Sarawak is appealing directly to MICE planners, but can the emerging destination reach the heights of some of its neighbours?
Sarawak, a state of Malaysia on the island of Borneo, grabbed headlines recently when it announced it was breaking free from the Malaysia Tourism Board (MTB).
Sarawak’s chief minister’s office said participation of its representative in Tourism Malaysia is not necessary, as it duplicates the role and functions of the Sarawak Tourism Board.
The decision was taken by Sarawak’s chief minister Abang Johari Open and followed a spat between the state tourism authority and culture minister Nazri Abdul Aziz over a tourism tax issue. There was also reported resentment that the federal government pushed the tourism tax on Sarawak without consultation.
Malaysia received 26.8m tourists in 2016, according to the Tourism Ministry. Of that figure, Sarawak received 2.26m foreign visitors and an additional 2.4m visitors from the peninsula and Sabah, according to the Sarawak Immigration Department.
On EW’s visit to Sarawak, audience members were similarly bullish about the destination’s potential, insisting the destination can challenge Malaysia’s diminat destinations. “I went to Bali more than 20 times, my perception was that it had amazing beaches and tourist attractions, but I was underwhelmed. Many of the attractions are not in order and I was unsure why it was so famous. It’s he brand power is keeping it alive when the quality has gone. People are going because it is fashion.”
Aziz adds that Sarawak is making strides to reach more people to compete fiercely with its neighbours. “Most economies are being transformed into knowledge intensive economies. We’ve opened our doors to the world and improved our efficiency and capabilities for business events. The next five years and decade will be interesting and a lot of things are happening. We’re trying to get connectivity from Sarawak to China and I am confident in the next year we’ll get a lot more flights into Sarawak.”
Backing up these words could well be some serious action, and much of that centres around Kuching, which is home to Borneo Convention Centre (pictured p53). Its CEO Eric Van Piggelen, outlined as yet unconfirmed plans to expand in an ambitious manner.
“What we did with ICCA [the event association whose convention the venue hosted in 2016] was achieved in just a year. Although we were the official host, all our parteners were honestly just as much the partner in engaging. The economic impact is important for Kuching. The secreterait of ICCA had a lot of issues but we were able to handle them. We proved we can handle world class events.”
“Nothing has been approved, but we’re working on plans to expand to 10,000 people for gigs and sport events with a multipurpose hall. We also want an entire commercial area on the waterfront. Adjacent to that we want a big hotel. We want a hub here and we want to have it all.
Van Piggelen went on to compare Kuching’s accessibility to other destinations. “The RAI in Amsterdam’s closest hotel in 20 minutes away but you’re in a great city so no one minds. We are ten or 15 minutes from the centre, but we can overcome this. Let’s put wifi on the bus, let’s have entertainment and information on the way. It’s how you package the experience that makes the difference.”
Certainly, Sarawak has been upping its footprint of late, appointing Amelia Roziman as its first chief operating officer since its establishment in 2006. As part of her initiation, she bravely took part in a traditional tribal dance on stage (see main image) at the Global Tribes launch event.
“Today, after hosting the 55th ICCA Congress 2016, Sarawak has become one of the most innovative second tier destinations for its dedicated convention bureau, professional support team, passionate community, creative approach to CSR, and unique destination appeal,” said Roziman.
“When sectors work in concerted efforts both among themselves and interconnected with the right international partner, great things can happen,” she adds.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s pioneer in Business Events (BE), Sarawak Convention Bureau (SCB), announced that conferences have injected over RM504m into Sarawak’s economy since 2006, at the official launching of Redefining Global Tribes; Sarawak’s biggest ever destination campaign to enlarge the sector’s prominence in the national economy.
“This tremendous economic contribution of over half a billion ringgit to Sarawak is due to the work of SCB and its sector partners who have won 697 international, regional and national meetings, translating to almost 254 thousand delegates equivalent to 847 thousand delegate days in Sarawak,” said Sarawak’s minister of tourism, arts, culture, youth and sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
“By attempting to redefine an industry and strengthen its branding impact internationally, we have opened Sarawak’s doors wider to the world and are actively showcasing Sarawak’s efficiency and capabilities to host prestigious Business Events,” said the Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
“Beyond the immediate RM504m revenue, there is a greater impact derived from Business Events over the long term especially for medicine, technology, science, and other advanced industries – BE produces meaningful business relationships and international collaboration across a myriad of sectors,” said Dato Sri Dr. Muhd. Leo Michael Toyad Abdullah, SCB’s chairman.
Sarawak Convention Bureau (SCB) is also pursuing ambitious corporate partnerships, including global airline Qatar Airways, as part of its Redefining Global Tribes campaign.
Roziman said: “A huge campaign about global tribes needs a global airline in tow to create the significance needed to tell the world Sarawak is serious about growing inbound business travel and hosting business events of an international caliber.”
“With Qatar Airways’ service, and a fleet of 200 connecting to a network of key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, South America and Asia Pacific, we believe this partnership will generate opportunities for decision makers to consider Sarawak.”
EW’s visit to Kuching revealed a wealth of unique activities for exhibition visitors, including seeing orangutang at Semenggoh Nature Reserve. Its MICE programme has an ambitious target, but if met, we might well see the destination truly redefined.
