MyCEB achieves RM727mil sales

Feilding questions: (from left) Nagamaiah, MyCEB CEO Zulkefli Sharif and Ping Ho at the media briefing.

KUALA LUMPUR: Up to November this year, The Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) has achieved RM726.5mil in total revenue from its international event unit (IEU) or 85% of its targeted revenue of RM900mil.

For the first 11 months this year, 179 international events were held which is lower than 2011 when 184 international events were held with total tourist expenditure reaching RM845mil, 63% higher than its 2011 target of RM519mil.

“Currently, IEU has secured 12 events for 2013 and the two most anticipated events are the 27th Golden Disk Awards and 110th Harvey Davidson Anniversary Festival,” said MyCEB general manager of IEU Tony Nagamaiah in a media briefing yesterday. “We will step up efforts to bid and secure international events to be held in Malaysia,” Nagamaiah added.

To be classified as an international event, at least 10% must be international spectators. International events include sports, art and culture and lifestyle.

MyCEB said the IEU was targeting to contribute RM427mil in incremental gross national income and create 8,026 job opportunities in Malaysia by year 2020. Its international business event unit is targeting international business event visitors to represent 5.3% of total international visitors in Malaysia in 2013.

“The average spending per trip for international business visitors is estimated to be RM7,418 per person, three times higher than an average leisure visitor,” said the general manager for sales and marketing Ping Ho at the same briefing. The economic impact value of international business visitors of total events to Malaysia's total economy for 2012 is RM18.2bil, which 3.4% higher than last year's RM17.6bil.

Malaysia is ranked 29 in the world for international association meetings by the International Congress and Convention and seventh in Asia-Pacific. (Kuala Lumpur, meanwhile, is ranked at number 21 in the world and fifth in Asia-Pacific).

MyCEB was established in 2009 by the Ministry of Tourism under theEconomic Transformation Programme to market, bid and secure the hosting of international events in Malaysia.

-thestar online.

www.myceb.gov.my