Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) continues to place Penang at the forefront of the international Business Events, says Tourism exco.

As we are almost at the end of year 2018, we recall the efforts and achievements that the Business Events industry has accomplished for the year.

“Many organisers have started to pay attention to the destinations in the Asia Pacific countries, and we are excited that Penang is within the list,” Tourism Development, Heritage, Culture and Arts, Yeoh Soon Hin said when he officiated at the opening ceremony of the BE@Penang2018 at Setia SPICE Convention Centre in Bayan Baru this morning.

Joining him were Deputy Chief Minister I, Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman.

Also present were immediate past president of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Nina Freysen-Pretorius.

The BE @ Penang conference was first initiated in 2016, with the aim to position Penang as the hub for knowledge exchange for the Business Events industry.

Since then, the conference has been accepted as a benchmark as an intellectual conference within this industry.

“With it’s inaugural theme of BE ENGAGED, the conference succeeded in bringing forth the formation of Team Penang in order to move forward to improve the industry,” Yeoh said.

He commented that from a fledging industry, Business Events in Penang has grown into a billion-dollar industry in the past few years.

“I believe this growth is possible in any destination that has focussed public-private collaboration and the mindset to achieve exceptionalism.”

Meanwhile, Ahmad Zakiyuddin said : ” We are currently bridging the future for business events in Penang and for the rest of the world.”

“It is not easy to BE EXCEPTIONAL,but if we tap our strengths as what the destination can offer that is different from the rest, it is not impossible to attract more conference organisers to consider new destinations for the future events.

“We are all working towards the same goals and many hands make light work,” he stressed.

At the opening ceremony of the two-day BE@Penang function today, Nina Freysen also narrated her
keynote address -Conquering The Mountain- My Journey Through Business Events as PCO In South Africa to the president of ICCA Congress.

Story by Danny Ooi
Pix by Alissala Thian.