KUCHING: Malaysia continues to seek opportunities in capitalising on the growing MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) segment of the global travel industry, building on its already strong tourism-brand recognition and a new generation of purpose-built facilities.
MICE TOURISM: File photo shows the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching complex at the Kuching isthmus in Sejingkat here. Quoting the Chief Minister, OBG says the state will be hosting 23 conventions this year, with MICE tourism is set to invest substantially in direct delegate expenditure while Sarawak Convention Bureau is expected to generate 136,000 delegate days next year.
Economic and market intelligence firm Oxford Business Group (OBG) posted this in its latest online business briefing, adding that Malaysia has already established itself in the international MICE tourism segment.
According to OBG, the country was ranked at number 32 in the world by International Convention and Conference Association (ICCA) in its 2008 report on the meetings market, having drawn more than 80 such events. Kuala Lumpur fared even better on the ICCA’s city ladder, being placed on the 27th place last year as the venue for 61 MICEs.
Nevertheless, OBG observed that Malaysia is gearing up to improve its standing, both by further promoting its MICE potential and increasing several venue options on offer. In the middle of November last year, the government announced it had made a deal with TTDI KL Metropolis Sdn Bhd (TTDI Metropolis), which is a unit of the Naza Group, to develop a new exhibition and convention centre in Kuala Lumpur specifically targeting large-scale MICE events.
Phase-one works on the Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) Centre, which will comprise a 93,000 square-metre expo centre on 13.1 acres of land located off Jalan Duta, is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of this year.
Upon completion, the landmark is slated to become the largest exhibition and convention centre in the country, consisting of a main exhibition centre, a multi-purpose hall, auditorium, meeting rooms and display arena, in addition to a hotel, shopping mall and office tower.
Based on a preliminary projection, the total project costs for Matrade Centre is RM628 million and is due to open its doors in 2014.
Besides the Matrade Centre, the project will also develop the 62.45 acres of land, which will be transferred from the government to TTDI Metropolis in exchange for building the expo centre.
The mixed development, to be provisionally known as Naza KL Metropolis Development, will be developed over the next 15 to 20 years and will have a gross development value of RM15 billion.
The Matrade Centre, due to open its doors in 2014, is estimated to he total project costs for the Matrade Centre is RM628 million.
Moreover, OBG noted that it is not just in Kuala Lumpur that Malaysia is looking to cash in on MICE tourism, as some of the country’s outlying regions such as Sarawak and Melaka have also been promoting their credentials as a business meetings destination, with a good degree of success.
Quoting Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, OBG said the state will be hosting 23 conventions this year, with MICE tourism is set to invest substantially in direct delegate expenditure while Sarawak Convention Bureau is expected to generate 136,000 delegate days next year.
Additionally, Taib said Sarawak is in the position to combine more traditional forms of tourism with the business segment of the industry to offer a premium package, allowing the state to fully exploit its assets.
Meanwhile, OBG also mentioned Melaka as another state that is seeing MICE as a noteworthy component of its tourism trade boom. Citing its Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, it said Melaka could host up to one million MICE tourists this year based on current strong trends.
In the first eight months of last year, the historical state received 635,482 MICE tourists as compared to 565,748 for the same period in 2008.
OBG further commented that with 6.6 million visitors to Melaka in the first 10 months of last year, of whom one million were foreigners, the MICE contribution to the total is significant and rising.
In reference to Ali Rustam’s statement, it said that by promoting tourism sub-sectors such as MICE would not only create more business prospects to develop the industry into becoming a major contributor to the state’s economy but would also generate more employment opportunities.
In this respect, Malaysia’s overall tourism industry has enjoyed a very good year despite the global economic downturn, with arrival numbers well up on 2008 and the month-on-month figures climbing steadily as at last year’s end.
According to data released by the Tourism Ministry last November, arrivals stood at 19.45 million visitors up until last October, a 7.2 per