The chief minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng, describes Penang as a “proven powerhouse” where business and association events are concerned, and rightly so. Classified as a second-tier city, Penang is an emerging destination for business and association events and has the capacity for up to 20,000 delegates.
Penang is supported by a young state convention bureau which was established early 2016. Within its first year of operations, it managed to garner 1,251 events with an estimated economic impact of RM808 million (US$182 million). These events comprise 257 national congresses, 32 international congresses, 771 national corporate events, 137 international corporate events and 54 incentives.
A majority of international events hosted in Penang originated from Singapore and South Asia.
Of the 257 national congresses, most were centred on sectors related to education, culture and ideas, medical sciences, government, social sciences and economics and industry, coinciding with Penang’s strongest local industries.
The average number of participants attending congresses and corporate events in Penang was 98, indicating the state’s forte in hosting small and medium-sized events.
PCEB’s presence and its early achievements have instilled confidence in Malaysian industry players to make a bid for regional and international association meetings.
Gracie Geikie, director/principal consultant, Place Borneo, a local PCO headquartered in Kuching, and with offices in Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur, said she is bidding for two international conferences – medical and water hygiene related, both in 2019. As both conferences have been held in Kuching in the past, she has proposed Penang and Kota Kinabalu as venues for 2019.
When asked why Penang, she explained: “PCEB understands the nature of international conferences and the high level of commitment needed as we are bidding many years ahead. They are willing to make it happen.
“We can get assistance in the form of customs and immigration clearance and subvention, which are vital when bidding for international conferences. When we bid, we need to show the main conference body that the state government is 100 per cent behind the event. The subvention funding, be it financial or non-financial aid such as hosting the gala dinner, will also help reduce the overall cost of the conference.”
Another Malaysian PCO, Medical Conference Partners director, Dee Dee Quah, regarded Penang as a good destination for medical conferences.
She told TTGassociations: “Penang has many medical implant and instrument manufacturing companies. And as a medical tourism hub, Penang has a high concentration of Malaysia health specialists. Furthermore, Penang is an attractive destination, a nice getaway from the capital city.”
Quah is working on a regional medical conference in 2020 and having it in Penang is an option.
Medical Conference Partners is also the PCO for a national conference, the Malaysian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting 2018 in Penang next May.
Quah said Penang was chosen for this meeting because of its “easy accessibility and capacity for big groups”.
The three-day Malaysian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting 2018 will require an estimated 1,300 hotel rooms.
Albert Lafuente, director of sales & marketing, Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa and Golden Sands Resort, believes that Penang’s strength lies in its multicultural diversity reflected in the people and architecture, its UNESCO heritage status, the local cuisine which it is well known for as well as direct accessibility.
Lafuente added: “The government is also aggressively promoting nature. This has resulted in many facilities and activities for nature lovers to visit, such as The Habitat Penang Hill, Entopia by Penang Butterfly Farm and Penang National Park, which is a plus point for associations that are pro-environment.”
As part of its advocacy efforts, PCEB is also educating the Penang business events industry and its partners on the importance of association meetings.
PCEB’s CEO, Ashwin Gunasekeran, said: “We are actively pursuing and engaging Penang-based associations and associations with secretariats based here. We are also identifying associations that have the potential to be local hosts and engaging them to convert leads gained by our full-time, in-house researcher.”
PCEB also organises educational programmes to lift professionalism in association meeting planning. It will collaborate with Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers in 4Q2017 to put together a professional conference management training programme designed to equip participants with practical applications of concepts in organising conferences as well as the necessary skills to deliver professional world-class conferences.
In December, PCEB will organise the annual BE@Penang conference designed to set a benchmark for organising meetings in Penang.
