tourism policy explicitly targets diverse segments:

• Eco‐ and Wildlife Tourism: Madhya Pradesh boosts wildlife tourism through increased subsidies for resorts (20% capital subsidy, higher ceilings) and bonus grants for remote projects. Initiatives like “Project Clean Destination” and community-based eco-tourism (homestays, nature walks) support its tiger reserves and wildlife circuits, including infrastructure for tent camps and electric safaris.
• Heritage & Cultural Tourism: Madhya Pradesh promotes heritage tourism by restoring historical sites, converting heritage buildings. Into boutique hotels with subsidies and organising cultural festivals. It also pioneers digital heritage through VR tours of its temples, monuments, and national parks.
• Adventure Tourism: The policy now supports adventure sports, listing eligible projects like tent cities, caravans, ropeways, zip lines, and river cruises. A pilot river and road cruise will connect Omkareshwar’s “Statue of Oneness” with Gujarat’s Statue of Unity. Ropeways and aerial adventure parks receive higher subsidies (up to 40%) for remote access. This expands the 2016 focus on water tourism to a wider adventure portfolio.
• Wellness and Spa Tourism: Madhya Pradesh is promoting wellness tourism by leveraging Ayurveda and forest resources. At the June 2025 Spiritual & Wellness Summit in Ujjain. The Chief Minister announced subsidised land and PPPs for holistic health facilities. The state is integrating yoga, Ayurveda, and naturopathy into tourism packages, developing meditation centres, and expanding health tourism infrastructure, including air ambulances.
• Spiritual Tourism: Madhya Pradesh, building on the success of Ujjain’s Mahakal Lok. This boosted pilgrim visits from 32.1 million (2022) to 112 million (2023), prioritising religion-based travel. The state plans three new temple complexes (Devi Lok, Hanuman Lok, Ram Raja Lok). And offers incentives (free land, higher room subsidies) for hotels and amenities near shrines. MP is also developing new sites like Omkareshwar and Amarkantak. Linking them to the Ganga-Narmada tourism corridor to attract North Indian pilgrims.

Infrastructure and Connectivity Plans

A central pillar of the 2025 policy is upgrading physical and digital connectivity:

• Air Connectivity: MP has launched an ambitious ‘one airport every 150 km’ plan. In 2024–25, the state inaugurated three new airports (Rewa, Datia, Satna) and is fast-tracking land acquisition for airports at Shivpuri and Ujjain. MP will thus have an airport/airstrip network linking all districts. A new PPP air-taxi service (“PM Shri Tourism Air Service”) was started in mid-2024. Deploying small aircraft to connect eight cities (Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Rewa, Ujjain, Gwalior, Singrauli, Khajuraho). This intra-state air link makes remote attractions more accessible. And supports tourist inflow growth (MP saw 5.5 million airport passengers in FY2023, with a 36% jump to 7.5 million projected in FY2025).
• Road and Rail: The policy dovetails with national road expansions. Notably, new expressways (e.g. Bhopal–Jabalpur greenfield 4-lane) and highway upgrades are underway, improving overland access to wildlife and pilgrimage circuits. Rural feeder roads will link remote sites to these highways. Rail connectivity is being enhanced: heritage tourist trains (e.g. on the Satpura line) and special pilgrimage trains (to Omkareshwar, Amarkantak) are supported under this policy.
• Digital Infrastructure: MP is integrating technology into tourism. Besides VR tours, plans include statewide free Wi-Fi at 50 top tourist spots, online e-ticketing for parks/temples, and mobile apps for tour guides/maps. The policy encourages Augmented Reality (AR) at museums and attractions (e.g. interactive displays at Khajuraho and Pachmarhi). An example is the recent MoU between the MP Tourism Board and UN Women to develop a digital “Safe Tourist Destination” platform (ensuring women’s security data is accessible). Overall, the policy seeks “smart tourism” infrastructure to improve visitor experience and safety, particularly for solo women travellers (trained guides, e-payments, emergency helplines).

Institutional Mechanisms and Governance

The Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board (MPTB) is really driving the implementation here, working under the Tourism, Culture & Religious Trusts Department. The Principal Secretary heads the Board, which is in charge of approving projects, handling branding, and making sure everything aligns with central government schemes. They’ve even set up an Investment Promotion Cell within MPTB to make it easier for investors to get involved and to keep an eye on incentive programs.

Plus, there’s a high-level Steering Committee, led by the Chief Secretary, that checks in on progress every quarter. And get this – district-level tourism officers are empowered to find local projects and sort out land allotments.

The best part? The whole process is super transparent thanks to a Single Window System. This means approvals happen within 60–90 days (or it’s automatically sanctioned!) to cut down on all that red tape. These systems build on what was already set up in 2016, like the Tourism Cabinet and heritage coordination committee. But with a stronger focus on e-governance and getting everyone involved.

Economic Impact Analysis

MP’s new policy is set to boost tourism. In 2024, MP saw a record 134.1 million tourist visits, a 19.6% increase from 2023 and 526% from 2020. This included 167,000 foreign tourists. Growth was driven by domestic pilgrims (107 million visits, up 21.9%) and wildlife tourism.

