Home NEWS Sarawak Government Sends Powerful Message on Transforming the State

Sarawak Government Sends Powerful Message on Transforming the State

Apr 1, 2019

The State Government is confirming the enormity of Business Events in Sarawak at the first and most substantial industry meet of the year, BESarawak: Tribal Gathering at Imperial Hotel Kuching today.

Organised by Business Events Sarawak, or BESarawak (formerly Sarawak Convention Bureau), besides outlining the Strategic and Tactical Plans of 2019/2020, BESarawak: Tribal Gathering is reinforcing the enormous value that meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions bring to communities and taking centre stage are the five (5) pillars of impact beyond tourism which are knowledge expansion, networking, relationship & collaboration, education outcomes, fundraising & future research capacity and raising awareness & profiling. These pillars make the backbone for the renowned Redefining Global Tribes (RGT) movement –– a revolution by BESarawak that thinks beyond the dollar value and how business events can influence the opportunities of education, jobs and trade.

Despite being a fresh campaign, the message of RGT is already creating ripples in the industry worldwide as BESarawak reached its target in 2018 with an impressive performance totalling over 95 Business Events and more than 31,000 delegates which amassed to an incredible 150,000 delegate days. These numbers translated to an economic value of well over RM100 million to Sarawak, generated by direct delegate expenditure alone.

Sarawak is clearly taking the sector by storm, and a notable factor is the unity of local industry players when it comes to bid wins, as Tan Sri Dato Sri Dr. Muhammad Leo Toyad Abdullah, BESarawak’s Chairman, quotes, “The support from industry players has helped positioned Sarawak and Business Events into the headlines, and also the talking point for many industry players from around the world.”

Moreover, he congratulated BESarawak on the undeniable commitment to rise against the challenges, stating that “It is another outstanding achievement for BESarawak considering the changing dynamics of the country and region.”

However, shaping Malaysia is just as crucial as shaping Sarawak as the Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry, YB Datuk Lee Kim Shin emphasises that “Business Events does not just contribute to our tourism, but also as a key area with an enormous impact in building our nation.”

Urging the industry to think of the bigger picture, he concluded “The transfer of knowledge from experts to local champions, trade opportunities – these are just some legacies of Business Events which affects so many sectors.”

According to global reports, Sarawak stands as a fast emerging second-tier destination in the world, attracting international business events. To strengthen Sarawak’s position globally, BESarawak has joined forces with Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) to collaborate with STB’s latest campaign, ‘Sarawak – More to Discover’, as a game changer to aggressively market Sarawak as a kaleidoscope of culture, arts, nature, food and festivals on the doorstep of every business event.