MICE sector to boost tourism growth

By Lalin Fernandopulle

Sri Lanka's MICE (Meetings, Incentive travel, Conferences, Exhibitions and Events) tourism potential lies in corporate meetings and incentive travel which could contribute immensely to boost growth in the leisure industry, Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) General Manager and Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Acting Director-General Vipula Wanigasekara said.

Sri Lanka tourism is focused on a new marketing strategy to promote unique locations and theme products to woo the high spending and discerning traveller.

Vipula Wanigasekara

The tourism industry is gearing up with infrastructure such as hotel rooms and a skilled workforce to achieve the target of 2.5 million visitors by 2016.“We need to go beyond marketing traditional products such as sand, sun and sea to story-telling where every location of interest has a tale to narrate.

The tourism industry has launched a package for incentive travellers who are high spenders,” Wanigasekara said.The package comprises promoting green tourism, serenity, tranquillity of locations, agri-tourism, Ramayana trails, relating stories such as Tarshish, believed to be Galle, from where King Solomon had procured gem and ivory according to the Bible, promoting steam engine tours, Ceylon Tea, Sri Lankan cuisine, unique locations and enable traveller experience the average lifestyle of people.“Presenting eminent personalities such as Arthur C. Clerk, Geoffrey Bawa, Leonard Woolf, Henry Engelbrecht, the first warden of the Yala National Park, is another potential area to boost MICE tourism in Sri Lanka,” Wanigasekara said.

He said that though MICE tourism has expanded rapidly its growth is not on par with the growth in the tourism industry. Sri Lanka attracted 120,000 MICE travellers last year and the this year around 130,000 travellers are expected.

The absence of a multi-purpose convention centre is a drawback in developing the MICE industry.

The BMICH which is the largest conference location in the country could accommodate only around 1,400 people and the convention centre could host only around 200 stalls.

Wanigasekara said that a land has been identified and plans are being drawn to built a multi-purpose convention centre in Peliyagoda.

The Hambantota convention centre will handle a considerable amount of business after the airport and hotels commence operations in the area.“Every hotel built will have convention facilities which will take the pressure off Colombo,” he said.

The Convention Bureau will play a major role in organising the Commonwealth Heads of State meeting in November this year.SLCB was set up in 1987 to place Sri Lanka as as sought-after venue regionally and internationally for MICE tourism and receive optimum revenue from the segment to make a positive contribution towards the creation of employment and uplift the living standards of those depending on the MICE industry.