Sri Lanka's Hotel Blue Water in Rs 450mn Investment for MICE Tourism

31st August 2010, www.island.lk, By Harischandra Gunaratna

The popular sea side resort on the west coast, the Blue Water, Talpitiya, Wadduwa has emerged as one of the most sought after MICE (Meetings Incentives Conferences and Exhibitions) resorts in the island.

Owned by Union Resorts Limited, the five star establishment recently launched its new 8,500 sq ft ballroom, banqueting and convention venue, which is the biggest among the resorts.

The Blue Water’s General Manager Roshan Perera in an interview with The Island Financial Review said that there was a void to be filled, and with the ever increasing demand for such a facility, the company decided it was time to invest and thus injected Rs 200 million for the state-of-the-art facility.

"It is the ideal venue for MICE clients with a host of outdoor facilities in an expanse of 14 acre prime beach front," he said.

"With the civil strife coming to an end and normalcy returning, not only Sri Lankan corporates, but a large number foreign corporates are also looking forward to making Sri Lanka the venue for their meetings, conferences and conventions, combined with leisure and we are well equipped to cater to their needs," he said adding that the clientele ranges from Europe, India and the Far East.

During the last two months the resort has maintained an occupancy of 100 percent and we will maintain an average of 85 to 90 percent year round, a confident, Perera said. In the 2008-2009 period, the resort maintained an occupancy level of 75 to 80 percent, he added.

"We are quite optimistic of a good off season as our booking patterns indicate and we have a very good domestic market as well with our own loyalty programme with attractive incentives," he said.

Responding to a query whether our hospitality industry is in a position to meet the target of 2.5 million tourists by 2016, he said "All the owning companies of hotels and resorts are investing in upgrading their existing properties and those who have already finished the job are now investing in new properties, the senior hotelier said.

"We are highly optimistic that the President’s target for 2016 is feasible and there is a lot of enthusiasm in the industry," he pointed out.

British holiday makers are the Blue Water’s main clientele and India tops the list among the emerging markets with more and more Indian corporates as well as FITs choosing this salubrious resort for their next MICE event or holiday.

The owning company of the 100 room property will be investing another Rs 250 million to refurbish and upgrade the existing property ready for the coming winter season.

Asked about the future, the General Manager said the company has plans to expand the existing property but not immediately.

However the company will embark on developing another five star beach front property, a 30 unit luxury boutique hotel built on the Villa concept in close proximity to the Blue Water and another 30-chalet property in Kimbisssa in Sigiriya, once the refurbishment and upgrading of the Blue Water is completed.

More Convention Centres for MICE Business Tourism in Sri Lanka

25th March 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lanka is building more convention centres amid fears of a shortage of accommodation following a flood of tourists with the end of its war and temporary closure of a big conference hall.

Tourist industry officials said they are promoting MICE tourism, as travel abroad for Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions is known, catering to the high-end business traveller.

Hosting international conferences and exhibitions draws not only delegates who help fill up hotels but other tourists as well as word about the island's attractions spreads.

"Sri Lanka is not new to MICE tourism," said Vipula Wanigasekara, general manager of the Convention Bureau, which organises events. "We have a long history to way back in 1976."

That was when Sri Lanka hosted the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, which brought in 83 leaders of Third World countries and around 600 foreign delegates.

Last year, the island hosted several international conferences and exhibitions on trade and information technology despite the surge in fighting between Tamil Tigers and government forces.

The Tigers were defeated in May, ending the 30-year ethnic conflict that had retarded economic growth and deterred tourists, resulting in an immediate flood of visitors.

Tourism officials said they are worried the country's infrastructure, neglected by war, has not developed on par with countries competing for MICE tourism like Singapore and Malaysia.

"We were hosting around 60,000 delegates a year in corporate tourism. That was the optimum level we could go with the available infrastructure," Wanigasekera said. "Now we have a situation where the prospects are very high in the coming years."

Imran Hassan, Secretary of Sri Lanka Association of Professional Conference and Exhibition Organizers, said although there is a fast growth in exhibitions, holding of conventions could face problems.

"As far as conferences are concerned, we are going to be hit. We do not have enough hotels in Colombo. And we cannot deal with the rates offered in the Far Eastern countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

"The private sector has to look at building more hotels in Colombo. Otherwise our industry cannot grow although it wants to."

