SLCB organises first virtual MICE familiarisation tour: ‘Come experience Colombo in 24 hours’

Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) organised a Virtual MICE Familiarisation Tour under the theme ‘The Day of a MICE tourist in Colombo’ on 27 October which featured Colombo MICE facilities and attractions. This is the first-ever virtual familiarisation tour organised by SLCB for the Indian MICE industry stakeholders to educate what Sri Lanka has to offer. 

SLCB collaborated with the City Hotels in Colombo to showcase their unique selling prepositions (USPs) to welcome the Indian MICE groups; Shangri-La, Kingsbury, Hilton, Taj Samudra, Jetwing Colombo Seven, Galle Face Hotel and Cinnamon Grand were among them. 

The tour also featured the BMICH; South Asia’s first purpose-built conference and convention centre showcasing their conference and meeting facilities. Spa Ceylon, Lotus Tower, Independence Square, Indian Summer, Colombo by Jeep and Bally’s Casino were also featured.  

A fresh video production carried out by SLCB to capture the story line of the tour of Fahad Farook, a certified transformative coach, trainer, compere and speaker in first person point of view contributed immensely for the outcome of the video while he also moderated the virtual familiarisation tour/live webinar.

SLCB is in the view that, the non-conventional methods should be introduced an ongoing basis to voice that Sri Lanka is waiting to welcome global MICE travellers and to keep the destination alive during this challenging time.  

The virtual familiarisation tour organised by SLCB was indeed a novel concept to enthral the potential tourists on what Colombo and Sri Lanka as a country has to offer while showcasing all luxuries, recreational activities and experiences to ensure a fantastic as well as a safe stay that will cater to all their needs.

Sri Lanka Convention Bureau/Sri Lanka Tourism Chairperson Kimarli Fernando welcomed all Indian participants and emphasised: “MICE is an important segment within the tourism industry and we are ready to welcome MICE groups. We are diverse, compact, and authentic and these are our strengths to combine MICE with an experience.” 

Fernando further explained the importance of Familiarisation Tours as a MICE marketing tool to showcase destination competitiveness to event planners and decision-makers. The importance of Indian MICE market was highlighted in line with the relaxed health measures during her welcome address.  

Farook kicked-off his tour from the Bandaranaike International Airport making his way to Shangri-La to spend his stay there. Then he visited the Kingsbury, Hilton, Lotus Tower, BMICH, Jetwing Colombo Seven, Taj Samudra to satisfy his MICE and other requirements while stopping at Indian Summer for an authentic Indian cuisine. 

Guided by ‘Colombo by Jeep’, he then visited a few key attractions around Colombo; Independence Square, Laksala for some shopping, Spa Ceylon for a soothing experience and Gangaramaya temple. He did not fail to stop by Galle Face Hotel for some sea breeze and then the Lagoon by Cinnamon Grand for a delicious dinner and last but not least he stopped by Bally’s Casino to experience the night life in Colombo before ending his day.

Each hotelier who was featured in the video, was given the opportunity to join the live webinar and present their unique and novel features of their properties, communicating that Sri Lanka is ready to warmly welcome all MICE groups.  

The interactive webinar and the virtual tour ensured a high-level engagement of all participants which included 38 Indian MICE stakeholders with an active participation during the Q&A session as well.

SLCB General Manager Krishantha Fernando delivered the vote of thanks at the end of the session thanking all participants and everyone else who helped in making this event a success. SLCB intends to organise several Familiarisation Tours from India during the year 2022 with the aim of benefitting the Tourism industry of Sri Lanka. 

The production and program coordination were done by Homes Pollard & Stott Ltd. in collaboration with IKON Marketing.