Eric Van Piggelen
KUCHING: The Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) has been confirmed as one of the 17 finalists at this year’s AIPC Apex Award competition for ‘Best Client Rated Convention Centre’.
The prestigious award, which has been maintained by the International Association of Convention Centre (AIPC) for over 20 years, has achieved international recognition and respect due to the fact that competitors are rated entirely on the basis of a comprehensive set of ratings from centre clients tabulated by the global market research company Ipsos.
“It is by no means an easy road to be recognised among the world’s best convention
centres and we are already humbled and proud that BCCK is among the 17 finalists in the 2018 edition of the prestigious competition.
“Our team has worked extremely hard over the years to ensure we operate at the highest standards possible and this news allows us to dream even bigger.
“I am immensely proud of my entire team at BCCK and we will continue to be a catalyst for business events in our great state of Sarawak,” said BCCK chief executive officer Eric Van Piggelen in a statement yesterday.
Meanwhile, AIPC president Aloysius Arlando said the AIPC Apex Award has a long and highly respected history in the meetings market and would thus allow the winner to gain a great deal of respect from peers and leverage in the market.
“This of course translates into better business prospects – but experience has shown that it doesn’t end there.
“It is also a source of pride amongst staff and a boost in community appreciation, both of which are also of great benefit to a centre, and that’s why being a finalist is in itself a real accomplishment.”
He also noted that for 2018, Ipsos has surveyed over 1,843 client references put forward by participating centres — a significant sample that illustrates the comprehensive nature of client polling.
“This means that we are talking about a very strong basis for the evaluation of competitors, and again, the reason for the credibility of this award.”
The final determination of the Apex Award winner will be made in advance of its
presentation at the 2018 AIPC Annual Conference in London,UK in early July.
“The Apex Award is a crowning achievement, which is why it is so intensely contested and comprehensively judged,” said Arlando.
AIPC is an association comprising over 185 international convention centres in some 60 countries world-wide.
Its mission is to encourage, support and recognise excellence in convention centre management and to maintain a range of programming that addresses this mission.