Tourism & GDP: Madhya Pradesh aims to boost tourism’s GDP share from 3-3.5% to 4-5% by 2028 and 8-10% by 2047 through infrastructure and marketing. Every ₹10 lakh invested in tourism creates approximately 90 direct and indirect jobs, making it a high-employment multiplier industry. The policy includes capital subsidies and skill programs, like training 10,000 women in hospitality, to maximise local job creation.

Job Creation: Besides hotels/resorts, the policy catalyses jobs in allied sectors: handicrafts (heritage crafts markets), transport (driver/guides), and startups (tour operations). Official estimates (pre-policy) projected creation of ~200,000 tourism-related jobs over five years; the new policy’s incentives (and the already-accelerating tourist numbers) suggest actual job gains may exceed these targets. Community-based tourism (village homestays, tribal guides) is also promoted, spreading income to rural areas.

FDI and Investment Flows: While domestic sources will provide most funding. The policy aims to attract foreign investors with incentives like concessionary land and viability gap funding. MP’s promotion at global summits (with thousands of crores in announced land deals) shows growing investor interest. MP attracted US$521 million in FDI across all industries from 2019–2022. The streamlined Tourism Policy 2025. With a dedicated facilitation cell, it is expected to direct future FDI. Into hotels, theme parks, and wellness centres, though specific tourism FDI targets are not yet public.

Comparison with Previous Tourism Policies

The 2025 MP tourism policy updates and expands on previous versions (2016/2010), maintaining a focus on sustainable tourism and offering a roughly 15% capital subsidy for new hotels and resorts. Unlike the 2016 policy, it significantly broadens incentives to include more project types (e.g., ropeways, MICE centres, electric cruises, film studios) and increases ceilings for mega-projects, while also adding enhanced support (an extra 5% subsidy) for remote-area tourism.

The 2016 tourism policy granted industry status and established hospitality training. The 2025 policy continues training with digital initiatives, streamlines governance via an Investment Promotion Cell and single-window system (replacing fragmented clearances), and adapts to new trends (digital, wellness), building on past lessons while retaining core goals.

Public–Private Partnerships, MOUs, and Flagship Projects

Several high-profile PPPs and projects have launched under the 2025 policy umbrella. For example, the MP Tourism Board signed an MoU with Coca-Cola India’s Anandana Foundation to expand the “Project Clean Destination” eco-initiative into Bandhavgarh National Park. This public–private partnership funds waste-management and livelihood programs around the park, aligning with “responsible tourism” goals. Likewise, an MoU with Finland’s VReaL (a VR technology firm) was inked in Feb 2025 to create immersive 360° virtual tours of MP’s heritage sites– a first-of-its-kind digital tourism venture in India.

On infrastructure, the policy has spurred new flagship projects. The successful Mahakal Lok urban corridor (Ujjain) became a template for three new shrine complexes (Devi Lok, Hanuman Lok, Ram Raja Lok) in 2024. Each is now a state‑backed project with its own development authority. Another major PPP is the “PM Shri Tourism Air Service”, run with private airlines, which uses small planes to link eight MP cities (Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, etc.) to each other– effectively boosting regional connectivity. The state has also signed dozens of MOUs at investor summits, including collaborations with UN Women (to make tourist sites safer for women) and technology startups (to develop smart tourist apps).

Together, these partnerships and flagship investments exemplify the policy’s approach: leveraging private capital and expertise to achieve public goals in waste management, infrastructure, and heritage promotion. They also generate local employment (e.g. waste-collection jobs under the Coca-Cola project and guide/training for Mahakal Lok visitors).

Implementation Timeline and Roadmap

The Tourism Policy 2025 took effect upon Cabinet approval in late February 2025, and it remains in force for five years (through 2030). In the immediate term (2025–26), the state has focused on preparatory steps: finalising project guidelines, allocating the 1,000 ha land parcels, and promoting the policy at the February 2025 “Invest MP” summit. By mid-2025, many large incentive packages were already announced (e.g. site-specific PPP projects and subsidy schemes).

The medium-term road map targets key events and milestones. A central focus is the Simhastha Ujjain Kumbh (2028) – MP is using the next Kumbh as a capstone festival to attract global spiritual tourism, with special arrangements for foreign pilgrims. Infrastructure projects have been assigned phased deadlines: new airports at Shivpuri and Ujjain are scheduled to be made operational by 2026, while expressway and highway corridors (such as the Ganga-Narmada tourism link roads) are being constructed for completion by 2028. The Tourism Board’s annual action plan includes rolling out digital services (mobile guide app, Wi-Fi hotspots) by late 2025.

Long-term, the policy envisages expansion beyond 2030. It contains provisions for extending incentives or enacting new tourism phases based on its success

In summary, the policy lays out a clear implementation trajectory: launch and awareness (2025), infrastructure build-out (2025–2028), marquee event leverage (Simhastha 2028), and consolidation/evaluation (2029–30).

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