KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia is working towards making its business event industry the top five in the world within ten years in line with the Malaysia Business Events Strategic Marketing Plan (SMP) 2021-2030.
Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Abdul Khani Daud said the goal could be achieved by bringing the World Expo into the country as ASEAN countries, specifically, have yet to organise any foreign expo.
“So, if we can become the first country (in the ASEAN region) to hold the World Expo, it will have a good impact on our business event industry as a whole.
“This is one of the initiatives that we have created in this SMP 2021-2030, which is to get the World Expo coming to our country,” he told a press conference after the launch of the Malaysia Business Events SMP 2021-2030 here, Thursday.
The event was officiated by Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Nancy Shukri.
In his opening remarks, Abdul Khani said MyCEB had to cancel 60 events and postponed 28 events in 2020 when the Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented.
Therefore, he said the SMP 2021-2030 would create a pathway for business and international sporting events in Malaysia that could boost Malaysia’s business event industry to re-emerge stronger than before in the coming decade.
He also said the SMP 2021 – 2030 aimed to constitute three per cent of tourist arrivals in the travel and tourism industry, as well as creating an estimated 25,833 total employment by 2030.
“The SMP 2021-2030 signals the sector’s and government’s commitment to work together for the upcoming decade by identifying new strategies and new opportunities for expansion and building on our current presence in existing markets,” he added.
Meanwhile, Nancy in her speech said that business event visitors spent three times more than the average tourist and have a large multiplier effect, with 40 per cent of them travel with spouses and 60 per cent return as tourists later.
However, she said many have overlooked the one key fact that the business events sector makes a broader contribution to the national economy beyond mere ringgit and sen.
“According to the UNWTO (United Nations’ World Tourism Organisation), in addition to being one of the key drivers of the tourism industry’s development, the business events sector is an important generator of income, employment and investment, (with) benefits that go beyond tourism.
“In line with the ministry’s aspiration, the SMP focuses on developing sustainable tourism as well focusing on getting high-yield tourist to the country,” she said.
The SMP 2021-2030 is MyCEB’s event for Malaysia’s business events industry that is anchored upon three main pillars namely, optimisation, foresight and competitiveness.
The SMP evaluates past strengths and weaknesses by processing internal data to formulate future strategies and action plans while embracing a sustainable marketing approach driven by the continuous process of adapting digitalisation and innovation.
— NNN-BERNAMA
