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Sri Lanka has emerged key MICE destination for Southern India.
“The island nation has gained immense popularityespecially among south India and we have experienced consistent growth over the years,” said V Krishnamoorthy, Deputy High Commissioner, Sri Lanka to Southern India.
“In addition to south India, Kolkata too is a good market for us,” he added.
Kumar De Silva, Chairman, Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) said: “India is the largest and key source market for the development of MICE business to Sri Lanka. We have been extending our presence, and our commitment to the India market extends from north to south and east to west.”
“With our current mission, we are targeting key markets of India like Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune and also planning to be in Delhi soon. With extensive direct airlines connectivity of 121 flights per week from 11 stations in India to Sri Lanka and further complemented by SpiceJet, Indigo, and Air India, Sri Lanka becomes an easily accessible destination for MICE from India,” he added.
Key market
India is an important market for Sri Lanka for developing MICE in terms of numbers, value and also connected services. The year 2018 saw 63,733 MICE arrivals in Sri Lanka as compared to 57,694 in 2017 and 53,510 in 2016.
It is witnessed that there is an increasing trend of India MICE arrivals during the past years. Sri Lanka is growing as “a destination for all seasons.” The year 2018 saw a rapid increase with approximately 424,887 Indian tourists visiting Sri Lanka, as compared to 384,628 arrivals in 2017 and 356,729 in 2016.
Kumar De Silva, said in addition to MICE, Sri Lanka is also a fast-growing destination for weddings out of India. There a number of wedding planners were facilitated to visit Sri Lanka to make aware them. The Ramayana trail, an ancient Hindu literary epic of India adequately marketed with the objective of bringing in large numbers of Indian visitors for Sri Lanka.”
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