Bihar Tourism Policy 2023

The Bihar Tourism Policy 2023 is notified to develop tourism in the State through a joint and collaborative approach — building tourism infrastructure, enhancing connectivity to tourist sites, and giving a big push to skilled resources, income and employment generation. The vision is to develop Bihar as a centre of spiritual, cultural and eco-tourism through sustainable and inclusive means, with a focus on investment and livelihood creation.

Mission — positioning Brand Bihar as a world-class destination

• •Development of world-class tourism infrastructure with efficient participation of all stakeholders.
• •Development of tourism products offering the greatest value to tourists.
• •Developing a pool of talented workforce through various skilling initiatives.
• •Emphasising the highest standards of tourist safety and comfort.
• •Implementing tourist-centric, best-in-class, technology-driven initiatives.

Six Goals of the Policy

• •Economic growth — raise tourism's contribution to GSDP to the national level (6.8%).
• •Skilling & jobs — skill/train approx. 1 lakh people and create over 1 lakh jobs during the policy period.
• •Tourism infrastructure — develop Focus Tourism Destinations, add 2,000 hospitality rooms, develop/upgrade 50 wayside amenities, single-window clearance, transport and land banks.
• •Augmenting footfalls — make Bihar a top-10 state for domestic footfalls and top-5 for foreign footfalls; position it as a preferred MICE destination.
• •Organizational restructuring & data — restructure the tourism cadre, run annual tourism surveys, accredit service providers.
• •Safety & security — Tourism Police at Focus Tourist Destinations and a disaster & crisis management plan.

Focus Tourist Destinations (FTDs) are identified under seven themes — Religious & Spiritual, Heritage & Cultural, Eco, Adventure, MICE, Weekend and Rural Tourism — with priority development and additional incentives at major international destinations: Gaya, Bodhgaya, Nalanda, Rajgir, Vaishali and Valmiki Tiger Reserve.

Key Definitions (Guidelines 2024)

• •Approved Project Cost (APC) — the project cost approved by the Department of Tourism, based only on eligible cost components (land cost excluded). Must be equal to or more than the Minimum Project Cost for the category.
• •New Tourism Project — an eligible project approved and established during the operative period of the policy.
• •Expansion — an existing project redeveloped/upgraded/renovated to meet an eligible category (APC of expansion generally ≥ 50% of the Minimum Project Cost for a new project).
• •Registered Office — the promoter must have a registered office in Bihar (GST or MSME Udyam certificate).

Eligible Tourism Projects — 18 Categories & Minimum Project Cost (excluding land)

A. Capital Subsidy / Interest Subvention

Land cost is excluded from the total project cost for subsidy calculation, and land development cost is capped at 2.5% of the final Approved Project Cost.

B. Two Subsidy Routes (choose one)

• •Route 1 — Capital Subsidy: Reimbursed in instalments: 50% on start of commercial operation (COD), 25% on completion of two years of operations, 25% on completion of five years of operations.
• •Route 2 — Interest Subvention: Rate of interest 10% or the actual rate of interest on the term loan, whichever is lower; reimbursed annually from COD, for a maximum of 5 years from COD.

C. Additional 5% Subsidy

An additional 5% Capital Subsidy OR Interest Subvention — over and above the maximum limit for all project categories — is available in only one of the following two cases (not both):