Sarawak has thrust its status once more as an international business events destination after winning the bid against Seoul, South Korea to be the Asia Pacific host of the Regional Hubs ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) Congress 2020. In total, there are seven Regional Hubs, two of which are virtual, complementing the Global Congress in Kaohsiung.
With the reopening of Sarawak’s business events (BE) industry in July this year, this win is momentous news for Sarawak’s business events industry. The hybrid Regional Hub Congress – to run simultaneously with the main ICCA Congress 2020 at Kaohsiung, Taiwan – will converge, association executives, local and national industry professionals and ICCA members in Kuching on a 6-day educational, networking and business escapade to share the latest developments and innovations within the world’s business and travel sector affected by the covid-19 pandemic.
The Sarawak Asia Pacific Regional Hub ICCA Congress 2020 will be themed ‘ICCA Tribe Legacy’ and will focus on the broader value of conventions, often missed, which goes beyond direct delegate expenditure. This theme carries on and expands from the earlier theme “ICCA Global Tribes” in 2016.
Sarawak is no stranger to hosting world-renowned international conventions. Back in 2016, the State was lauded for hosting the much-talked-about 55th ICCA Congress which capped the milestone for Sarawak’s journey to grow into one of the world’s premier 2nd-tier destinations. While the upcoming hybrid Congress marks another milestone for Sarawak, it will also pave the way for more robust regional and national collaborations with a pathway for players in Malaysia to lead the region’s business events industry.
Photo Credit: Sarawak Convention Bureau
Photo Credit: PCMA
“With the Sarawak Economic Action Council’s focus on this broader value, which leverages on the ‘soft power’ from hosting conventions, Sarawak is in the midst of consolidating preparations for the implementation of our all-new “Tribe Legacy Sarawak” programme that will be adopted from 2021 onwards. This will provide a ground-breaking take on evaluating the contributions of business events from a Malaysian perspective to promote a healthy balance between social inclusivity, environmental sustainability and economic prosperity,” remarked Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture and Minister of Youth and Sports, Datuk Haji Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
ICCA’s CEO Senthil Gopinath used the previous ICCA Congress in 2016 as a benchmark to why Sarawak was chosen, “This year’s Congress is the first Global hybrid experience that ICCA will host and we’re excited to be able to offer delegates the opportunity to join from a regional hub. BESarawak, a long-standing member of ICCA, was selected as our Asia Pacific regional hub host because of their commitment and creativity, clearly evidenced when the destination hosted one of the memorable congresses of ICCA.”
The Sarawak Asia Pacific Regional Hub ICCA Congress 2020 will take place from 31st October until 5th November 2020 at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) with BESarawak as the local host and organiser.
The Congress is endorsed by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Sarawak (MTAC), Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) and Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB), ICCA Malaysia Committee and Sarawak’s business events industry partners.