Sarawak’s business events legacy takes a significant step forward as Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) combine forces to develop the first economic and legacy impact study of its kind in Malaysia.
The partnership between BESarawak and UNIMAS will see two key projects implemented – an Economic Impact Study; and a Legacy Impact Study and Legacy Impact Measurement System.
Led by Rossazana Binti Ab Rahim from UNIMAS, the Economic Impact Study will develop a comprehensive economic framework for business events that records and reports data such as visitor arrivals and revenue generation.
The economic study will use the new Sarawak-level economic measurements based on the six key economic sectors (manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, forestry, mining, and services) of the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030. The study is aligned with the PCDS 2030’s aspiration for business events and tourism to increase visitor arrivals by 7.5 per cent per annum and contribute 11 per cent to Sarawak’s gross domestic product by 2030.
Meanwhile, the Legacy Impact Study and Legacy Impact Measurement System will be headed by Lo May Chiun from UNIMAS, the legacy impact study analyses the wider impact of conferences and exhibitions such as community development, social responsibility, policy influence, and investment opportunities.
The study coincides with the development of Malaysia’s first state-of-the-art dashboard system to monitor, validate, report, and capture the impact and legacies of business events held in Sarawak.
The system will enable business event planners to track their impact and provide a holistic picture of their contributions to Sarawak and beyond. The development of the legacy measurement system – to be launched in 1Q2025 – is supported by Wang Yin Chai, from the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology at UNIMAS. Wang brings over 24 years of experience in research and development, with expertise in artificial intelligence, image processing, and Geographic Information System analysis.
“We are in the second year of the Legacy Impact Master Action Plan 2023–2025 and this stage is about measuring and verifying event legacies. With the research and findings from UNIMAS, we are going to improve our legacy measurements and be ready for the reporting and communication phase through the dashboard next year,” said Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak.
“The Tribe Legacy Sarawak campaign is important to the Sarawak government and business events industry. The tagline Driving Impact Together is our brand promise that we can drive impact together and measure it. Sarawak will soon be capable of fulfilling this promise for all business event planners.”
This emphasis on legacy proved successful when Sarawak was selected to host the International Water Association World Water Congress and Exhibition 2028. By 2030, legacy impact will become a natural process when organising business events and Sarawak will be positioned as the legacy capital of business events in Malaysia and Borneo, the minister added.
In 2023, the Premier of Sarawak announced his intention to establish Sarawak as the legacy capital of business events in Malaysia and Borneo. This will be driven by the Legacy Impact Master Action Plan 2023–2025 where data and innovation play key roles in attracting high-profile legacy events and ESG-centric international partnerships.
