The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (the Centre) is proud to have contributed to the 91 international association meetings held in Kuala Lumpur last year, which helped the city record its best ranking in seven years, achieving seventh position, up three spots, in the Asia and Oceania region in the ICCA (International Convention & Conference Association) Statistics Report 2019 and 22nd position in the world, up 12 places from 2018.
According to the Centre’s General Manager, Alan Pryor, “This ICCA rankings reveal the high number of international meetings held in Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia last year, and each of these delivered economic contributions, knowledge sharing opportunities and social impact benefits to the country. We hope that in view of the current situation, this ranking demonstrates a strong case for the Government in facilitating the reopening of the business events industry, which will play a vital role in stimulating Malaysia’s economy.”
Pryor added, “The ICCA ranking improvement reflects the great collaboration we, along with other local business events players, had in working together with MyCEB to secure international association meetings. 2019 was a particularly strong year for medical conferences at the Centre and we feel that Malaysia’s excellent track record in successfully attracting and hosting medical meetings; the Government’s ongoing focus on the healthcare sector; and the country’s relative success in tackling COVID-19, means we are well-positioned to benefit from any post-COVID surge in medical and healthcare-related meetings.”
The Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), Dato’ Sri Abdul Khani bin Daud, said, “MyCEB and its industry partners successfully supported 331 business events in 2019 which contributed a total of RM3.1 billion in estimated economic impact to Malaysia, reflecting the magnitude of the business events industry’s value to the country. It is great to see the industry’s efforts are paying off and international associations are recognising the many benefits of Malaysia as an attractive business events destination.”
“This elevated ranking in both Asia and the world is significant for Kuala Lumpur, not only as the capital city of Malaysia but also as the economic hub of the country. These meetings are also important contributors to the development of some of Malaysia’s key industries,” he continued.
The several high-profile international medical meetings, which were held at the Centre last year, attracted over 3,500 participants and delivered RM24.3 million in economic impact to Malaysia. Some of these included the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists Annual Scientific Meeting (ANZCA ASM) 2019; Urological Association of Asia Congress (UAA) 2019; Asia-Pacific Federation of Coloproctology Congress (APFCP) 2019; Soroptimist International Convention 2019; and Asia Pacific Congress of Interventional Oncology (APCIO) 2019.
Some of the other prestigious conferences held at the Centre involved associations and professionals representing key sectors for the Malaysian economy including education, big data and analytics, telecommunications and agriculture.
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