Sri Lanka readies for growing C&I traffic

By Patricia Wee Colombo Sri Lanka is emerging as a popular CEI destination, making up 15 per cent of visitors to the country last year. The Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) is aiming to boost this figure to 18 per cent in 2004. In 2003, some 415 international conferences and meetings were held in Sri Lanka, the majority being small-to-medium sized meetings of 50-300 people, with most held in Colombo. National carrier SriLankan Airlines has joined hands with SLCB, DMCs and hotels to organise road shows in North India, Malaysia and Singapore. Singapore DMCs who attended last month's Singapore road show were positive about the destination's latest 'Meet in Sri Lanka' campaign. American Lloyd sales manager Donald Quek said: "All my incentive and seminar groups are centred on Thailand. I am here to learn about Sri Lanka and to promote it as a seminar and convention venue. Sri Lanka is an exotic country. If there is an opportunity, I will recommend it to my clients. I am not concerned about safety — if there's a risk of going there, I am sure our government would issue a travel advisory against it." Fortune Travel incentive event planner Rai Surani recently led an incentive group of 40 teachers to Sri Lanka. "I am now packaging Sri Lanka for conventions for an insurance group on a beach resort. I'm very impressed by the support being given by the national carrier — for example, the fact that they're willing to make special group baggage tags to differentiate groups from others," he said. Sri Lanka DMC, Walkers Tours assistant manager Suresh Pararajasingham, added: "The reason why we are going full blown with our road shows is because for the last two years, we have had a very effective ceasefire and the peace process is still ongoing. "Elections are on April 2, 2004, but we strongly believe that whichever government comes into power will be keen to carry the peace process forward."