Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) recently concluded its three-city MICE promotion road-show in Chennai, Bangalore, and Kolkata on 20 September. SLCB left no stone unturned to present Sri Lanka as an apt MICE destination, showcasing the opportunities to the Indian travel trade, professional conference and MICE organizers. The event garnered a favourable response from the travel trade and MICE professionals who attended and interacted with the SLCB team in a bid to understand unique offerings for Indian travellers in Sri Lanka.
Sharing his views on what SLCB aimed to achieve through the road-show, Kumar De Silva, Chairman, Sri Lanka Convention Bureau said, “the objective of the roadshow was to build on the momentum of the MICE business travelers to Sri Lanka targeting Chennai, Bangalore, and Kolkata. Come November, we will target Mumbai and Pune. Our focus and efforts will continue in India and you will be seeing and hearing more of such activity in the near future”. De Silva reiterated that India is their largest source market for both the MICE and individual Tourists. “We have and will continue to focus on this market for the development of MICE business. Previously the major metros Mumbai and Delhi had been targeted, however, since 2018; SLCB has grown its focus to include Chennai. Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Kolkata as they have been identified as strong potential markets,” confirmed De Silva. Besides Mumbai and Pune, as an integral part of their strategy, SLCB plans to identify and pursue new opportunities in other metro and sub-cities in India going forward.
Advocating for Sri Lanka as the ideal MICE venue, De Silva states that the USP for Sri Lanka is its authenticity, diversity, and compactness that provides the MICE travellers plethora of experiences and options to choose from. “Besides an array of activities and possibilities that the MICE and FIT market can explore, we offer a warm, friendly and welcoming environment and folks with strong cultural ties, the similarity in cuisines and mutual respect and understanding provide the ingredients to make Indian MICE events successful and memorable.” He added that SLCB and its trade partners work closely with the Indian travel trade and MICE professionals to deliver beyond expectations, thus encouraging and giving confidence to them to choose Sri Lanka for their events.
Delving more about the conferencing facilities that Sri Lanka presents, De Silva declares that they currently have many purpose-built facilities across the country that could accommodate up to 1000 plus delegates. “This is supported by our hotels which provide state of the art facilities with varying degrees of inventory that could arrange small-medium and large events and importantly customize so deliver a unique experience with different theme and settings,” informs De Silva. He adds that they also have dedicated companies who are members of SLAPCEO & SLAITO who could handle all elements with event management companies that could arrange sound, lighting and other support aspects for the event. “So there is only one decision to be made, choosing Sri Lanka, and our stakeholders are ready to deliver,” he declares.
In terms of any new products for the MICE market, SLCB informs that South Asia tallest Tower, the Lotus Tower has opened a few days ago which reportedly provides an exciting option for the MICE travelers to experience with 360 aerial views of the city and can accommodate up to 500 delegates at a time.
It was learned from De Silva that promoting Sri Lanka was a collaborative effort of four different entities all with one clear goal to augment tourism footfall to Sri Lanka. These include the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority which formulates the direction, structure to be compliant and ensures transparency of the process. Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau which is responsible for the destination promotion, brand, and marketing, Sri Lanka Institute of Hospitality Management which takes care of the capacity building to meet the requirements of the industry through their dedicated hotel schools and Sri Lanka Convention Bureau that focuses on the MICE Business. “We collaborate and work closely in an integrated manner to achieve a single goal and that has been the primary reason for our continuous endeavor and the success that has followed it,” concluded De Silva.
Raadia Mukadam
TourismIndia, India’s Travel & Tourism Magazine.
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