The Expo will kick off on December 1 with a virtual business forum for meetings & conference organisers, featuring noted speakers from international associations such as IAPCO, ICCA, who will join the forum virtually
Sri Lanka Tourism Chairperson Kimarli Fernando says the first Virtual MICE Expo, to be held in Colombo in barely a week will comprise of various elements to make it a comprehensive business event for all kinds of stakeholders in MICE tourism as well as business events’ organisers & wedding planners. Fernando says that the event consists of a virtual exhibition, interactive webinars, business forums and engaging experiences to showcase what Sri Lanka can offer for MICE and Business events travellers. Local sellers representing the Sri Lankan meetings and events industry will exhibit their products and services at the event.
She says that being the biggest source market for Sri Lanka tourism as well as the biggest economy of the region, India is pivotal to the success of the event. So far, the response from the Indian market has been far beyond their expectations. “We expected around 100 buyers for the event, but even now we have around 300 registered, 40 pc of them from India,” Fernando tells India Outbound.
Fernando says, Sri Lanka is 62 pc vaccinated and it has included the tourism industry along with the health industry for booster shots. Sri Lanka is the only country so far to include the tourism sector for the booster shot.
Fernando added that Sri Lanka is the first country to introduce the bio bubble concept in January 2021. “Several countries copied our bio bubble concept. They contacted me and asked for guidelines, which I gladly gave them. As a result of pioneering the bio bubble concept, Sri Lankan representatives were one of the two countries invited to speak at the World Travel Mart that concluded earlier in November in London.
Fernando added that Sri Lanka was one of the best MICE destinations in the world, as MICE tourism has been fully integrated with other tourist activities. “Sri Lanka with its sandy beaches, hill stations and cultural centres has even more to offer compared to the world’s top MICE tourism destinations such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai. Sri Lanka has world class wedding planners and event managers, and I recommend them to utilise this to network with regional companies,” Fernando said.
Kimarli Fernando, Chairperson, Sri Lanka Tourism
The event will have various elements, including a virtual exhibition, four business forums, pre-fixed B2B meetings as well as numerous engaging experiences. Local sellers representing the Sri Lankan meetings & events industry will exhibit their products & services at the event. The event is expected to attract foreign buyers including a large representation from the Asian region specially from India.
According to the programme schedule, the Expo will kick off on December 1 with a virtual business forum for meetings & conference organisers, featuring noted speakers from international associations such as IAPCO, ICCA, who will join the forum virtually. “This forum will create a platform for global and local meetings and conference organisers to e-meet and discuss current trends related to the global meeting industry,” says Fernando.
Similarly, another virtual business forum for incentive organisers with speakers from international associations such as SITE International and the Wedding Planners Virtual Business Forum with speakers from international associations such as IWPA will be held the next day. And on December 3, the virtual business forum for exhibition organisers will be held with the participation of speakers from Indian Exhibition Industry Association (IEIA), she adds.
