With Sarawak in the lead, four years of effort by Malaysian organisations paid off for the nation’s international brand in Business Events (BE), in the four-day 55th International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Congress which drew 835 delegates from 61 countries around the world to the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching.
“This was not only a huge step forward for Sarawak, where we saw the confidence and capacity of the hosts expand tremendously over the three years of preparation and partnership, but it was also an important lesson for the visiting delegates, as Sarawak shared the story of how they had successfully raised the regional and global profile of what was previously a relatively unknown destination. This commitment to educate and encourage other second-tier ICCA members was one of the key factors in Sarawak winning the original bid, and featured strongly in our education programme”, said Martin Sirk, ICCA’s CEO.
“The execution of the 55th ICCA Congress was the result of synergy in its purest form; the immense support by industry partners, government agencies and the destination – matched with extraordinary passion, leadership and commitment. When a congress of this prominence is successfully held in a 2nd tier destination like Sarawak, it indicates that destinations as such have the overwhelming potential for international Business Events. We hope this will inspire other 2nd tier destinations, especially in the ASEAN region, to rise with us and trailblaze the Business Events revolution,” concluded Mike Cannon, Managing Director of Sarawak Convention Bureau and Co-Chairman of the Local Host Committee.