Sarawak reports business events made US$87m in economic impact for the state in 2021

Business Events Sarawak’s (BESarawak) latest performance report noted that the Malaysian state had secured 109 business events with an estimated RM365m (US$87m) in total economic impact from 2020 to 2021. The report declared this created RM21.4m in tax revenue and approximately 28,289 new job opportunities. BESarawak announced that the destination has secured at least 43,471 delegates over a total of 160,142 delegate days, worth RM193.7m in direct delegate expenditure. In terms of physical-to-virtual conversions, 34 events worth RM105.5m in total economic impact have been converted, forfeiting the arrival of over 12,000 delegates, RM57.3m in direct delegate expenditure and 8,370 new job openings. Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, minister of tourism, creative industry and performing arts and minister of youth, sports and entrepreneur development for Sarawak, said: “Business events are playing an increasingly important role in developing Sarawak as an economically prosperous, socially inclusive, and environmentally sustainable destination by 2030. The sector’s involvement in achieving the Sarawak Government’s post Covid-19 development goals is centred around delivering and optimising knowledge, innovation, and partnerships from business events.” Various initiatives have been implemented to support recovery efforts throughout the pandemic, including the launch in March 2021 of BESarawak’s incentivised packages to support the sector’s recovery efforts and provide financial and in-kind support to planners. Amelia Roziman, CEO of BESarawak, stated: “These offers are appealing to planners and catering to today’s event needs. Beyond incentives, our team continues to provide pre- and post-event support to ensure the best possible client experience that reflects Sarawak’s hospitality.” Sarawak recently entered phase four of Malaysia’s National Recovery Plan, forecasting a positive restart for business events.