SLAPCEO MEETING WITH THE FINANCE MINISTER
Hon. Basil Rajapaksha, Ministry of Finance
Mr. Imran Hassan along with a few committee members attended the meeting and the main objective of the meeting was to focus on bringing in the much-needed foreign exchange to the country. A detailed document with the following suggestions were submitted at the meeting;
- Promoting Sri Lanka, specifically, the City of Colombo, as a Centre for MICE Tourism and Destination Events, as part of a long-term plan, and to be included in the National Policy Framework.
- We requested the Ministers to open the country for exhibitions from the 1st of September for which it was agreed.
- While thanking the authorities for permitting us to hold conferences up to 50% capacity at BMICH. We also requested them to increase the number of pax permitted at Hotels for Conferences. Which the Ministers agreed to discuss and get back to us. The tourism minister and The Chairperson of SLDA fully supported our requests.
- We also handed over a letter to the finance minister of our proposal to re-open exhibitions at BMICH. He was very interested in the industry and asked several important questions about the industry such as available venues etc.
- We also reiterated that the trade fair industry is a huge industry and that it does not only contribute to the tourism industry but also to the economy at large as the benefits trickle down to many segments. He requested us to send a letter with a lineup of Trade fairs.