Beach resort expects uptrend in its MICE market

Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa in Penang expects its meeting, incentives, convention, and exhibition (MICE) market to grow next year.

Its general manager Elaine Yue said Penang was experiencing growth in investments from overseas in the property and manufacturing sectors over the past two years. This would likely lead to more MICE events in the future, Yue said. “The vibes are good, an indication that more investments will pour into Penang. This should translate very well for the MICE segment.”

As the only five-star beachfront resort in Batu Ferringhi equipped with integrated resort facilities, the resort would be in a strong position to tap into the MICE market, she said in an interview. “For example, all of our public areas are now equipped with free Internet broadband access, a facility that supports the needs of our MICE guests. We also have four MICE specialists in our resort. They are part of our main operations unit, capable of servicing the needs of our MICE guests and convention planners,” she said.

It was reported that Penang registered until August, this year, RM4.8bil in investments and it is on track to achieve the targeted RM6.1bil investments for 2011. Last year, Penang achieved the highest investment in Malaysia with RM12bil recorded. “This is why we can expect the MICE market to boost our occupancy rate in 2012, as the MICE segment is a substantial contributor to our revenue,” she added.

Yue said the Rasa Sayang’s average occupancy rate was expected to be around 65% this year, a slight percentage increase from last year. “For the Christmas and Chinese New Year holiday period, the bookings show that our occupancy rate for the period will be over 90%,” she said.

Yue said there was a slight decrease in arrivals from Europe due to the weakening economy there. “Regional tourism from neighbouring countries and the Middle East has increased this year, comprising about two thirds of our tourist arrivals. The remainder comes from Europe, United States and others,” she said.

Yue said Rasa Sayang Resort was competing with the five-star resorts in Langkawi by offering room rates starting from RM600 onwards. Yue has 20 years of experience in Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts and had served in various senior executive positions in the Group.

She was based in Hong Kong, Jakarta, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Chiang Mai before taking up her present general manager position. She is the 18th general manager and also the first female holding the position for the property in Penang. Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts currently owns and manages 72 hotels under the Shangri-La, Kerry and Traders brands with a room inventory of over 30,000.

Shangri-La hotels are five-star deluxe property featuring extensive luxury facilities and services. Its hotels are located in Australia, Canada, mainland China, Fiji, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, the Philippines, Singapore, Sultanate of Oman, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.

The group has a substantial development pipeline with upcoming projects in Canada, mainland China, India, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Britain.

-thestar online.