The Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) recently launched its 10-year Strategic Marketing Plan 2021-2030, with the aim of positioning Malaysia as one of the world’s preferred business events and international sporting events destinations.
In line with the aspirations of Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, the plan will focus on developing sustainable tourism, as well as attracting high-yield business event travellers to the country.
The plan further emphasises three strategic axes to expand performance, namely optimisation, foresight and competitiveness. These strategic anchors will be applied in implementing, planning and monitoring all initiatives collaboratively with the industry.
MyCEB is targeting three per cent business event delegates from the total number of foreign tourist arrivals into Malaysia, while creating an estimated 25,833 total employment in the business events industry by 2030. Malaysia also aims to be among Asia’s top five business events powerhouses by 2030.
Nancy Shukri, minister of tourism, arts and culture, pointed out these steps will help to ensure the country’s competitiveness, as well as develop an inclusive and sustainable tourism sector that is prepared and resilient in dealing with future challenges.
Once borders reopen, Malaysia also plans to tap more aggressively into Asia Pacific’s business events markets such as China, India, Korea, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. The idea is to entice organisers to hold their events for a longer duration by enriching business event offerings and delegate experiences.
In addition, MyCEB’s research has shown that the exhibition sector in Malaysia generates the largest economic impact, when compared with other business events segment. To further leverage on the exhibition component, one such plan is to package it with other MICE segments to further harness competitiveness.
MyCEB’s CEO, Abdul Khani Daud, stated: “The strategic marketing plan signals the business event sector and government’s commitment to work together by identifying new strategies and opportunities for expansion and building on our current presence in existing markets.”
Abdul Khani added at the press conference that MyCEB also has plans to vie for signature events such as the World Expo. If successful, Malaysia will be the first South-east Asian country to host the event.
