Eric Van Piggelen – Picture by Sharon Kong
KUCHING (Jan 4): Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) wrapped up the year by hosting 460 successful events, achieving 39 per cent more than its 2022 target.
In a statement yesterday, it said association-led events had been steadily returning to BCCK in 2022.
These events included the International Digital Economy Conference Sarawak (IDECS 2022); Sarawak Oil & Gas Conference (SOGC 2022); International Conference on Clean Energy (ICCE 2022); Medico-Legal Society of Malaysia-Medico and Legal Society of Singapore Joint Seminar (MEDICOLEGAL 2022); 12th Asian Conference on Lactic Acid Bacteria; and World Engineering, Science & Technology Congress (ESTCON), to name a few.
BCCK also saw an upward trend in banqueting, weddings and meetings segments, which clocked in at 128, 21 and 187 events, respectively.
In the same statement, BCCK chief executive officer Eric Van Piggelen said he was thrilled to see a strong comeback of events last year.
“Initially, we thought it would take at least four years for the industry to bounce back to pre-Covid-19 times, but it was a huge relief that it did not take longer.
“For example, we hosted the Ramadan buffet during the Holy Month in April – not long after the restrictions were lifted. And during that one month alone, we catered for over 35,000 customers, which was approximately 94 per cent of our total highest record that we achieved in 2019, prior to the pandemic.
“That certainly was a major feat,” he said.
BCCK had begun focusing on generating its own home-grown events with the goal of creating annual events that could be become hallmarks that like-minded delegates could look forward to each year.
This would also encourage and nurture local grass-root events into regional events in the near future.
Last year, BCCK hosted the successful inaugural Engage and Taste Borneo Conference 2022 (EAT Borneo 2022). The three-day event welcomed more than 200 delegates from around the Southeast Asia region.
For this year, upcoming home-grown events taking place at BCCK are the Borneo Extreme Auto Show & Tradefest (BEAST 2023); Borneo International Garden Expo Sarawak (BIGEXS 2023); Asia Pacific Tourism Expo & Conference (APTEC 2023); and Borneo Travel Mart (BTM 2023).
BCCK is also set to host diverse of international conferences in 2023, including the Annual Conference of the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA 2023); Asia-Australasia Conference of Radiological Technologists (AACRT 2023); International Primatological Conference (IPC 2023); Asia-Pacific Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (APSTH 2023); Annual Conference of the Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH 2023); and Federation of Asian Veterinary Association Congress (FAVA 2023).
“While BCCK may have seemed quiet on the outside during the pandemic, there was plenty happening behind closed doors.
“The BCCK team decided to take the lull as an opportunity to work together to revamp, reinvent and revitalise the centre. It focused on improving modern comforts, digitalisation and efficiency,” read the statement.
The enhanced facilities included the top-of-the-line sound systems for D&B Audiotechnik, digital signages, a Mobile Telescopic Bleacher Seating System that can seat nearly 1,900 people, and a Digital Broadcast Suite complete with high-definition recording and broadcast camera sets and other studio fixings.
In addition to the facility upgrades, BCCK took the food industry by storm, venturing deeper into large-scale offsite catering and portable food production to deliver its clients with bespoke offsite catering services.
The diversified business model had expanded up to eight per cent of BCCK’s revenue stream last year alone.
The culinary team at BCCK’s Raintree Restaurant also took the opportunity to revitalise its menu to offer variety of options, whilst maintaining the Sarawakian identity.
The new menu offers customers with distinctive Bornean gastronomy experience at fair prices. The well-received menu has garnered 24 per cent more than its 2022 overall restaurant’s target.
Looking to the future, Van Piggelen revealed that BCCK has a number of plans to further enhance its offerings and raise its game.
“We are also looking to host more live events such as concerts, sporting events, and theatre productions, and the new equipment will enable us to broadcast these events live, as well as record and distribute them,” he said.