by AZALEA AZUAR / pic source: www.UFI.org

TOURISM, Arts and Culture (Motac) Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has urged the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) to be more aggressive in hosting international events.

“As international travels are returning to normal, the ministry is proactively supporting business events activities that will bring more delegates into the country.

“Hopefully, we will work together with non-government organisations and relevant parties to achieve better growth for the sector,” he said after the launch of the 2023 Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) Asia-Pacific Conference yesterday.

The two-day conference at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre expected more than 200 delegates from 22 countries, where 150 were international.

UFI’s flagship event is expected to generate RM2.8 million for the Malaysian economy and will be addressing relevant topics that drive the exhibition industry across borders and accelerate growth.

Tiong noted that these events are a major pillar of the ministry’s strategies and aspirations towards Malaysia’s tourism recovery as it requires collaborative efforts from industry stakeholders.

Therefore, he encouraged industry players and other regional players to collaborate to promote the Asia-Pacific region as the choice of exhibition.

He also suggested that Malaysia learn more about net zero carbon initiatives through UFI.

“Malaysia is known in the region for our world-class venue and service offerings that are value-for-money to international demand. 

“To continue this momentum, Motac is committed and focused on offering new product development, upgrading the quality of our service industry and facilities,” he added.

Tiong also highlighted that the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congress (APAO 2023) received a total of 5,000 delegates while the Malaysian International Furniture Fair will be awaiting more than 20,000 visitors.

On the other hand, MyCEB CEO Datuk Seri Dr Abdul Khani hoped that the partnership with UFI will help to engage Malaysia’s exhibition industry in addressing the challenges of sharing key learning strategies globally to advance the industry.

“Malaysia is expected to speed up in welcoming a growing number of business events this year, with more than 47 events with an estimated 75,000 local and international arrivals,” he said.

UFI MD Kai Hattendorf said they were glad to have chosen Malaysia to restart Asia’s exhibition industry as the country has lived up to their expectations in terms of infrastructure and facilities.

“These are the qualities required to realise a successful exhibition and MyCEB truly resonates with how we envisioned the industry to flourish moving forward,” he said.

MyCEB and UFI will also be launching the UFI Certified Professional programme this year to help educate aspiring industry players.

The conference touched on the exhibition industry’s risks navigation, ways of overcoming the volatility of global economic pressures, the role of technologies, new opportunities and effective advocacies all from a global perspective. 

It should also boost UFI’s accession in Malaysia as well as the country’s ranking in the South-East Asian region.

With the establishment of MyCEB, Malaysia managed to host a total of 235 exhibitions and welcomed 2.5 million visitors, with the country having gained a total of RM5.9 billion.

It is set to host the WePack Asean 2023, Food and Drinks Malaysia 2023 and Intelligent Manufacturing 2023 which is forecasted to attract 8,800 local and international visitors as well as generating a total of RM26.6 million.