THE 16th World Conference on Youth opened in Hambantota on Tuesday at Sri Lanka’s newest convention facility, Magam Ruhunupura International Convention Center, with 1,500 delegates from 196 countries in attendance.
The meeting deals with a range of issues confronting youths internationally and brought high-level representation from the UN and other countries.
Sri Lankan officials say they hope the event will help position Sri Lanka as a MICE centre for events of this nature. While the event’s opening was held at Hambantota, the main sessions shifted on Wednesday to a conference facility in the capital Colombo.
The Conference runs from May 6 to 10.
Tourism authorities are positioning Hambantota as the newest conference and exhibition destination in Sri Lanka with the several sightseeing opportunities, like the country’s largest wildlife park nearby.
However, MICE industry specialists say a weaknesses is Hambantota’s lack of hotel rooms for large events. Most guests have to be housed at hotels in Galle or Bentota, more than 100 km away.
The biggest conference centre with nearby hotels is the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall in Colombo that seats up to 1,500 and has additional rooms catering for groups between 50 and 100.
Sri Lanka’s largest hotel operator, John Keells Group, begun construction last week on a US$650 million integrated project in Colombo which includes an 800-room luxury hotel and a convention centre to accommodate 2,500 pax, the nation’s largest conference hall when completed in five years.
