The Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) projects that in-person events will accelerate post-pandemic with a bigger purpose of uniting stakeholders to drive actions and make a larger social impact.

Speaking at the 7th edition of Meet in Malaysia @ Malaysia Business Events Week (MBEW) on Monday, 29 August, MyCEB CEO Dato’ Sri Abdul Khani Daud, said while in the past the world viewed hosting business events primarily in financial terms, taking into account registration fees, delegate numbers and hotel room nights, that is no longer the case.

“The most impactful sustainable business events advance the cause through creative ways, going beyond the traditional to integrate new opportunities designed to engage attendees and benefit and `give back’ to host communities.”

Practising what it preaches, MyCEB purposely organised the MBEW with sustainability in mind. Strategies included minimising the event’s carbon footprint through reducing food waste, avoiding single-use plastics, and including a CSR programme with Zoo Negara, collaborating with Kloth Malaysia to slash unwanted clothing ending up in landfill.

Dato’ Sri Abdul Khani Daud said expanding partnerships between business events and CSR-focused organisations is vital for the business event sector to move forward, and is especially relevant at a country-to-country and government-to-government level.

Demonstrating this, a Memorandum of Cooperation between Malaysia and Indonesia industry stakeholders was signed during the event with the aim to share experiences knowledge, data and resources.

Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia (MOTAC), Dato Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri, said in the short and mid-term, the business events industry’s recovery will ride on regional recovery.

“This strategic collaboration, based on common goals and assets, but also celebrating differentiators, will lead to new opportunities for more business events, leading to more Indonesian business event delegates to Malaysia and vice versa,” she said.

“Malaysia and Indonesia already have a close tourism relationship as top five source markets for the other,” added MOTAC secretary general, Datuk Hajah Saraya Arbi.

“This MoC will help increase more business events delegates for both nations.”

Even at the height of the pandemic, where international borders were closed, collaboration with industry, government partners, and prospective local hosts saw MyCEB win 166 event bids for business events from 2022 through until 2030.

With a stronger focus of these events on sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives it is certainly a very exciting time for the business event sector in Malaysia and for its key partners.

To read more here Meet in Malaysia to reshape business events for the better