April 19, 2022 | By Bronwen Largier | Image: A unique site visit for one of the international events coming to the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in 2022
With Malaysia’s international border fully reopened at the beginning of April, the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre has 20 international events booked in at its venue for the rest of 2022.
With 10 conventions and 13 exhibitions in the mix, the centre’s general manager Alan Pryor says the team is delighted to be hosting international clients and delegates once again.
“We have recently hosted a few site-visits for upcoming international conferences and are currently very focused on helping our clients, event organisers, visitors and guests safely and comfortably transition into organising and attending physical meetings and events,” said Pryor.
“While the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are more relaxed now, our priority on safety and hygiene remains.”
Conferences to be hosted in the venue this year include the International Congress on Infectious Diseases (ICID) 2022, the International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) 2022, the International Medical Exhibition & Conference (IMEC EXPO) 2022 and the International Invention, Innovation & Technology Exhibition (ITEX) 2022.
“International meetings and exhibitions are important to Malaysia and its business events and hospitality sectors,” said Pryor.
“The business events industry is a vital social and economic driver that create thousands of jobs, supports talent development and knowledge exchange, generates millions in economic impact for the country and elevates Malaysia’s profile and market share globally.
“The re-opening of our international borders will accelerate the country’s economic rebound, but we are returning to a tough business events landscape.
“The overall business pie has shrunk making competition stiffer and price wars more aggressive.
“Malaysia needs strong, compelling policies and strategies to capitalise on the destination’s attractive proposition to set itself apart from neighbouring competitors and help entice more international events to come to our shores,” he said.
Fully vaccinated international arrivals into Malaysia are not required to quarantine, while those who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated must isolate for their first five days in Malaysia. All travellers must have a negative PCR test prior to arrival.