KUCHING: Dubbed the Grammy Awards for branding, Sarawak Convention Bureau (SCB) was recently presented with ‘The Brand Laureate Country Branding Award 2011-2012’ for playing a pivotal role in promoting Sarawak and Malaysia as a leading destination in the area of business events, tourism and business investments.
Through its various initiatives, SCB had promoted the attributes of Sarawak to the world as a modern
and progressive state and at the same time maintaining its heritage and culture, commented Dr KK Johan, president of the Asia Pacific Brands Foundation (APBF), in a
press statement issued from Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
The Brand Laureate Best Brands Awards took place on May 8 at the Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa in Selangor aims to honour brand excellence amongst the best of brands in Malaysia and the world.
“On behalf of SCB, we are truly honoured to be receiving this award and it is a wonderful stepping stone to further showcase Sarawak as an internationally renowned destination for business events”, commented Dato’ Sri Dr Muhd Leo Michael Toyad Abdullah, chairman of SCB.
Last year, Kuching earned its place, for the first time ever, in the ‘2010 International Convention and Congress Association (ICCA) Asia Pacific and Middle East’ city ranking, sharing the 42nd spot with Nara and Guangzhou, bettering the performance of many established second tier cities such as Adelaide and Canberra in Australia and Bangalore in India.
Mike Cannon, managing director of SCB added: “SCB’s marketing core and rebranding exercises have put Sarawak on the international map and increased business opportunities for the state. These are evident through the many awards and conference bids that the bureau has won over the years.”
Since 2006, SCB has won nine international destination marketing awards which have been recognised as best practice the world over; particularly in 2008 when SCB won the ICCA Best Marketing Award,
after competing with 80 business events destinations from around the world, becoming the first Asian destination to enter the finals, let alone win the award.
Furthermore, over 180 conference bid wins have been secured by Sarawak that are estimated to bring in over RM 204 million in direct delegate expenditure – a great boost to the state.
For more information on SCB and how to enhance your business events, visit www. sarawakcb.com.