Tourism Ministry facilitates stakeholders to re-enter the MICE market

The Ministry of Tourism is taking measures to re-enter the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) market as the country opens for tourism amid an economic crisis in the aftermath of Coronavirus pandemic.

TheSri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) and SriLankan Airlines (SLA), together in partnership, under the aegis of the Ministry of Tourism, recently announced the official launch of “MICE – EXPO 2023.

The event, which is a MICE trade show for promoting Sri Lanka as the perfect destination for Meetings, Incentive Travels, Conferences, and Exhibitions/Business Events (MICE), is set to take place from the 13th to the 15th of March 2023, at the Shangri La Colombo.

MICE – EXPO 2023 will host over 100 participants from South East Asia, the Middle East and Europe, attracting some of the largest travel agencies and groups in the industry.

Majority of the buyers are confirmed from India, one of the leading MICE outbound markets, where Sri Lankan Airlines operate more than 75 flights per week.

Most of the hosted buyers will be flown by the National Carrier, Sri Lankan Airline. The Expo aims to promote Sri Lanka as Business event destination, in an effort to grow tourism revenues and increase foreign currency inflows into Sri Lanka.

The aim is to leverage the high-quality MICE traveller segment who, on average, spend up to 3 times more than leisure and other tourist segments.

Commenting on this milestone initiative,Tourism minister Harin Fernando, said that promoting Sri Lanka as a Business event destination, MICE – EXPO 2023 also aims to provide a platform for local partners as sponsor exhibitors, and we invite all interested parties.

The organizers also intend to use MICE – EXPO 2023 as a platform to create awareness, in general, about the value that Sri Lanka has to offer the world, for MICE, tourism, investment and other purposes.

Sri Lanka is a destination that offers the perfect blend of natural beauty, culture, and history, making it an ideal location for events and conferences, leisure and growth investments.

The island is home to world-class infrastructure and facilities, including state-of-the-art convention centres, hotels, and resorts, with much planned for the future, including mega developments such as Port City Colombo, which will be a global MICE, financial services, commercial, entertainment, leisure and investment hub for the entire South Asian Region.

SLCB also announced their future plans for MICE – EXPO which include taking the event regional around Sri Lanka, specifically to Jaffna, and making it an annual event, to create further ongoing positive impacts for the country.