SL Tourism draws up MICE tourism plan

MICE (Meetings, Incentive, Conference, Exhibitions) tourism constitutes a key segment of the tourist industry globally and with this in mind, Sri Lanka Tourism (SLT) is drawing up a 5-year ‘MICE Industry Development Plan’ in collaboration with private sector tourism partners and airlines.

The strategic plan will encompass conference and exhibition industry promotion; promotion of corporate meetings; incentive tours; association meetings and MICE industry information/ data collection system initiatives for a 360-degree way ahead for growing this business segment. If Sri Lanka captures even a small slice of the global MICE tourism market, it would help overcome tourism seasonality in the industry by providing year-round tourism revenue since MICE tourism is usually non- seasonal, the SLT said in a media release.

Sri Lanka has some key strengths to attract MICE tourism such as Destination appeal; Culture and Heritage; Foreign Hotel chains; Developing infrastructure; Safe destination/ global recommendation; ICCA memberships; Favourable climate and a speedy Online Visa process. Nevertheless, some key existing barriers to growth need to be urgently addressed and mitigated.

“While the construction of new international 5- star chains in Colombo is attractive for high net worth travellers, the industry needs a wide mix of different tier hotels to ensure adequate room capacity for large MICE events. Considering the different budgets of MICE clients, Sri Lanka should be able to offer ample room capacity across all classes of hotels,” it said.

The lack of the necessary conference and exhibition venues is another obstacle that needs to be overcome by having more venues such as BMICH in Colombo and at several tourist hotspots to enhance the appeal of Sri Lanka as MICE destination. Other than the commercial capital of Colombo, all other major cities lack modern international conference centres that can compare to those in Thailand, Singapore or Malaysia. Sri Lanka must have at least 2 to 3 multipurpose convention centres so that several largescale MICE events can be held in the city simultaneously.

“While Sri Lanka is on the radar of MICE operators in South Asia, in order to attract MICE business from Europe and other developed regions, the country needs better connectivity. More direct flights from key source markets are vital to facilitate the MICE business. Apart from the national airline, we need to attract more foreign airlines to fill the vacuum created for direct flights from European destinations to Sri Lanka and the Civil Aviation Authority must see the possibility of filling this vacuum with other international airlines,” the statement said.