SriLankan boosts MICE tourism from India

SriLankan Airlines together with the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau organized a familiarization tour for 65 MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) agents and media personnel from Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai in order to boost MICE tourism from India to Sri Lanka.

The tour, which began on 28 October and ended on 2 November, enabled the group to view Sri Lanka as the paradise isle that it is and showcased MICE facilities available in the country.

Leading tour agents from India such as Thomas Cook, Travel, Cox N Kings, TUI, Make My Trip, Akbar Holidays and many other renowned travel agencies participated in the tour. The group had the opportunity to  explore the exotic splendour of the pearl of the Indian Ocean and were captivated by the scenic beauty of the ancient kingdom of Kandy, the heritage sites and artefacts in Dambulla and of course the cerulean ocean and golden beaches  in Beruwala. They were also taken to the Elephant Orphanage in Pinnawala and had the chance to travel around the capital city Colombo.

Lal Perera, Head of Worldwide Sales of Srilankan, said: “The relations between Sri Lanka and India are ancient and it is vital to strengthen the bonding by bringing a success to MICE tourism in Sri Lanka since our island’s economy is continued to develop fast in the post war condition.”

At a function organised for the delegates in Colombo, the General Manager of the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau Vipula Wanigasekera said: “India is our primary market and we will continue to promote this market bearing in mind the increasing overall outbound MICE travel from India.  We are confident that the corporates and tour operators in India will look at Sri Lanka as a value destination. We are thankful to SriLankan Airlines for initiating this program and taking their share of responsibility not only by inviting the MICE delegates but also flying them down to Sri Lanka in the National Carrier.”

Sri Lanka is on target to receive 2.5 million tourists by 2016, a 30 per cent compounded growth over five years, which will require the development of infrastructure in order to sustain the expected growth rate.

Chantal Samarasinghe, MICE Promotions Manager of SriLankan, added: “Having witnessed the many different facets of our beautiful island, we trust that Sri Lanka will be promoted with greater conviction and enthusiasm. SriLankan operates 84 flights a week from seven cities in India and our frequency and proximity make Sri Lanka the ideal destination for the MICE traveller.”

SriLankan Airlines’ successful effort to co-host the tour was a part of its overall strategy to project Sri Lanka as a premier MICE destination to the Indian market as well as to position the island as a popular destination for business events in the South Asian region.