The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (the Centre) has seen a significant increase in demand for in-person events, with up to 127 global meetings (51 conventions and 76 exhibitions) booked at the venue from this year up to 2024.
Alan Pryor, general manager at the Centre, shared that Malaysia’s business events landscape has improved in recent times.
Since the country opened its international borders and eased meetings and events restrictions in April, the Centre has hosted close to 300 in-person events and some 200,000 delegates and guests.
Pryor elaborated: “We hosted a record number of corporate open houses this year during the Hari Raya season, hosting up to five dinners and thousands of guests, in one night. The open houses are an important part of Malaysia’s business culture and are a key avenue for local organisations and companies to build and maintain professional affiliations, as well as engage with their team members during the festive period.”
The Centre continues to win bids to host major international conventions with the most recent being an architectural convention in 2024 and medical convention in 2026, with expected delegate counts of 6,000 and 5,000 respectively.
Other events on the calendar include International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium 2022; International Medical Exhibition & Conference 2022; 6th Asia-Pacific Glaucoma Congress 2022; International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition & Conference 2022; International Congress on Infectious Diseases 2022 and IEEE International Instrumentation & Measurement Technology Conference 2023.
The venue is also seeing strong traction in the return of live entertainment events in its 3,000-seater Plenary Hall.
“Confidence and enthusiasm are high in the marketplace which is positively contributing to the business events industry and country’s recovery,” concluded Pryor.
The French national brings to the role more than 30 years of experience leading hotels for the Accor group across Turkey, China, and South-east Asia. Before moving to Dusit, Cretallaz served as senior vice president operations – South-east Asia where he headed Accor’s Bangkok Office and oversaw the operations of 150 hotels.
Tan is a seasoned hospitality professional with almost 30 years of operational and marketing leadership experience under his belt. Prior to joining The Fullerton Hotels and Resorts, he was vice president hotel operations at Pan Pacific Hotels Group.
He has since served in various executive positions in the Hotel Okura Group, brings to his new role more than 25 years’ experience in the financial services sector in both the US and Japan.
Malaysia Airlines’ Platinum Lounge at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is back in business to support the flag carrier’s ramped up international services.
The reopening of the airline’s flagship Platinum Lounge also marks the full restoration of its lounges at KLIA, including its domestic, regional and Satellite Golden Lounges, following two years of pandemic-associated restrictions.
Passengers and frequent flyer members travelling via Business Suite, Enrich Platinum, Enrich CIMB World Elite, First Class on codeshare flights operated by Malaysia Airlines, oneworld First Class, and oneworld Emerald can enjoy end-to-end premium services offered by the airline, including access to the Platinum Lounge.
The Platinum Lounge offers guests exclusive fine dining experiences and spacious facilities to refuel before their flight.
The 24-hour lounge is equipped with private shower suites, nap rooms and serene seating areas.