KUCHING, Nov 15: Sarawak has positioned itself as a second tier destination for business events in the region.
From January to October this year, Sarawak Convention Bureau (SCB) brought in 73 business events to Sarawak — 47 bid wins and 26 bids supported.
Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the 73 business events represented close to 25,000 delegates and 73,000 delegate days, translating to approximately RM81.7 million in direct delegate expenditure for Sarawak.
Among the events won this year are World Autism Congress 2020, 10th Clean Air Asia Better Air Quality Conference 2018, Alliance for Healthy Cities Global Conference 2018, Annual Scientific Conference of Malaysian Oncological Society 2017, World Islamic Economic Forum 2017 and TEDX Youth @ Kenyalang 2017.
Others are 8th Malaysia International Palm Oil & Agriculture Equipment Tech Expo and Conference 2017, International Energy Week 2018, Congress of the Federation of Asian Veterinary Association 2020 and International Biomass Conference Malaysia 2017.
The state also hosted the International Summit on Peace, ASEAN Conference on Healthy Ageing, 26th Malaysian Urological Conference, 29th World Congress of International Association for Suicide Prevention and 2nd International Conference on Special Education.
For 2018, Abdul Karim said SCB will continue to pursue more successful bids especially substantial bids as these wins will contribute to investment in Sarawak by extending its yield beyond tourism.
“Marketing will continue to position Sarawak as a leading business event destination in the world. With a bold award-winning marketing campaign, SCB will iterate the legacy impact of business events to the community and economy.
“In the areas of industry development, SCB seeks to drive service excellence and consistency amongst sector partners. Reliable and efficient service delivery is imperative for the generation of repeat and referred business,” Abdul Karim said at the State Legislative Assembly today. — DayakDaily
