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Tourism Minister Harin Fernando along with SLAPCEO President Imran Hassan, Sri Lanka Convention Bureau Chairman Thisum Jayasuriya, SriLankan Airlines Sales Manager Asela Ambbepitiya and Sri Lanka Convention Bureau General Manager Krishantha Fernando launching the MICE Expo website - Pic by Shehan Gunasekara
By Charumini de Silva
Sri Lanka Tourism will host the first-ever MICE Expo to position the country as a year-round destination and boost arrivals and earnings from meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions to over $ 300 million by the end of 2023.
The Expo is scheduled to be held from 13 to 15 March at Shangri-La Colombo, to draw around 150 participants from identified key markets from India, China, Russia, Australia, the Middle East, Singapore, Malaysia, Europe Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Banking on the combined effect of pent-up demand, ease of travel restrictions and regular flights boosting strong business attitude, the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau aims to promote the country as a business event destination to boost foreign currency inflow to the economy.
The event is organised by the SLCB in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Association of Professional Conference, Exhibition and Event Organisers (SLAPCEO) and national carrier —SriLankan Airlines, under the guidance of the Tourism and Lands Ministry.
“MICE tourism is a key segment where we can push our numbers and earnings. Sri Lanka has set an arrivals target of 1.5 million and of that around 10% to 15% are MICE travellers. We expect around $ 300 million income from MICE tourism by the year-end,” Tourism Minister Harin Fernando told the Daily FT.
He said that two massive events for MICE tourism are already booked in the calendar for February and April already from the neighbouring giant – India. These two bookings alone will bring in a massive number.
Minister Fernando said after absorbing the brunt of many COVID waves in the past two years, the Sri Lanka tourism industry will make a strong recovery in 2023.
“With a new surge in demand for MICE tourism, a massive backlog of product launches and business conferences that had been held back for the past two years due to the COVID pandemic is finally being cleared. Sri Lanka too is optimistic to grab a sizable portion of the MICE global business this year,” the Minister added.
Minister Fernando also launched https://srilankamiceexpo.com/ official website for the event.
SLCB Chairman Thisum Jayasuriya said MICE Expo would be a great opportunity to showcase Sri Lanka’s offerings, and also to set an excellent example of what partnerships and synergies can create.
“Our effort is united by the goal of building the brand Sri Lanka in the global marketplace. We are investing around Rs. 15 million to put up the three-day MICE Expo, along with the support extended by the partners including Shangri-La Colombo, SriLankan Airlines and all other stakeholders.
“MICE travellers spend three times more than leisure and other tourist segments. Thus, the SLCB is excited to welcome MICE travellers from target markets to experience authentic and diverse products that Sri Lanka could offer,” he told the Daily FT.
Noting that Sri Lanka’s geographic location has a greater advantage to develop the MICE tourism segment, he said the development of the sector is necessary for economic development as well as to reduce seasonality limitations by providing year-round tourism revenue.
Jayasuriya also outlined plans to take the event to a regional level around Sri Lanka specifically to Jaffna and make it an annual event to reinforce the positive impacts of the tourism sector on the national economy.
SLAPCEO President Imran Hassen said the MICE Expo aims to provide a platform for local partners to show Sri Lanka as a leisure, entertainment, business and investment hub for the entire South Asian region.
“Historically, demand for business travel originated from industrial and certain service sectors. It is predicted that the service sector business travel is likely to increase in the first quarter of 2023. Against this backdrop, with Sri Lanka’s unique product offerings there is great potential for us to provide a holistic MICE and leisure experience,” he added.
