Venue with high facility standards and a range of support can enhance stakeholders’, participants’ and visitors’ experience 

by NURUL SUHAIDI 

FROM conferences and seminars to product launches and corporate galas, event venues serve as the backdrop for the key success of events, networking opportunities and business turnovers, as well as advancing Malaysia’s business event industry. 

Staging a large-scale business event is challenging but a venue with high facility standards and a range of support can enhance stakeholders’, participants’ and visitors’ experience. 

In Malaysia, various large-scale venues were created to meet the growing demand of the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions industry. 

They each bring significant contribution and create value in terms of the economic impact and societal value for the community. 

For example, the KLCC Convention Centre (the Centre), has been operational for 18 years and has housed over 19,200 events. 

To date, it has welcomed 27.6 million delegates from all over the world, altogether generating RM11 billion in economic impact. 

Its GM John Burke said the venue’s prime location in the heart of Kuala Lumpur is the key strategy. 

“Our strategic location in the KLCC precinct, with high-end on-site hotels, a shopping mall, overlooking the Petronas Twin Towers and the 20ha KLCC Park provides an unmatched experiential appeal for organisers and delegates alike,” he said to The Malaysian Reserve (TMR) while adding that the Centre is easily accessible via both road and public transportations. 

In terms of visitor number, in comparison to 2019, the Centre had a total delegate and visitor count of 1.68 million while in 2022, the numbers, as expected, went down by 60% bringing the visitor count to 664,322. 

“This year, we have welcomed lose to 350,000 delegates to date. We are seeing events scaling up to meet overwhelming response for in-person attendance to their meetings and shows,” he added. 

Burke said the convention centre would have reached pre-pandemic levels of delegate count by the end of the year with total visits expected to go up to about 1.7 million. 

“Our target for this year is to achieve pre-pandemic levels of hosting at least 1,600 events. As of June 30, 2023, we would have completed 850 events,” he added. 

Aside from its location, the Centre aims to capitalise on its reputation of having successfully hosted many high-profile international events over the years. 

The Centre is also known for its experienced teams who understand the nitty-gritty details of running an event and can provide the right counsel combined with effective solutions as they work closely with the clients and organisers. 

Among the events that are ready to greet the public this year are the MIA International Accountants Conference 2023 happening on June 13 to 14, the National Heart Association Malaysia Congress 2023 (June 16-18), Energy Asia 2023 (June 26-28), Aesthetic Medicine & Surgery Conference & Exhibition 2023 (July 14-15) and Job Fair Malaysia ( July 15-16). 

KLCC will also be playing host to the Cyber Digital Services Defence and Security Asia on Aug 15-17, the 19th Asian Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals Engineering (Sept 13-15), Food & Hotel Malaysia 2023 (Sept 19-22), as well as the 44th Malaysian Paediatric Association Annual Congress 2023 in October. 

Venue Selection 

The value of selecting the right business event venue extends far beyond mere practical considerations. 

It shapes the overall experience, influences attendee perception and contributes to the success of event objectives and must be in line with evolving demand in the industry. 

Apart from KLCC, other prominent venues include the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre with capacity ranging from 50 to 50,000 people per day, the World Trade Centre, the Matrade Exhibition & Convention Centre and more. 

The venue also needs to invest in key growth areas such as investing in more sustainable event management, interactive digital experience to cater the demand for remote participations or ensuring the health and safety protocols are the latest and up-to-date. 

Moving Beyond Venue 

Realising the trend, Burke said the Centre also promoted sustainability as it emerged as a top five criteria for international associations and convention organiser when choosing the right venue for their events. 

“The Centre is focused towards sustainability, translated into our policies, procedures, initiatives and programmes, as well as technology we have implemented around waste management and compliance to international standards,” he added. 

As part of its ongoing commitment to the environment and ethical business practices, the Centre invested in relevant technologies and implemented a range of initiatives that have enhanced its position as a sustainable venue. 

“Moving beyond the venue, we are now working with our KLCC precinct partners to enhance our destination appeal as a business events haven where delegates can meet, stay, dine and play responsibly,” Burke added. 

Another unique key feature of the Centre is that it is equipped with the largest commercial kitchen in Malaysia with over 50 chefs from a culinary team offering “Malaysia on a Plate”. 

“Most recently, we successfully delivered the largest Aidilfitri Open House in the Centre’s history. 

“We attracted 18,000 guests during the whole-day event utilising six halls over two levels or 10,000 sq metre and was supported by 1,000 staff,” he said. 

Annual exhibitions at the Centre include the Comic Fiesta, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors, not only from Malaysia but also from neighbouring countries like Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. 

Technology and innovation are another area the Centre is looking into as it believes evaluating and investing in the right type of technology will not only provide a differentiated experience but also helps delegates effectively engage with content. 

The venue’s IT teams work closely with organisers to deliver all their production and IT requirements, ensuring seamless and loss-less streaming of events. 

It has also invested in artificial intelligence (AI)-powered food waste tracker, food composter machine, AI-powered reverse vending machine, rooftop hydroponic farm and rainwater harvesting system. 

“We also provide complimentary public WiFi, available throughout the venue, for delegates and visitors to catch-up on office work in between of their meetings or break-out sessions,” Burke said. 

Talent Development Programme

Complementing that, he opined that investing and developing in talent is also important for the success of the business events and hospitality industry. 

“We have put in place several programmes designed to groom future professionals such as the Ambassador Programme and the Experiential Learning Programme that provides on-the-job training with attractive compensation and benefits,” he added.

Coming out of the pandemic, this programme has proven to be even more relevant for current times, allowing one the flexibility to work for more than one employer and the independence to choose their working schedule. 

The Centre also actively collaborates with universities and colleges to provide real-life working exposure and training ground to hospitality and culinary students with the opportunity to be part of the Centre’s team through part-time programmes or long-term employment. 

“We have also increased our minimum wage which is 40% more than the government mandate,” Burke said. 

• This article first appeared in The Malaysian Reserve weekly print edition