The Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) recently organised a two-day workshop, entitled “MyBE Knowledge: Innovative Bid 2021” to prepare industry players for the post-pandemic era where bidding for events is expected to be much more challenging.
The workshop, held virtually on November 10 and 11, was part of MyCEB’s ongoing efforts to upskill and further equip industry players with the know-how to create a strong winning bid for Malaysia. It was attended by more than 100 industry players.
MyCEB’s chief operating officer, Noor Ahmad Hamid, urged industry players to not be complacent as the post-pandemic era will post new challenges. It is therefore necessary to equip stakeholders with the “right information, data knowledge, market intelligence, and innovative ideas”.
The programme comprises sharing sessions by two speakers, Hanafiah Harunarashid, the consultant vascular and endovascular surgeon at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, and Douglas Archer, the conference manager of World Cargo Alliance (WCAworld).
Both have direct knowledge of bidding in their respective fields and shared their vast experiences from the perspectives of a local host and client.
Both speakers further pointed out that it was crucial for industry players to put emphasis on the significance of identifying Malaysia’s unique selling points, benefits analysis and competitive analysis to boost the delegates arrivals to the country. They also highlighted how to formulate a winning strategy and create an outstanding pitch to bid for international conferences.
Destination Gold Coast’s Board of Directors has appointed Adrienne Readings as chair of the tourism body, following the step-down announcement of Paul Donovan, who held the position for 17 years.
Readings will be working closely with the Board and the team at Destination Gold Coast to represent the interests of Gold Coast’s 4,400 tourism businesses and the 35,000 people employed by the sector. She has served on the Board of Destination Gold Coast for 17 years and formerly acted as vice chair.
In total, she possesses more than 30 years’ experience in business events, tourism management and hospitality.
Readings is also the general manager of Australia’s largest regional convention centre, the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC), the first woman to be appointed general manager of an Australian convention centre.
In her role at GCCEC, Readings successfully identified and developed commercial opportunities for the Gold Coast and oversaw the delivery of billions of dollars of economic impact to the region.
Readings said in a press statement: “The next two years is all about our city’s recovery and creating a blueprint for future success to attract more visitors, more often and to grow expenditure for the Gold Coast.
“It has been a heartbreaking 18 months for our industry, but I see so much opportunity ahead of us with the return of interstate visitors in a matter of weeks and eventually international markets, a future pipeline of A$179 million (US$129 million) in business events opportunity for the city as well as working with peers to strengthen the future of the region through new infrastructure, development and city connectivity.”