SLCB enters Kolkata

SLCB CEO Vipula Wanigasekera presenting Sri Lanka to Indian corporates

Mihin Area Manager Sujeewa Rodrigo explain the opportunity with the direct operation of Mihin

In their strategy to reach out to the Indian corporate sector to entice corporate meetings and incentives for Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau carried out a joint promotion in Kolkata for the first time with Mihin Lanka on 29 January.

Over 60 top Indian Kolkata-based Coporates attended the promotion where Sri Lanka’s MICE potential was presented by the SLCB CEO Vipula Wanigasekera and Sujeewa Rodrigo – Area Manager of Mihin in Kolkata.

“This is a close-door event,” said Wanigasekera. “We have several approaches to woo Indian corporate meetings and one is to reach out to corporates directly through their exclusive partners. These are the Corporates who work with Cox and Kings - the company which assisted us to bring them to one venue in Kolkata.”

Among the top corporates who attended this promotion were Tata Steel, Simplex Infrastructure, Dalma Bharat, Indofil, Birla Corporation, Magma, Khaitan & Co, Bajaj Electricals, Shyam Infra and many others.  

“The Indian Corporate Meetings and Incentives market is huge - as big as 1.3 million a year. This was overshadowed by leisure travellers to Sri Lanka. But the real value is with the corporates where we ought to be paying more attention,” says Wanigasekera

Continuing this effort under the SLCB’s plan to go to the clients directly, the SLCB, led by its Chairman Prema Cooray, will conduct a roadshow next month in Mumbai and Delhi, speaking to Indian Chambers including AMCHAM.