Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) has taken the initiative to engage with key industry leaders in the business events industry to nurture collaboration and move forward, in line with the nation’s Covid-19 recovery plan. A virtual meeting was held on 14th June which included industry stalwarts such as YBhg Dato’ Sri Dr. Irmohizam Ibrahim, Chairman Asia-Pacific of the World Trade Centre Association (WTCA), YBhg Dato’ Vincent Lim, President of Asia Federation of Exhibition & Convention Association (AFECA), Mr. Francis Teo, President of Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers (MACEOS) and Mr. Alan Pryor, President of Business Events Council of Malaysia (BECM). The meeting was chaired by YBhg Dato’ Sri Abdul Khani Daud, CEO of MyCEB.
During the meeting, industry leaders shared updates on their members’ involvement with vaccination centers (PPV). The strong support from venues proves that the business events industry is indeed resilient and ready to reopen when the time is right. The business events industry will rally behind the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture in its recovery plan and seek out key players in the business events industry to be given early immunisation.
It is noted that in collaboration with MACEOS, additional manpower will be assembled to assist the current staffing at selected convention centers that are running the vaccination programme. MyCEB staff and others from the business events industry will be deployed to assist venues such as World Trade Centre KL, MITEC, KL Convention Centre, Setia City Convention Centre, Persada Johor, Borneo Convention Center Kuching, Sabah International Convention Center, Setia SPICE Penang.
“The business events industry is intertwined with the rest of the tourism industry, including airlines, venues, caterers and transportation providers. We need each other in order to recover. We welcome the statement made by YB Dato’ Sri Nancy Shukri, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture early this month in calling for early vaccination for the tourism and business events front liners. Once our industry is vaccinated, we can hopefully reopen,” said Dato’ Sri Abdul Khani Daud, Chief Executive Officer of MyCEB.
The second initiative in the pipe-line is the production of the MySafe Business Events Planner which is jointly produced by MyCEB and BECM. This planner will provide detailed information on the advance planning and organising necessary for event organisers & event hosts to ensure a seamless experience The planner will be laid out in a step-by-step format to assist international associations, meeting planners, and trade show and exhibition organisers to guide them through the safety measures Malaysia has put in place to ensure events can be held safely and with confidence. The planner is expected to be ready by the fourth quarter of the year.
“We at MyCEB would like to thank the industry players for being vigilant and willing to engage with us for common good. Let us all hope that Malaysia will be able to recover from this pandemic and we will be able to #ComeStrongerTogether to serve the decerning business events community,” added Dato’ Sri Khani.
