July 2022

The ‘Gift of Love’ Batang Ai community library, is a corporate social responsibility project led by ICCA which was set-in-motion by its 59th Asia Pacific Regional Hub committee and was originally, a book sharing program that expanded, into a life-changing initiative for the local residents.

The aim of opening the library was to provide a functional space with educational resources to help retain rural children in school. Although it was easy to set up the library, it needed however, international expertise and the stamp of approval from the International Congress & Convention Association.

Sarawak took a step further from the initial book-donation-only concept to build an actual community library, and worked with the local people on a long-term program to establish the library.

“ICCA has spent years advocating positive societal impacts through business events. Sarawak raised the bar for the global business events sector when they announced this initiative as a Congress-led corporate social responsibility project,” said Ms. Waikin Wong, ICCA’s Asia Pacific regional director.

In a recent hand-over ceremony of the Batang Ai’s first community library, the Nanga Ukom longhouse residents in Sarawak are now the guardian of the library.

The Meetings Show returns to London’s ExCel on June 29 with Penang having the honour of launching the tradeshow and at the same time, announce to the world that Penang is open for business beginning 2022. This year, is the show’s 10th edition and Penang’s minister of tourism and creative economy, Mr.Yeoh Soon Hin officially opened the event.

Mr Yeoh mentioned at the show that the opening of international borders in Malaysia will, revitalise the tourism industry in the country and once again transform the industry into a thriving economic sector. It will definitely stated Mr, Yeoh, resurrect other enterprises in the industry, as well as provide new business opportunities.

Penang Convention and Exhibition Bureau took the opportunity to introduce its BElong Campaign to the how.  The chief executive of the bureau, Mr. Ashwin Gunasekaran explained that the first two letters of the campaign ‘BE’ while it denotes Business Events can, also be used as a term “belong” which signifies having an affinity for a specific place or situation, as well as a sense of belonging.

The campaign goals send a positive message that Penang is working towards maintaining destination awareness and that its back in business with  health and safety measures for corporate events. The bureau is also looking   at to increase requests for proposals and interests in events to be held in Penang.

In Penang, the business events industry has been active in updating their products for example the popular Habitat Penang Hill, covered by rainforest, has recently won the ASEAN Sustainable Tourism Award Urban Category 2022 and is recognised by UNESCO as Malaysia’s third biosphere reserve.

The award was for the best marketing strategy in a changing exhibition industry and, in recognition of the programme’s timeliness, originality, and impact on the exhibition industry.

Over the past two years, ‘MICE Winnovation’ has proven to be a marketing booster for the exhibition industry in Thailand. In 2021, TCEB received applications from organisers seeking innovation and technology for 26 events.

TCEB then tracked the economic impacts of the technology introduced in 10 of these events. The results were revealing: the technology adopted created 63.54 million euro in value from a budget of 190,000 euro.

Top two areas implementing new technologies were the organisation of hybrid events and crowd management for health and safety purposes.

In 2022, TCEB continues to promote hybrid technology for events and help MICE organisers in the country, explore the use of robotics, automation, and facial recognition to boost productivity and enhance visitor experience.

‘MICE Winnovation’is a collaboration between TCEB and six partners namely the National Science and Technology Development Agency,  National Innovation Agency, Digital Economy Promotion Agency, Thai Exhibition Association, Thailand Incentive and Convention Association and Thailand International Events & Festivals Trade Association.

Inspired by the glory days of Parisian art-deco of the chic vibe of early 20^th century Paris, Metropole Underground is a unique addition to the famously lively bar scene in Phnom Penh.

Discreetly located in the basement of the Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh, the city’s newest international branded luxury hotel, the sophisticated space offers premium drinks, light gourmet bites, and nightly live entertainment featuring; bands and DJ beats.

The metro system in the French capital was a major inspiration for the bar, with replicas of cast iron detailing from the original Paris Metro, integrated into the space and transformed into sculptural and decorative elements.

The result is a compelling blend of European and Khmer influences.

Now with the new Metropole Underground, it completes a compelling lineup of options for revelry in Phnom Penh.

This is MyCEB’s first trip to Indonesia to reach out to its counterpart in that country, which share similarities in; culture, economic prosperity, and the business events industry. This November, Indonesia will be hosting the G20 Summit of world leaders.

A gathering of industry key opinion leaders, in particular representatives from; Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Indonesian Exhibition Companies Association, Indonesia Convention and Exhibition, Jakarta Convention Centre, professional conference organisers, both public and private sectors, and several local media had resulted in a positive meeting.

Discussion was centred on potential prospects for strategic collaboration between the two countries in business events, through more business-to-business opportunities for the region, amidst the impact of the pandemic.

Malaysia’s opening of borders on April 1 has benefited the industry, which saw a boost in business event visitors to the country.  The country has lifted the requirement to undergo covid-19 PCR testing, as well as dispensing with covid-19 insurance for visitors coming into the country.