Penang State Exco for Tourism & Creative Economy, YB Yeoh Soon Hin officiated The Meeting Show London 2022 last month at ExCEL London. Penang had the honour of launching the tradeshow together with the show organiser.
Penang also launched the BElong Campaign at The Meetings Show London – a tradeshow the destination resumes to attend 2 years after the pandemic. The BElong in Penang Campaign aims to inculcate optimism and enthusiasm in the Penang business events industry while also laying the groundwork for the state to continue funding hybrid domestic and international clients and events.
Uncompromising hospitality in Penang
The campaign name, when associated with the state’s vision of becoming a smart state while continuing to develop its digital economy through Penang2030, will entice more tourists and business event organisers to return to Penang and choose Penang as their next preferred destination for future events.
The BElong campaign’s concept revolves around three key messages, notably, uncompromising hospitality at the heart of our Business Events, making Penang ready for the return of tourists, business event travellers and organisers and finally, putting in place all requisite safety and hygiene measures.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of PCEB, Ashwin Gunasekeran, the first two letters BE, which are associated with business events, employ the term ‘belong,’ which generally signifies having an affinity for a specific place or situation, such as a sense of belonging. “The campaign’s goals include sending a positive message that Penang is open for business beginning in 2022, maintaining destination awareness and increasing destination confidence in health and safety measures for corporate events, increasing RFPs and interest in future events to be held in Penang, and potentially increasing job opportunities in the tourism, hospitality, and business events industries in Penang,” said Ashwin.
The business events industry in Penang has been active in updating their products and upgrading their work regardless, exhibiting their resilience and commitment to the industry.
The Habitat Penang Hill recently won the ASEAN Sustainable Tourism Award Urban Category 2022 and was recognised by UNESCO as Malaysia’s third biosphere reserve. Penang is eagerly anticipating the business travellers’ return and is certain that everyone is missing Penang’s fantastic food, welcoming warmth, and breathtaking views and sights. Penang, the melting pot of heritage, culture and nature also strongly believes it is time for this new campaign to catapult at this point in time, as many countries are opening their borders and mitigating the event planning.
Find out more about Penang here.
