Sri Lanka plans campaign to boost regional business

By Patricia Wee COLOMBO The Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) is launching its first "Meet in Sri Lanka" campaign to promote its conferences, meetings and incentives facilities to the international market. The promotion will be run along the lines of the "Meet in Singapore" and the "Hong Kong - Live it, Love it" campaigns. All promotional material including the special meeting planner, conference promotional folders will carry the "Meet in Sri Lanka" theme. Besides a new interactive CD, the bureau will revamp its website. All overseas roadshows and country pavilions at trade shows will carry this theme. "The roadshows conducted in India (Delhi, Mumbai and Cochin) have been immensely successful with a number of meetings being held in Sri Lanka as a direct result of these promotions," SLCB general manager Mr Senthil Gopinath said. "In addition, the bureau will be conducting promotions in Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia and in the Indian cities of Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mangalore. The Far East is important as regional travel is on the rise and Sri Lanka is becoming a popular destination." Sri Lanka is experiencing a resurgence of corporate event business. More local associations and companies are bidding for international conventions with the help of the SLCB. Most traffic is from regional destinations, with India topping the list. Other key markets include Pakistan, Singapore and Malaysia. Many incentive groups from Europe are also visiting. The island has also won bids to host conventions such as Asian Oceanian IT Summit, SAARC Anesthesiologists Conference, International Pediatric Conference, and Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference. "India is the number one generator for the corporate event segment and the fact Sri Lankan Airlines has increased flights into and out of India is a big boost to this segment," Mr Gopinath said. "There is an excess demand for Sri Lanka within the Indian market. Many key corporate companies such at Godrej, Microsoft India, HP India, Pepsi Cola India, TVS, Coca-Cola India have held corporate meetings and incentives in Sri Lanka, with the groups ranging from 50 to 350 delegates." The SLCB said that by the end of the year, about 18-20 % of all arrivals to Sri Lanka would be from corporate event tourism.