Located in the heart of South East Asia, Malaysia is carving its MICE niche
Located strategically in the middle of Asia, Malaysia is growing in stature and importance as a trading and business hub.
The country is a newly industrialised economy that has experienced an economic boom attributed to its international shipping trade route and its diversification into mining, oil and gas, forestry, agriculture, electronics, information technology and multimedia.
More recently, Malaysia has moved towards more service industries, such as the financial sector and niche areas such as Islamic banking.
Key venues for exhibitions include the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, which can hold up to 9,710 visitors, Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS), Serdang, which can hold 8,000.
Elsewhere, the Matrade Exhibition & Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur, holds 33,000 and the Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur holds 35,000.
Last year, Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) Business Events Division supported 130 associations, 112 corporate incentive groups and 19 exhibitions.
Together, these accounted for 131,936 delegates with an estimated economic impact of RM1.5bn to the country.
Malaysia is going through a period of transition. 2016 was a year of expansions, with 36 new hotels throughout the country due by the end of the year, catering to business travellers.
Meanwhile, a spate of new venues are set to open their doors to travellers very soon, including St Regis Langkawi, which complements the world renowned Langkawi International Convention Centre (LICC) that opened in 2015.
