Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MYCEB) was present at IMEX Frankfurt this week. Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia (MOTAC) Deputy Secretary General (Tourism) Datuk Mohd Zamri Mat Zain and MYCEB Director Noor Azlan Abu Bakar spoke to the media. They underlined that despite a late lifting of COVID 19 travel restrictions the MICE sector was bouncing back, with the International Conference on Urology and Nephrology (ICUN) held in February of this year being the first international conference held in Malaysia this year, in keeping with MYCEB’s focus on attracting events from the medical sector.
Currently Malaysia draws some 60% of its conferences from Asia, with approximately 20% of events coming from Europe, and another 20% from North America and elsewhere. MYCEB hopes several strengths will entice new events, including world-class conference facilities and infrastructure, particularly in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, a population with a good level of English, and comparatively low costs compared with other destinations.
Malaysian Airlines is flying all its regular routes once again, and it was suggested that an increase in direct charter flights could help draw larger numbers of delegates. Also in attendance was Farzamie Sarkawi, Consul General of Malaysia in Frankfurt, who encouraged industry professionals to choose Malaysia as a conference destination.