MYCEB Pitches For Malaysia As Asia's Business Events Hub

By Manik Mehta FRANKFURT (German), May 24 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MYCEB) is making a strong pitch at the IMEX trade fair of Frankfurt which opened Tuesday. The Tourism Ministry agency created to promote the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) sector, is accompanied by 11 industry partners, each of whom has set up a booth under the banner of the gigantic Malaysia pavilion. "Besides pitching for Malaysia as Asia’s business events hub, we are also showcasing our multicultural traits," MYCEB General Manager Ping Ho told Bernama at the trade fair dedicated to the MICE industry here. "This is the second time in succession that we are participating at the IMEX," she said, recounting several cases of success stories resulting from MYCEB's participation at the show. One of the major events bagged by MYCEB has been the high-profiled International Conference for the Prevention of HIV which will be held in mid-2013 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Some 5,000 to 6,000 participants are expected to descend on Kuala Lumpur next year for this conference. Another successful event held in Kuala Lumpur was the International Auditors' Conference in 2011. "We had an all-time record attendance from 93 countries. "What is Malaysia's forte is its affordability as a venue that offers all the top features comparable with any other international venue. "This is an important criterion for most organisers, especially from the developing countries who are seeking cost-effective events," she said. Meanwhile, despite all its attractive features as a venue for holding events, some participants told Bernama in private conversations that connectivity to Malaysia needed to be increased. Many delegates from North America and also some corners of Europe had to change planes, involving waiting period stretching to a few hours at some airports, to get connecting flights to Malaysia. The number of direct flights from these regions had declined, they said. Nevertheless, Ho tried to put the picture in perspective. "Our corporate incentive markets are China, India, Korea and Southeast Asia which have good connections with Malaysia. "If participants are coming from the east coast of North America or from Malaysia, they have the option to fly to Singapore or another point, and then take a connecting flight to Malaysia. "Connectivity is really not a problem if delegates are convinced and impressed by the destination’s attractiveness for their events," she said. Juggling with figures, she explained the growing significance of the MICE sector for Malaysia's economy. "The MICE segment contributes 5.2 per cent -- or, in absolute figures, 1.3 million -- of all tourist arrivals in Malaysia. In terms of earnings, the overall economic impact from MICE, channeled through MYCEB and other sources, is of the order of RM10.7 billion in 2011. To tap many of the world's lucrative MICE markets, Ho said, MYCEB had established representations in a number of international cities such as New York and London. A new representation was being set up in Melbourne which will cater to the Australia/New Zealand market. "Malaysia is still very young in the MICE business, and it can work its way up to establishing itself as a global business events hub," Ho added. Data compiled by MYCEB suggests that Malaysia has been able to assert its position among the top 10 meetings destinations in Asia Pacific. Although its world ranking slipped from 28th position in 2010 to 29th in 2011, Malaysia's Asia-Pacific ranking remained strong at 7th position. Indeed, it could increase the number of meetings of international associations from 119 in 2010 to 126 in 2011. Kuala Lumpur's ranking in the Asia Pacific region improved from 8th position in 2010 to 5th in 2011. -- BERNAMA