INDUSTRY players looking to enter the growing business events industry, or MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) market, need a good education platform in Malaysia to converge, learn and share knowledge.

Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) business events general manager Ho Yoke Ping said the Penang Convention and Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) had set up a good platform for such a purpose at its just concluded BE @ Penang 2017 conference.

She said the conference had brought together players in the industry to network, share information, ideas and knowledge with their peers, as well as learn from international experts in the business.

“The conference brought education to the players, and that was good because not many can go for international conferences like the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) conferences.

“BE @ Penang was well-organised in that way. It had a balance of speakers from Malaysia and abroad, who could show the industry players how to organise conferences and how meetings can be designed.

“Looking at the feedback, we can see that industry players are hungry for more education,” she told The Malaysian Insight at the conclusion of the event.
PCEB’s second BE @ Penang conference themed “Be Empowered” concluded yesterday at the Setia SPICE Convention Centre. 

The two-day event covered topics like why industry players must collaborate, how to attract the European market, issues faced by the industry and its future, the role of technology in the industry, trends in experiential travel, using the media, and grooming talent.

International participation

It also featured two international speakers with vast experience in the industry - specialist international conference facilitator and former BBC broadcast journalist Roy Sheppard, and international events specialist CAT Publications’ managing director Martin Lewis.

More than 200 participants, including those from Kuala Lumpur, Sabah, Sarawak, Singapore and The Philippines attended the conference, doubling last year’s head count.
Ho also praised the organisers for creatively introducing Malaysian culture and suppliers during the conference.

During the two-day event, tea breaks and lunches featured Malaysian dishes and live classical music performances. There were also a few booths promoting the products and services of suppliers.

“This idea helps us bring out the best of Malaysia and Penang. Industry players can take this idea of promoting our local cuisine at events. They can propose this to their clients in the future.

“So, the organisers had done a bit of business matching. So, what they have done with BE @ Penang was taking it beyond an educational conference as well.”

‘Should cater to players’ level’

Ho said the next conference could feature more specific topics that catered to industry players’ different needs, levels of understanding and experience in the business.

“You need to first understand what sectors are into conventions, corporate meetings, incentives and congresses, why and how they choose destinations. Then, you can talk about bidding for events.

“Some players have not reached the bidding level, so they may lack the experience and knowledge. MyCEB also faces that challenge when we hold conferences.

“The topics at BE @ Penang this year gave a good overview perspective, but it may be better if participants can be put into different categories according to their levels of experience in future conferences,” she said.

Participants of the conference said the event gave industry players the chance to get together, share information, and learn more about the industry they wanted to grow and the business they wanted to attract.

Sara Lua, assistant sales director of Olive Tree Hotel, who attended the conference for a second year, said it was a good platform for everyone who wanted to be in the BE business to learn how to collaborate.

“We all need to find a better and more effective way to collaborate for the good of the industry, so the conference was very informative in that way. I think we all look forward to future collaborations.

“It was also good that the conference this year was more international, with speakers from overseas giving insights into the wider market,” she said.
Tropical Spice Garden managing director Katharine Chua, who attended BE @ Penang for the first time this year, said it had exceeded her expectations.

She said the networking opportunity was huge for her, and being part of the conference also reminded her again that Penang should go after quality, not quantity.

“We can see that business events are going to grow, and that growth will be the main driver to influence quality tourists to come back to Penang,” said Chua, who also spoke as a panellist at one of the talks on experiential travel yesterday.

Jasmin Parra from The Philippines’ Tourism Promotion Board, who was part of a delegation invited by PCEB, said there were many good points raised and discussed during the conference.

“The issues raised by the players here are all relevant to us in the Philippines as well, like the challenge to retain human capital in the hospitality industry.

“We can certainly take back what we have learned back home,” she said.

Parra also said it was good to see how government agencies like PCEB and MyCEB worked together with those from the private sector, like hotels, airlines, suppliers, and even international speakers, in organising the conference.

She also said her office and PCEB were also exploring opportunities to collaborate.

‘More high-level talks next year’

Fu Kei Cheong, co-founder of one of Malaysia’s leading professional conference organisers, Anderes Fourdy that co-organised BE @ Penang 2017, said there would be more high-level talks at next year’s event.

“Penang is not at a disadvantage despite just starting two years ago when PCEB was formed. It learnt from the mistakes of other bureaus.

“It was a steep learning curve, but PCEB is on the right track. In last year’s conference, we did engagements and this year, we have moved on to empowerment.

“Next year, the conference will be higher-level. Penang has an actionable plan and its players know how to execute the strategies to get to their goals,” he said.

PCEB marketing communications manager Yasmin Bathamanathan said the intention was to set the benchmark for business events and position BE @ Penang as a serious conference for industry players like PCOs (professional conference organisers). – December 9, 2017.