Sri Lanka eyes expansion of MICE tourism to 15% of total arrivals
The Morning: Sri Lanka Tourism aims to increase the share of tourist arrivals from Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism to 15% of total tourist arrivals, with discussions ongoing considering the repurposing of Temple Trees to host MICE tourism events.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) Chairman Dheera Hettiarachchi revealed that they were looking to increase the share of tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka from MICE tourism to around 15% of total tourist arrivals, up from the current levels of 10-12%.
He further revealed that prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the share of MICE tourism had been as low as 5% of total tourist arrivals, adding that this growth signified the enormous potential of Sri Lanka.
He revealed that the SLCB did not have access to revenue figures derived from MICE tourism due to issues faced in data collection.
Elaborating further, Hettiarachchi stated: “Unfortunately, we do not have the exact statistics of tourist arrivals under MICE tourism at the moment. It is a challenge we are facing and we are working on it. We have asked all industry practitioners to provide us the statistics if they are organising any conference.
“This is not for any other purpose such as taxation; it is solely for the purpose of having an idea of our MICE tourism numbers. Otherwise, without accurate statistics, we cannot forecast future tourist arrivals and set standards.”
Hettiarachchi further noted that by next week, the SLCB, together with the Sri Lanka Association of Professional Conference, Exhibition, and Event Organisers (SLAPCEO), would commence an audit of all existing venues in the country for MICE tourism, which involved considering the possibility of repurposing venues such as Temple Trees for MICE tourism.
“We will relook at the event venues we have, such as the BMICH and Temple Trees. Temple Trees, which has a seating capacity of nearly 4,500, is not open to the public, but it can be. We are currently having that discussion.
“We will also look at the Hambantota Convention Centre and the Jaffna Cultural Centre, which are currently underutilised,” he stated.
Hettiarachchi noted that Sri Lanka would be organising the fourth iteration of ‘MICE Expo 2025’ in June, scheduled to be hosted in Colombo, involving over 100 participants from countries across the globe and 15 media personalities. He added that Sri Lanka had previously hosted the ‘MICE Expo’ in Colombo, Jaffna, and Bentota.
OSL take:
The steady growth recorded by Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has in-turn resulted in the expansion of many tourism concepts being promoted by the country. Realizing the growing business potential in Sri Lanka, local authorities, while promoting the country in key tourist source markets, are also looking at further exploring the introduction and promotion of new tourism concepts to attract more tourists to the country. It is in such a backdrop that Sri Lanka is looking at further promoting the country as a MICE destination. The country’s strategic positioning in the Indian Ocean provides a further impetus to being promoted as a MICE destination in the region. Given that Sri Lanka has large convention centers located island wide in close proximity to tourist sites as well, MICE tourism could attract more foreign travelers to the country. The overall expansion in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has presented a host of business/investment opportunities in the development of infrastructure and supplementary infrastructure facilities, especially in the leisure and hospitality sectors. The increasing business potential in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is evident by the interest shown by international leisure and hospitality brands to explore expanding opportunities in the industry. Foreign businesses/investors could therefore explore the expanding opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry that promises quick returns on investments (ROIs).
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20250214/Z_3 |