Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav on Thursday, 16 July 2026 invited national and international tour operators, tourism entrepreneurs, and investors to explore opportunities in Madhya Pradesh at the FAITH Conclave-2026 held in New Delhi. The two-day national tourism conclave provided a platform for inter-state collaboration and private investment in India's tourism ecosystem.

Context

Addressing stakeholders at the conclave, Dr. Mohan Yadav described Madhya Pradesh as 'praakritik saundarya se samridh' (enriched with natural beauty) and India's 'true heart.' He extended a direct invitation to domestic and foreign investors to participate in the state's growing tourism sector. The Chief Minister highlighted that his government is actively working on innovations including wildlife tourism, heritage homestays, spiritual circuits, and rural tourism to promote cultural, spiritual, and heritage assets.

Policy Backdrop

Madhya Pradesh has long anchored its tourism identity around landmark heritage sites such as Khajuraho and Sanchi, alongside a network of wildlife reserves. The state's Tourism Policy 2016 formally identified wildlife, heritage, and rural tourism as priority verticals, offering incentives for homestay development and circuit creation. These efforts align with the central government's Swadesh Darshan scheme, launched in 2014-15, which supports theme-based tourist circuits — including spiritual and heritage routes — across states such as Madhya Pradesh.

The state's investment facilitation platform, Invest MP, serves as the flagship vehicle for attracting both domestic and foreign capital across sectors, including tourism. The #InvestMP and #InvestInMP hashtags used by the Chief Minister signal a deliberate effort to tie tourism promotion to the broader investment narrative.

Stakeholders and Impact

The conclave brought together tour operators, tourism entrepreneurs, and national and international investors under one roof, making it a significant networking event for the sector. For rural communities and heritage property owners in Madhya Pradesh, the push for homestays and rural tourism circuits represents a potential new income stream if investment commitments materialise. Madhya Pradesh is positioning itself to compete directly with established tourism destinations such as Rajasthan and Kerala for both domestic footfall and inbound international travellers.

Indian states have intensified participation in national tourism platforms since 2020 to revive a sector hit hard by the pandemic and to secure private capital, in line with the central government's goal of raising tourism's contribution to GDP.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to any follow-up investment commitments or memoranda of understanding that emerge from the two-day conclave. Analysts and industry stakeholders will also watch whether the momentum translates into a dedicated tourism allocation in the next Madhya Pradesh state budget. A sustained pipeline of private investment in wildlife lodges, heritage homestays, and spiritual circuit infrastructure will be the clearest measure of whether the FAITH Conclave-2026 pitch delivers tangible results for the state.