ID :
59364
Thu, 05/07/2009 - 12:56
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/59364
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TOURISM MALAYSIA MAKES AGGRESSIVE PUSH FOR MICE MARKET
BY SALMY HASHIM
WASHINGTON, May 7 (Bernama) -- With the anemic global economy, governments are looking at a shrinking pool of demand for international conventions and exhibitions.
Realising the lucrative potential of the market, the Malaysia Convention and
Exhibition Bureau (myCEB), a subsidiary of Tourism Malaysia, is to receive an
additional RM20 million (US$5.53 million) to drive the meetings, incentives,
conventions and exhibitions (MICE) market over the next two years.
The funding is part of the RM200 million the Tourism Ministry received in
early March from the government's RM 60 billion fiscal plan to stop the
Malaysian economy from slipping into a deep recession.
The deputy director general of Tourism Malaysia, Azizan Noordin, said
recently, the funds allocated for MICE marketing would be used to bid for big
events.
"It is also for myCEB to increase its visibility at all major MICE trade
shows and to design promotional materials as well as sponsor a welcome dinner or
reception," he added.
Representatives from the Tourism Malaysia office in New York, led by its
vice president Salahuddin Mohd. Ariffin, recently promoted Malaysia as a meeting
and convention location at the ASAE (American Society of Association Executives)
Springtime Expo show for the MICE industry in Washington on April 16.
The event was attended by 600 exhibitors and 2000 qualified buyers.
Tourism Malaysia's participation did attract various sectors, including
amusement parks, entertainment associations, and trading groups to convene in
Malaysia this year and in 2010.
Such events, seen as a key driver to stimulate economic growth, generally
attract delegates who tend to stay longer and have a higher spending power than
leisure tourists.
According to myCEB, MICE arrivals to Malaysia in 2007 totalled 1.1 million,
representing 5% of the total receipts which amounted to RM 3.17 billion. A MICE
delegate is said to spend an average of RM 3,133.
Salahuddin, quoting figures from the International Congress and Convention
Association (ICCA), said among Asian countries as host of international
conferences, Malaysia ranked 33rd in 2005 with 52 conferences.
The standing went up to 23 in 2006 with 91 conferences recorded.
As for popular Asian cities for business meetings, he said Kuala
Lumpur ranked 30th in 2005 and recorded 38 conferences, trailing behind
Singapore the number two with 125.
But Kuala Lumpur improved its position in 2006 to number 15 with 63
conferences, while Singapore dropped a notch to 3rd spot with 127.
Angeline Lue, the director of sales and marketing of the Kuala Lumpur
Convention Centre (KLCC), who came as a supplier to the Spring Expo, also
attended a flurry of meetings in three major cities including New York,
Washington and Chicago to draw MICE deals for Malaysia.
"In this current economic situation, meeting planners must select
destinations that offer the best value-for-money which ensures justification of
delegate investment, without cutting costs or comprising on their experience.
"In fact, Malaysia is one of the most affordable countries in the
world," she told Bernama.
A survey of 71 cities worldwide by Swiss banking giant UBS in 2008 found
Kuala Lumpur to offer the most competitive pricing when it came to food,
electronic goods, clothes, public transport, hotel rates and entertainment.
With a five-star hotel rate averaging US$120 per night inclusive of
breakfast in the Kuala Lumpur city centre, it is at least 40 percent cheaper
than those offered in neighbouring cities.
Lue said, this was reiterated by a similar survey by the Geneva-based World
Economic Forum (WEF), which found Malaysia to be the second most competitively
priced country in the world in travel and tourism out of 124 surveyed.
-- BERNAMA
WASHINGTON, May 7 (Bernama) -- With the anemic global economy, governments are looking at a shrinking pool of demand for international conventions and exhibitions.
Realising the lucrative potential of the market, the Malaysia Convention and
Exhibition Bureau (myCEB), a subsidiary of Tourism Malaysia, is to receive an
additional RM20 million (US$5.53 million) to drive the meetings, incentives,
conventions and exhibitions (MICE) market over the next two years.
The funding is part of the RM200 million the Tourism Ministry received in
early March from the government's RM 60 billion fiscal plan to stop the
Malaysian economy from slipping into a deep recession.
The deputy director general of Tourism Malaysia, Azizan Noordin, said
recently, the funds allocated for MICE marketing would be used to bid for big
events.
"It is also for myCEB to increase its visibility at all major MICE trade
shows and to design promotional materials as well as sponsor a welcome dinner or
reception," he added.
Representatives from the Tourism Malaysia office in New York, led by its
vice president Salahuddin Mohd. Ariffin, recently promoted Malaysia as a meeting
and convention location at the ASAE (American Society of Association Executives)
Springtime Expo show for the MICE industry in Washington on April 16.
The event was attended by 600 exhibitors and 2000 qualified buyers.
Tourism Malaysia's participation did attract various sectors, including
amusement parks, entertainment associations, and trading groups to convene in
Malaysia this year and in 2010.
Such events, seen as a key driver to stimulate economic growth, generally
attract delegates who tend to stay longer and have a higher spending power than
leisure tourists.
According to myCEB, MICE arrivals to Malaysia in 2007 totalled 1.1 million,
representing 5% of the total receipts which amounted to RM 3.17 billion. A MICE
delegate is said to spend an average of RM 3,133.
Salahuddin, quoting figures from the International Congress and Convention
Association (ICCA), said among Asian countries as host of international
conferences, Malaysia ranked 33rd in 2005 with 52 conferences.
The standing went up to 23 in 2006 with 91 conferences recorded.
As for popular Asian cities for business meetings, he said Kuala
Lumpur ranked 30th in 2005 and recorded 38 conferences, trailing behind
Singapore the number two with 125.
But Kuala Lumpur improved its position in 2006 to number 15 with 63
conferences, while Singapore dropped a notch to 3rd spot with 127.
Angeline Lue, the director of sales and marketing of the Kuala Lumpur
Convention Centre (KLCC), who came as a supplier to the Spring Expo, also
attended a flurry of meetings in three major cities including New York,
Washington and Chicago to draw MICE deals for Malaysia.
"In this current economic situation, meeting planners must select
destinations that offer the best value-for-money which ensures justification of
delegate investment, without cutting costs or comprising on their experience.
"In fact, Malaysia is one of the most affordable countries in the
world," she told Bernama.
A survey of 71 cities worldwide by Swiss banking giant UBS in 2008 found
Kuala Lumpur to offer the most competitive pricing when it came to food,
electronic goods, clothes, public transport, hotel rates and entertainment.
With a five-star hotel rate averaging US$120 per night inclusive of
breakfast in the Kuala Lumpur city centre, it is at least 40 percent cheaper
than those offered in neighbouring cities.
Lue said, this was reiterated by a similar survey by the Geneva-based World
Economic Forum (WEF), which found Malaysia to be the second most competitively
priced country in the world in travel and tourism out of 124 surveyed.
-- BERNAMA
