By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Nov 30: Sarawak welcomed 135 scheduled business events this year which contributed approximately RM485.71 million in total economic impact.
Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah disclosed that the events also brought in RM263.97 million in direct delegate expenditure, RM29.14 million in tax revenue and 38,550 employment opportunities.
These events include Spartan Asia Pacific Owners and Racers Summit & Conference 2022 which drew about 1,000 delegates, 9th Asian South Pacific Association of Sport Psychology (ASPASP) International Congress 2022 (900 delegates), 6th World Engineering, Science and Technology Congress (ESTCON) 2022 (1,200 delegates), and the World Taiwan Alumni Convention (WTAC) 2022 (1,000 delegates).
“Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) by Sarawak Convention Bureau has surpassed its target of securing 90 events with a total of 94 events amounting to RM303 million in estimated total economic impact, RM165 million in direct delegate expenses, RM18.18 million in tax revenue, and 24,048 long- and short-term job opportunities,” he told the august House when delivering his ministerial winding-up speech here today.
The events also include World Congress of Innovation Technology (WCIT) 2023 which is expected to draw 3,000 delegates; International Congress for Tropical Medicine and Malaria (ICTMM) 2024 (3000 delegates); 54th Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health Conference 2023 (1,000 delegates), National Mandarin Life Insurance & Financial Planning Summit (ManLIFPS) 2024 (1,000 delegates) and Asia Craft 2023 Expo & Forum (800 delegates).
“Our achievements are amplified by our marketing and industry activities. In 2022, we concluded five marketing events where the ‘Tribe Legacy Sarawak’ marketing campaign anchored our efforts by promoting Sarawak as a business events destination for the region, through forging multi-stakeholder collaborations to diversify return values and advocate for business event legacies.
“With BESarawak’s strong strategies to increase brand awareness and presence, BESarawak secured a significant amount of media coverage and publicity opportunities worth RM10.28 million from print, digital and broadcast,” he added.
Noting that the business events industry is rapidly progressing with promising results ahead, Abdul Karim emphasised that in 2022 and beyond, his ministry will continue to mobilise strategies that will develop the industry holistically while securing more events aligned with Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030 to drive Sarawak’s economic growth and social development through legacy impact and sustainability. — DayakDaily
