MICE Sector Can Woo Western Business Travellers To Malaysia

By Manik Mehta NEW YORK, Dec 15 (Bernama) -- As the traditional leisure tourism traffic from Western countries faces a possible downturn, Malaysia could use its well-developed infrastructure to court high-spending business travellers, particularly in the MICE (meetings, incentive, conventions and exhibitions) sector. Neighbouring Singapore, with fewer attractions to offer to business travellers, has aggressively courted businesspeople, including professionals whose associations and interest groups often hold their annual meetings and other events in that tiny island republic. But Malaysia, with its “Truly Asia” slogan, offers a rich cultural, natural and culinary diversity to the discerning business traveller. It has also made a dent in the MICE segment, thanks to efforts by organisations such as the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCCF), which has successfully packaged its events abroad. Peter Brokenshire, KLCC general manager, is a familiar face in many Western markets, including the United States, where he has been making a strong pitch for Malaysia as a MICE destination. Referring to Malaysia’s economic transformation efforts, Brokenshire recently told Bernama that the government’s allocations to promote Malaysia for MICE traffic would bolster KLCC’s efforts to attract this segment. “The allocations will enable us to bid for a number of conferences and meetings. "The Malaysian government has recognised that tourism will play a very important role in doubling revenues in the next 10 years, and since 2005, we have generated revenue worth some RM 3.3 billion. "We report to the government on a monthly basis, in fact, we are the only ones to keep close track of the revenue,” he said in an interview. The KLCC general manager believed that the U.S. market has a “lot of interest” in Malaysia. “Indeed, associations which showed little interest in the past are now also considering Malaysia as a venue in this so-called ‘Asian century’. “Malaysia offers value for money, it is a safe destination with excellent infrastructure, and Americans and other Westerners do not have communication problems with Malaysians, most of whom speak and understand English,” he added. Brokenshire said the KLCC had not felt any major impact from the economic crisis in the West. “On the contrary, we see a lot of interest in Malaysia because of the general business interest in Asia,” he said. There was strong demand for staging events at the KLCC, which had received enquiries until the year 2021. “We see growth coming from the United States, China, Europe and other parts of Asia,” he said. Datuk Azizan Noordin, the acting director general of Tourism Malaysia, was equally bullish about the MICE business. In an effort to increase Malaysia’s connectivity with the United States -- Malaysia Airline (MAS) discontinued its service to the east coast nearly four years ago -- Azizan said his office had stepped up cooperation with airlines and foreign tour operators to attract traffic. “We are also in contact with major professional trade associations in a number of Western markets, thus also complementing the efforts of those organisations that are trying to attract traffic,” he told Bernama. Azizan also disclosed that his office was looking at increasing traffic through charter flights. The introduction of flights with the new Airbus A380 aircraft by Emirates Airlines, which has excellent connectivity to a number of Western countries including the United States, would help increase traffic. Malaysia’s big markets presently are Singapore, Indonesia, China, India, Australia, the U.K. and Germany. “Some five per cent of our total arrivals are for the MICE sector. We have our own MICE Bureau which is under the ministry of tourism,” Azizan said. Malaysia’s tourism planners, particularly those eyeing the lucrative MICE segment, are optimistic that the new exhibition centre, a pet project of the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade), will bolster business travel to Malaysia. The centre acquires a flagship aura because, along with the classical exhibition infrastructure, it will set up in its neighbourhood hotels, restaurants and shopping malls, all of which will augment the complex’s attractiveness. Susila Devi, Matrade’s Senior Director (Strategic Planning), who has been making a strong pitch for the Matrade Centre (MC), as the project is called, explained: “Matrade’s activities are increasing and we need more space. "We will be organising bigger and highly specialised trade fairs in the future such as those dedicated to machinery, defence-related products, aerospace, oil and gas industry and palm oil. "Malaysia’s international furniture fair, currently held in three different locations at the same time, can be organised under the one roof of the new exhibition centre.” Susila Devi, whose business and strategic acumen has been praised by highly-specialised foreign trade experts dealing with Matrade, said that the MC will form the nucleus of a gigantic complex called the Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Area. “Hotels, shopping malls, etc. will create an ‘integrated complex’ and will be part of a public-private partnership,” she said in a recent interview with Bernama. This gigantic complex, being developed by Maza TTDI, is being set up on a 5.3ha piece of land with a total floor area of 132,962 sq. m. (including parking) and will be operational by 2015. With an estimated construction cost of around RM628 million, it will have 12 exhibition halls, a multi-purpose hall, auditorium/plenary hall, meeting rooms, display area and restaurants. “This is the best time to position ourselves in the Asia-Pacific region which is a growth-driven region of the present and future, and the MC will provide a strong impetus to businesspeople to come to Malaysia. "The logistics movement, so essential for exhibitions and other events, is also far better in Kuala Lumpur than in Jakarta or Bangkok. "Besides, our services sector, which contributed some 56 per cent to the GDP and expected to rise to 62 per cent in 2020, is being further opened up to attract foreign investors," she said. (US$1=RM3.18) -- BERNAMA Malaysia