INSIGHTS, ideas, inspiration – these are the key outcomes that the Penang Convention and Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) hopes to achieve at the second edition of BE @ Penang, a knowledge-sharing conference focused on elevating Penang’s profile and capabilities in the business events sector.

Set up last year, PCEB is the first state convention bureau in northern Malaysia.

BE @ Penang 2017 takes place today and tomorrow at Setia SPICE Convention Centre in Penang.

This year’s programme is designed to deliver new insights on topics such as destination positioning, collaboration, bid preparation, experiential travel, stakeholder engagement, workforce development, technology and media management.

Be empowered

This year’s keynote speaker is Roy Sheppard, a specialist conference facilitator and moderator.

Sheppard works with some of the world’s largest and most respected organisations, including the International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC) in Rome, Dubai, Cape Towm, Istanbul and New York, and ICSC’s flagship event in Las Vegas.

He has also moderated private conferences for the Olympic movement in Lausanne, Beijing and Rio de Janeiro.

In line with this year’s theme, “Be Empowered”, Sheppard will speak on how second-tier cities such as Penang can make its mark on the global arena and how industry players can be empowered to act independently, yet collectively.

He will also lead a CEO Deep Dive session on how collaboration can extend a destination’s appeal and boost a tourism organisation’s bottom line.

Wooing the Europeans

Sheppard’s presentations are by no means the only highlight. Martin Lewis, the managing director of CAT Publications and managing editor of Meetings & Incentive Travel magazine in the UK, is another thought leader who will shed light on a popular topic: attracting association and corporate events from Europe.

Martin is the recipient of the EIBTM Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 and winner of ICCA’s most prestigious honour, the Moises Shuster Award, in 2015.

Reporting on the meetings industry since 1987, he will share ideas on how to woo the European market, highlight trends in experiential travel, and suggest creative ways to work with new and traditional media.

Penang spotlight

PCEB CEO Ashwin Gunasekeran will unveil the progress that PCEB has made since last year’s inaugural BE @ Penang. These include details of the Team Penang Bid Alliance, and a blueprint for education and training.

He will also be a panellist in sessions on bid preparation and workforce development, giving the Penang perspective on the work that goes on behind the scenes.

International speakers add tremendous value to BE @ Penang. The conference will also feature TTG Media’s group editor, Karen Yue, from Singapore, and Taiwan Convention and Exhibition Association president Jason Yeh.

Yeh, who is also an adviser to the Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic Bureau of Kaohsiung City in Taiwan, will not only share Taiwan’s approach to developing its business events sector, but also his experience with Kaohsiung City, which, like Penang, is a second-tier city.

For aspiring tourism professionals, BE @ Penang is not only a valuable platform to gain new insights, but also a rare opportunity to network with key members of Malaysia’s business events community.

Other than the team from PCEB, they include ICCA Asia-Pacific regional director Noor Ahmad Hamid, MyCEB general manager Ho Yoke Ping, Anderes Fourdy’s Rahul Bharadwai and Fu Kei Cheong, Evenesis’ Yusno Yunos, Place Borneo’s Gracie Geikie, Tropical Spice Garden’s Katharine Chua, Tour Incentive & Travel’s Lawrence Koay, CIS Network’s Vincent Lim and Penang Institute’s Dr Ooi Kee Beng.

For more information, visit www.beatpenang.com. – December 7, 2017.