The Malaysian Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) is taking the lead to revive the Asian Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus (AACVB) to foster regional cooperation in developing Asia’s business events industry.
The main role of AACVB is to bring business events to the Asia region, and support the development of MICE capabilities, particularly for member destinations. However, collaboration has become more imperative than ever, since the onset of Covid-19.
AACVB was first formed in 1983, but was never formally registered. The association currently comprises convention bureaus from China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore.
MyCEB’s CEO, Abdul Khani Daud, shared that MyCEB is in the process of getting AACVB formally registered in Malaysia.
According to Abdul Khani, contributor bureaus have also agreed that the head office will be in Malaysia and MyCEB has agreed to host the office within its premises.
Once the association has been formally registered, its focus, as agreed by pro-tem members, will initially be on research and later expanded into other areas as the need arises.
Abdul Khani said: “We want to know more about the opportunities and forward booking patterns to further assist member bureaus to create their own marketing strategies and programmes based on the research.
“I would like the association to collaborate and bring more business to the region rather than compete for business with other member countries.”
Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers president, Vincent Lim, opined that the need for AACVB to play an active role in research and promotions of this region will be even more crucial post-pandemic to identify mindset changes in the new normal and meet post-pandemic demands of business delegates.
He stressed on the need for members to work together to create win-win opportunities that will ultimately uplift the business events sector among member countries.
