Sri Lanka’s ambitions as a global destination for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions took centre stage at the MICE Business Connect forum, held at The Atrium, Cinnamon Grand Colombo, on the evening of 5 October 2026. The forum served as the curtain-raiser to the Sri Lanka MICE Expo 2026, organised by the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB), and drew international hosted buyers, overseas media and local industry leaders. 

Proceedings opened with a welcome address by Malkanthi Welikala, Marketing Manager of the SLCB, followed by a joint destination presentation from Achini Dandunnage, Acting General Manager of the SLCB, and Virazmi Aher, Manager of SriLankan Holidays. The presentation set out Sri Lanka’s MICE offering, from venues and hotel inventory to air access and the island’s compact mix of culture, nature and coastline, which allows groups to combine business with memorable experiences within short travel distances. 

The centrepiece of the evening was a high-level panel that deliberately brought government, aviation, hospitality and inbound tourism to one table. The panel featured the Hon. Deputy Minister of Tourism, Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe; Dheera Hettiarachchi, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau and the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management (SLITHM); Dimuthu Tennakoon, Head of Commercial at SriLankan Airlines; Hishan Singhawansa, CEO of Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts; Bobby Jordan Hansen, SLCB Board Member and President of the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) and facilitated by Dinushka Chandrasena – Editor Travel Talk Asia  

The discussion opened with the policy agenda, as the Deputy Minister was invited to outline the steps Government is taking to strengthen the sector across infrastructure, skills, investment and connectivity, and how it intends to ensure that the gains from high-value visitors and international events reach local businesses and communities rather than remaining concentrated at the top of the value chain. 

The SLCB Chairman addressed the Bureau’s next strategic priorities in moving Sri Lanka from a growing MICE destination to a preferred regional hub for high-value conferences, incentives and corporate events.  

Connectivity, widely regarded as decisive in destination selection, formed a key strand of the debate. The SriLankan Airlines perspective focused on how the national carrier is working with industry and international partners to make Sri Lanka more accessible for large events, and on the commercial levers that matter most to organisers, including group fares, flexibility, group handling and seamless end-to-end travel. 

From the hospitality standpoint, the panel considered how hotel groups can support larger and more complex events through venue capacity, service standards and integrated packages that span city and resort properties. The SLAITO President brought the voice of destination management companies, examining the gaps Sri Lanka must close in infrastructure, venues, skills and destination management to compete for bigger international events. She stressed that winning a bid is only the beginning, and that hotels, airlines, DMCs and other stakeholders must work collectively to deliver a seamless experience that convinces organisers to return. 

An open Q&A session allowed hosted buyers and local stakeholders to engage directly with the panel before the evening closed with a group photograph, followed by cocktails and dinner with entertainment. 

The forum opened a multi-day programme that continued with the official Expo opening and B2B sessions at Shangri-La Colombo, where more than 125 Sri Lankan MICE suppliers are meeting over 120 hosted international buyers, alongside media from 26 countries. Organisers expect the sessions to generate upwards of 10,000 business meetings. The Expo concludes with a gala dinner at Bellevue Beach Club, Port City Colombo, followed by a familiarisation tour of the Cultural Triangle for hosted buyers. 

By bringing policymakers and industry leaders together around a shared agenda, the Business Connect underscored a collective commitment to positioning Sri Lanka as a competitive, year-round destination for business events in the region.