The Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Sarawak, Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, has announced that Business Events – formerly known as MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) – and tourism go together hand-in-hand at the Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) Appreciation Dinner last night on 17 June 2019.
The evening get-together was held in appreciation of the outgoing and incoming members of BESarawak’s Board of Directors and State Convention Fund committee, whereby the Minister also expressed his joy on BESarawak’s latest collaboration with Sarawak Tourism Board. At the same time, he was thrilled about Malaysia’s current position in the 2018 Global Rankings Report released by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).
Malaysia has successfully climbed by 4 ranks since 2017 in the recent report, positioning the nation at 33 as the most sought after destination in Asia based on meeting numbers with Kuching ranked 1st as the most popular second-tier destination for meetings throughout Malaysia.
Adding to his speech, the Minister voiced his support to dive deeper into the social outcomes of Business Events, “I am also supportive of our aim to look into the legacy impacts of Business Events in developing Sarawak’s socio-economic climate. We look for the continuation and sustainability of this climate to develop our beloved State of Sarawak that will benefit the Sarawakian.”
Chief Operating Officer of BESarawak, Amelia Roziman, impressed the outgoing and incoming committees with BESarawak’s latest study, “Our study on hosting conventions in Sarawak is one of the very few studies done in the world, and will give us a greater edge to understand what intangible values each event brings.”
BESarawak is working with the Sarawak Government, Industry partners, Academia and Associations to churn legacy impacts from every conference held in Sarawak by aligning its outcomes in terms of community benefits, public policies and advancing the field with Sarawak’s 7 Key Focus Areas namely: Urban Development/Redevelopment, Social, Environmental, Agricultural and Industry Development (including Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy – SCORE) plus Service Industry and Digital Economy.
