March 2023

Mr. John Burke has been appointed as the general manager succeeding Mr. Alan Pryor who has retired after 40 years in the business events industry.

Previously Mr. Burke was the deputy general manager who joined the Centre in 2017. He was responsible in the digital transformation of the Centre, as well as in upgrading the venue’s security infrastructure. He also managed and developed the hybrid and virtual event spaces and platforms, as a new revenue stream for the venue during the covid-19.

At the same time, the Centre also welcomes Mr. Robert Hatton-Jones, an experienced hospitality and events professional, to the team as deputy general manager. Mr. Hatton-Jones brings with him nearly two decades of experience in food and beverage operations, business development, venue and asset management, event planning and marketing. He was previously the general manager of commercial and business development at Cape Town International Convention Centre.

Mr. John Burke is the new General Manager of Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

The Centre has also promoted Mr. Layzree bin Bongsu to director of finance and administration. A chartered accountant by profession, he has 20 years’ experience in the hospitality industry.  Mr. Bongsu will oversee the day-to-day finance, procurement and information technology operations of the Centre.

More than 400 hosted buyers, over 350 exhibitors and 2,000 visitors attended AIME 2023 with 25 countries represented at the event and, over 12,000 meetings were held.

The AIME team in partnership with event owners Melbourne Convention Bureau, put on a spectacular event held over three days from February 12 to 15 which also marks its 30^th year in running.

Staying through its theme of: ‘More Buyers, More Connections, More Business’ – 350 exhibitors showcased their products and services coming from countries like Japan, New Zealand, Hawaii, Qatar, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Abu Dhabi.  It also included convention bureau partners and event and destination suppliers from every Australian state.

AIME also introduced to the industry at the event, Geelong Convention and Exhibition Centre which is scheduled to open in 2026, and operated by the same Trust that manages MCEC.  The Geelong centre will include: a hotel; commercial spaces; a plenary venue; and 3,700 square metres of multipurpose space located on Geelong’s waterfront.

The new centre is being developed as part of the Geelong City Deal, a partnership between the Australian and Victorian Governments, together with the City of Greater Geelong.

Designed to ignite and inspire, the event included  two days of  tradeshows, a knowledge program, leaders forum, formal and informal networking opportunities, and a gala event to celebrate AIME’s 30th anniversary.

The latest forecasts from the Pacific Asia Travel Association, predicts strong annual increases in inbound visitor numbers for the Asia Pacific, under mild, medium, and severe scenarios in 2023, set to continue each year until 2025.

Growth rates range from 71 percent under severe scenario conditions, to as much as 104 percent under the mild scenario.

The annual increase in the absolute number of international visitor arrivals in 2023 is predicted to range from 158.7 million to 437.5 million under the severe and mild scenarios respectively – lifting the total volume of visitor arrivals to between 382.9 million and 712.7 million under these scenarios.

Substantial annual increases in IVA numbers are also forecast for 2024 and 2025, under all three scenarios, although the volume of these gains will slowly reduce over the years, as the absolute volume base of foreign arrivals increases.

As IVA growth builds between 2023 and 2025, the source markets of Asia collectively generate the bulk of the additional annual increases in absolute numbers of arrivals across Asia Pacific each year. Under the mild scenario the annual increase in IVAs from Asia in 2023, are forecast to number 330.7 million and account for three-quarters of the net increase in total IVAs between 2022 and 2023.

Across the years and under all scenarios, the visitor footprint of the Asian source markets, at the aggregate Asia Pacific level, is predicted to remain very strong, although with significant differences at the destination regions and sub-regions.

“Now more than ever before, destinations need to work with host communities, operators, and visitors to deliver results and experiences that bring the best of the travel and tourism sector to the fore, across all involved parties and in a responsible, equitable, meaningful, and thereby sustainable manner. Such an approach will also create a certain resilience to future shocks as and when they appear, and rest assured that they will,” said PATA Chair, Mr. Peter Semone.

The PATA Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts Full Report 2023-2025 is now available at www.PATA.org/research-q1v63g6n2dw/p/asia-pacific-visitor-forecasts-2023-2025-x8tpc