Sarawak banking on corporate meetings and #TRIBESPIRIT for multiplier effect

Sarawak’s minister of tourism, arts and culture Datuk Karim Rahman Hamzah, has said the impact of business events on the state’s economy was RM1.6bn (US390m) since 2006. The minister was releasing new statistics at the Business Events Tribal Meet @ Sibu event. The industry gathering, organised by Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak), also highlighted the development of the corporate meetings and incentives segment and its power to generate business in future. In 2019, Sarawak had a bidding success rate of 94% by securing 99 business events worth an estimated RM122.71m in direct delegate expenditure. Corporate meetings and incentives will become one of the focuses in 2021 for the state’s economic development, with the aim being to increase the market share by at least 20% over the next five years in line with the objectives of the Sarawak Economic Action Council (SEAC). Datuk Karim Rahman Hamzah added that “the new development of our corporate meetings and incentives segment is to multiply the economic impact of business events” further, adding that conventions currently make up 80% of the economic impact. The minister added that existing ‘incentivised packages’ have proven to be the key solution in minimising cancellations, with 95% of business events still ongoing and only three cancelled. As for secured business events, Sarawak has bagged 88 events for the years 2020 through to 2022. Initiatives such as the Tribe Digital Campus have been produced by a collaboration between BESarawak, government agencies and industry partners., “This industry has shown a tremendous sense of unity, which we know as #TRIBESPIRIT,” said Amelia Roziman, acting CEO of the BESarawak’s #TRIBESPIRIT movement. Tribe Digital Campus is Sarawak’s business events industry’s first education and business exchange platform that offers its registered members heavily sponsored classes. To learn more about what Tribe Digital Campus offer, visit www.tribedigitalcampus.com and to learn more about the Business Events Planners Incentivised Packages, contact donny@sarawakcb.com