Colombo has two major convention venues; the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) and the Sri Lanka Exhibition & Convention Centre (SLECC).

Both venues can house around 1500 delegates each.

But the BMICH has been closed till 2011 for renovation and expansion, leading to fears of a shortage of space to accommodate conferences.

The government meanwhile has begun building more convention venues across the country.

An International Convention Centre is being built in southern Hambantota, where a deep-water port is also coming up.

Officials said that construction work on the convention centre which is being funded by the Government of Korea is going ahead of schedule and will be open to host conventions by the end of this year.

A 128-acre plot of land has been identified for a convention centre in Arali, in northern Jaffna which was affected by the war.

A conference centre is also planned for Negombo, a tourist resort on the west coast.

Drawing business travellers to a country requires offering them modern convention and conference centres and competitive hotel accommodation rates, officials said.

"Although the industry is looking at major growth, we do not have enough rooms and our rate structure is a bit on the higher side in comparison with the Far East," Hassen said.

"When comparing the rates with the Far East it's going to be difficult to compete - we always have to bid with Malaysia and Singapore, or Thailand, and we can't match their rates."

Hassan said lower hotel rates would help Sri Lanka compete better when bidding to host conferences.

This year Sri Lanka expects to host a number of local and international and exhibitions and conferences.

These include the 32nd Asia-Pacific Dental Congress, Asia Microfinance Forum and the Scientific Meeting of the International Epidemiological Association. The Jaffna Trade and Book Fair is one of the local events.

Sri Lanka Tourism Sees Fast Recovery. Tourist Arrivals up 31.9 pct in January Alone

06th March 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Over half-a-million tourists are expected to visit Sri Lanka this year as the travel trade bounces back strongly from the effects of a war with hotels so heavily booked that some are even refusing new reservations till end of March, officials said.

Tourism authorities have planned an aggressive global promotion campaign to lure visitors with events like night surfing and also attempts to tap the Sri Lankan diaspora to spread the word about the island's attractions.

With tourist arrivals up 31.9 percent in January alone from a year ago, the authorities expect the total number of visitors this year to increase by 25 - 30 percent given post-war revivals elsewhere.

"If you look at countries like Croatia and Vietnam, they experienced immediate growth in the tourism sector after the war end," says Dileep Mudadeniya, managing director of Sri Lanka Tourist Promotion Bureau.

Sri Lanka's 30-year ethnic war ended in May 2009, resulting in an immediate increase in tourist arrivals.

The revival has prompted international agencies to offer help to modernize tourism infrastructure.

Japan International Corporation Agency has offered 20 million US dollars to improve infrastructure in five towns that tourists frequently visit; Anuradhapura and Sigiriya in the north-central area, Nuwara Eliya and Kandy in the central hills, and Negombo on the west coast.

The World Bank is providing 18 million dollars 'capacity building' in tourism-related programs.

Mudadeniya said almost all hotels were running at 99-100 percent occupancy rates during the main winter season in the last three or four months and forward bookings are encouraging.

"I was told that 20 to 30 hotels are closed for any kind of new reservations till the end of March because they are fully booked."

The Tourism Promotion Bureau is promoting the country under its 'Visit Sri Lanka 2011' campaign highlighting the beaches, ruined cities, hilly resorts and wildlife parts that can all be experienced on the island in a short time.

"As a result of the diverse attractions we have within a small area, our intention is to promote all these areas to make sure that tourists can experience it all," Mudadeniya said.

The marketing campaign includes international promotions on leading TV stations like CNN and BBC and social networking services.

A string of events have been planned, starting from the week-long surf festival in Arugam Bay in the east, to an arts and craft festival in Sigiriya in June and a beach festival at Hikkaduwa in July.

Other international events include a jazz festival, the 'Colombo Fashion Week', a design festival and an international chess tournament.

Mudadeniya said there is also potential for the growth of cruise tourism.

"Sri Lanka, Maldives and India can provide good destinations for the cruise liners."

Louis Cruises is expected to resume calls from October this year.

Sri Lanka's newest attempt at MICE tourism, (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events) is the use of the 'Jetliner', a passenger ferry once used for transporting troops, as a floating venue.

The vessel is fully booked till the end of March.

The authorities are looking at the Indian market to promote Sri Lanka as a convention centre for the Indian corporate sector.

Related Info:
Sri Lanka Tourist Arrivals