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by Derrick Schokman

Do not be misled by this caption. It has nothing to do with mice, rats or any other rodents of that kind.

This article is all about Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conventions and Exhibitions - MICE for short - an upmarket high spending tourist business that Sri Lanka is interested in developing.

For a long time we have been dependent on sea, surf, sand and cultural tourism. They are still the bedrock on which the local tourist industry stands. But it has become necessary to diversify our tourist products if we are to sustain tourism as an important forex earner.

It is time to look around for new attractions like nature based tourism, ecotourism, adventure tourism, and yes the "new boy on the block" - MICE tourism, which is expected to earn three to six times more per tourist by exposing the country to a different and more affluent class of visitor including business magnates and professionals.

Meetings and Exhibitions

Meetings by any other name could be conventions or congresses, but for the purpose of this article let the word "conventions" be used to cover all such meetings.

Internationally now there is a growing emphasis for countries to have larger and more sophisticated convention centres and exhibition centres to hold Association/Organisation meetings eg. medical, engineering, agricultural, law, IT, science, food, clothing, construction and also corporate meetings.

For example, in Asia there is a Convention City in Singapore, Convention and Exhibition Centre in Hongkong and the New Convention Centre in Nepal. India has made a commitment to have Convention Centres in all its major cities.

Statistics indicate that most meetings fall into the category of 100 to 500 delegates, the next level being 500 to 2000. Exhibitions are usually of two kinds: stand-alone types like trade fairs, and those that are concurrent with a conference.

Very briefly that accounts for meetings, conventions and exhibitions (MC and E). What about the I for Incentive Travel?

Incentive Travel

Incentive travel today has emerged as a popular way of recognising and compensating outstanding employees in the corporate sector, particularly in the marketing and sales business.

High achievers are offered awards of a fully paid all inclusive holiday package abroad. This practice is mostly prevalent in the USA and Europe, but the trend is catching on in Asia.

Incentive producers, convention and exhibition holders are on the look out for new exotic destinations. This is where Sri Lanka has the opportunity to cash in on the MICE market. The question is whether Sri Lanka has the necessary infrastructure for this purpose?

SLCB

The Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) believes that the necessary infrastructure is available with proper professional training and planning.

The Bandaranaike Memorial International Hall (BMICH) has a seating capacity of 1500 delegates in the main auditorium.

It is complemented with a purpose built exhibition centre in the heart of Colombo Fort. The Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre has a floor area of 4000 sq. metres.

Both the Hall and Convention Centre are supported by local and international five-star hotel properties in Colombo, Southwest coast and Kandy.

The SLCB is there to promote this country as a destination for MICE tourism among the various professional associations, organisations, corporates and other sectors through trade chambers. The SLCB, in affiliation with international research organisations like the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) in Amsterdam and the Union of International Associations (UIA) in Brussels, maintains its own Data Book, providing information on conferences and corporate meetings, where the potential exists for Sri Lanka to bid.

The process of biddings, and thereafter the pursuance of action upto final day, and the accounts of the conference will be supervised by the Bureau.

The SLCB will implement a comprehensive training program in collaboration with the PATA European Division to enhance the experience of MICE industry members.

Product updates have already taken place in city hotels such as the Lankan Oberoi and Galadari, and some new resort hotels like Hotel Bluewater in Wadduwa, Taj Exotica in Bentota and Earls Regency in Kandy in anticipation of tapping the MICE potential.

The SLCB is expanding its strategic marketing plan in South Asia to include untapped potential markets for incentives and meetings.

The Bureau is encouraged by its recent showing at the MICE Tourism Trade Fair in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). Through business contacts made there it expects to have increasing MICE tourists from Singapore, Malaysia, India, Australia and New Zealand in addition to those from Europe.

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