Business events gearing up in Penang

Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) will next month be organising Malaysia’s biggest business events conference – BE @ Penang for a 4th edition. The conference will be held, 5-6 December 2019, at the Setia SPICE Convention Centre, concurrently with the inaugural International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Asia Pacific Summit. This year’s theme is BE of the Future Now and urges the industry to be ready. The conference promises an intensive two-days of knowledge-sharing and networking. A press conference on plans for BE @Penang was chaired recently by the Right Honourable Mr Chow Kon Yeow (Chief Minister of Penang), the Honourable Mr Yeoh Soon Hin (Penang State Executive Councillor for Tourism, Arts, Culture & Heritage), Mr Ashwin Gunasekeran (Chief Executive Officer of PCEB) and some of the conference partners. Keynote speakers include ICCA President James Rees and Robin Sieger, a ‘success strategist’ and organisers of BE @Penang are expecting 40 speakers from Asia Pacific. “By having these two conferences in Penang, this sets the standards higher for Penang in terms of organising world-class conferences and having discussions on relevant topics to prepare the industry to be in the future,” said Gunasekeran. PCEB was also recently named best bureau in Malaysia’s Tourism Gold Council Gold Awards. Organised by the Malaysia Tourism Council, the award ceremony was held on 25 October at The Palace of the Golden Horses Kuala Lumpur. “The Penang State Government is proud of PCEB’s continuous efforts and achievements, and we believe that this is a well deserved award for Penang,” said the Honourable Mr Yeoh Soon Hin, Penang State Executive Councillor for Tourism, Arts, Culture & Heritage. Penang has recorded a 118% increase in the total number of events,  from 1,251 in 2016 to 2,511 in 2017 and to a total of 2,733 events in 2018. This has also resulted in the total Estimated Economic Impact (EEI) surpassing the RM1bn (US$240m) mark in 2017 and achieved RM1.312bn in 2018. Other Team Penang partners who have received the Gold Award in their respective categories include Jazz Hotel Penang (Most Uniquely Themed Hotel), Mercure Penang Beach (Best Beach Resort), Apollo Conferences (Best Professional Conference Organiser) and Hompton Hotel Penang (Best Seaview Resort Hotel).