Outbound

Sri Lanka to tap MICE market

Gayatri Vijaykumar - Bangalore

In a bid to woo the Indian corporate MICE traveller and promote Sri Lanka as a MICE destination, the Sri Lankan Convention Bureau (SLCB), in collaboration with the Sri Lankan Airlines has launched a special package at a leading price of Rs 12,000 per person. Speaking at an interaction with the media, Prema Cooray, chairman, (SLCB) said, "We would like to showcase Sri Lanka as a model MICE destination covering the city of Colombo, the surrounding beaches and the hill country." The two night package aimed at tapping the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibition (MICE) segment in India consists of return airfare on economy, two night stay with one day's conference facility.

According to Manoj Gunawardena, head (Worldwide Passenger Services), Sri Lanka Airlines the proximity of the two countries and the positioning has helped in marketing Sri Lanka as a MICE destination to Indians. According to him, the carrier plans of adding one tier II city to its existing list of ten destinations by the end of this year. "Currently around 20,000 Indians fly into Sri Lanka and we are looking at expanding to tier II cities. In this respect, a hundred flights a week to India is just around the corner," he said. At present Sri Lankan Airlines operates 95 flights to India on a weekly basis, plans are on to add on five more flights by October 2007.