This year’s performance has grown the Centre’s ongoing contribution to Malaysia. Since opening in 2005, the venue has now hosted over 18,300 events and welcomed close to 27 million participants. All of these events have not only contributed to the country’s economy directly through generating over RM10.6 billion in economic impact, but have also played an important role in developing Malaysia’s talent and knowledge base.
According to Alan Pryor, the Centre’s General Manager, “We are delighted with the positive bounce-back of the Malaysian business events industry we have witnessed this year, which reinforces our attractive destination proposition. It is also great to see how enthused people have been to attend in-person events again. Accomplishing 90% of our record-breaking 2019 performance is a great achievement by our entire team considering the circumstances. Everyone has worked tirelessly to deliver innovative solutions through our flexible and client-centric approach, contributing to the successful delivery of so many events this year.”
Elaborating on Pryor’s comments, Ravindran Sathiamoorthy, the Centre’s Director of Sales, shared, “Of the events hosted in 2022, the corporate meetings and banqueting events (corporate sales segment) was the biggest contributor with 50%. This was followed by26% conventions and exhibitions with 24%. We also hosted a record number of 21 entertainment events this year featuring popular international acts. Out of the 1,350 events hosted, 30 were regional and international events.With about 100 events or 50% of our 2023 target already confirmed, we anticipate the industry returning to pre-pandemic levels sooner than expected and hope this positive trajectory continues for business events moving forward.”
Pryor added, “One of our big focus areas in 2022 was our Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) programmes and initiatives. According to recent Skift Meetings ‘State of Business Events’ report, the overall industry is failing on the sustainability front. However, we remain committed to our net zero-carbon pledge and long-term sustainable operations and initiatives, in line with the United Nations SDGs, and look forward to building on the SDG milestones we have achieved so far.”
“With the vision of making Kuala Lumpur Asia’s SDG Hub, we established the first public-private sector strategic partnership with URBANICE Malaysia and formed the Kuala Lumpur Convention Business Events Alliance (KLCCBEA) Sustainability Sub-Committee. We are working closely with our KLCCBEA partners to develop and implement programmes, initiatives and engagements to encourage and inspire people and stakeholders to develop the KLCC precinct into an SDG hub. One that delivers a sustainable meetings destination where delegates can travel to, meet and stay in the heart of city centre, as well as interact in an environmentally- and socially-responsible setting,” he continued.
Most recently, the Centre invested in a food composter machine to expand its waste management efforts and help develop a circular economy model for the precinct. Since including composting as part of its process, the venue has recorded a 30% decrease in the overall food waste disposed. One of the long-term plans for the composter is to also provide non-chemical-based fertilisers to the 50-acre KLCC park that is adjacent to the Centre.
In addition to the food composter, the Centre has also implemented various technologies and solutions to help create a sustainable venue and KLCC precinct. Some recent examples include the Winnow food waste solution, an AI-enabled food waste tracking system to help run a more productive, profitable and sustainable kitchen; smart recycling machines to positively reinforce responsible actions through points-system in the venue; gravity-reliant rain-water harvesting system; and a hydroponic farm on its rooftop to reduce carbon footprint and provide healthy food to event delegates and guests.
“We have been receiving more international requests for site-visits for their upcoming meetings, which is indicative of the industry’s strong recovery moving forward. We are proud to have recently added six new bid wins to our calendar of events which will be held between 2024 and 2026, and are expected to attract over 16,000 delegates from around the world. We look forward to welcoming more high-profile international meetings and events next year, including the IEEE International Instrumentation & Measurement Technology Conference (I2MTC) 2023; IEEE International Conference on Image Processing (ICIP) 2023; and E-Mobility Asia (EMA) 2023, to name a few,” concluded Pryor.
