Sri Lanka: MICE can be So beautiful

Zhao Wei Celion Su

From 2011 to 2016， the number of Chinese tourists to Sri Lanka surged from about 10，000 to 250，000， making China the second largest source of visitors to Sri Lanka. In 2018， this figure is expected to exceed 300，000. The Sri Lankan Convention Bureau encourages Chinas MICE organizers to try out with small MICE groups first， and Sri Lanka will do its utmost to ensure that the MICE groups enjoy a pleasant journey and a home-coming experience.

Emerging MICE paradise with rich resource Currently， Sri Lanka holds an average of more than 50 international exhibitions a year， as well as numerous local consumer exhibitions such as wedding shows. Among them， the most famous exhibitions are in the fields of agriculture， food， mining and so on. It also includes exhibitions organized by some Chinese organizations， such as building an materials exhibition held by Guangxi Province of China.

Ms. Inoshini Perera， General Manager of Sri Lanka Convention Bureau， said that Sri Lanka， as a rising MICE destination， has beautiful natural scenery and rich historical sites， providing a unique natural environment for convention and exhibition activities. For example， there are more than 90 kinds of wildlife and other unique natural resources， bringing a lot of surprises and fresh feelings for the MICE trip. It is worth mentioning that since Sri Lankas territory is not large， most of the MICE resources are not far away， and can be reached in a very short distance and time， therefore， the MICE activities can be organized into a very compact itinerary.

On the facility side， Sri Lankas infrastructures are also being improved continuously. The city centre of Colombo， Sri Lanka， is only 40 minutes away from the airport and is accessible from the highway. In terms of accommodation， Shangri-La and other international chain hotel brands have been built and stationed， and there are a large number of local hotels with local characteristics. There are several large professional exhibition venues in Sri Lanka， some of which were aided by funds from China.

LSCC， the largest convention and exhibition venue in Sri Lanka， is located in Colombo， the capital of the country. In addition， many hotels have conference halls， which can accommodate up to 400-600 people. Some large-scale convention and exhibition facilities have successfully hosted more than 2000 peoples conventions， and most hotels are also equipped with conference rooms， suitable for holding various scales of conference activities， team building events， etc. With more and more MICE events coming nowadays， Sri Lanka not only can provide local cuisines， but also provide international food and beverage.

Preferential policies to boost International MICE activities

In recent years， the booming international MICE business has greatly stimulated the local economic development， and as the government body that oversees MICE activities， the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau attaches great importance to attract international MICE activities， and has launched a series of incentive policies such as visa support， financial subsidies and so on.

The organization has developed transparent incentive measures to ensure that the MICE groups can enjoy a series of preferential welcome policies from the time of their arrival. For example， organizers can receive support funds to pay for services provided by registered service providers in Sri Lanka， including hotels， transportation companies， etc. The international MICE groups， regardless of its size， can receive an incentive of around 1000 rupees per person. In addition， the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau will also recommend quality service suppliers and strive for discounts for international organizers during the bidding process.

At present， MICE organizations from France， Spain and other countries， as well as organizations such as the United Nations， the World Bank have carried out MICE activities of different scales in Sri Lanka which were successful. These activities include： the United Nations Conference on Child Protection， the 2019 World Wildlife Funds 400 people conference， insurance company MICE activities and so on. The Sri Lanka Convention Bureau encourages Chinese MICE organizers to try out with small MICE groups first， and Sri Lanka will do its utmost to ensure that the MICE groups enjoy a pleasant journey and a homecoming experience.

Deepen China-Sri Lanka MICE industry cooperation

At present， the MICE market in Sri Lanka is developing rapidly， but there is still a lot of room for improvement and development， the exhibition facilities are in upgrading or expanding. Ms. Inoshini Perera said that the Convention Bureau has not made a special statistics on the number of business travelers in various business activities， but that there was a significant increase in the number of all kinds of MICE activities. From 2011 to 2016， the number of Chinese tourists to Sri Lanka has surged from about 10，000 to 250，000， making China the second largest source of visitors to Sri Lanka. In 2018， this figure is expected to exceed 300，000.

At present， as many Chinese already reside there， it is easy for Chinese tourists to find Chinese-Sri Lankan interpreters and the language is no longer an obstacle. At present， Sri Lankan Airlines， China Southern Airlines， China Eastern Airlines and Air China have all launched regular flights from China to Sri Lanka， and it is very convenient to arrive there.

Ms. Inoshini Perera said that for the future， more in-depth and extensive cooperation is expected between China and Sri Lankas MICE industry. With the promotion of the"One Belt and One Road" policy， Sri Lanka， as a key destination along the line， will surely attract more event organizers and business travelers from China to discover the unique charm of Sri Lanka， the Pearl of the Indian Ocean.