Ashwin Gunasekeran
Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) will be organising its inaugural industry engagement conference session in December, a two-day event at The Wembley, Penang that will see a gathering of prominent figures in the local and international business events scene.
Business Events @ Penang is part of the bureau and industry’s collective effort in developing the Malaysian state into a matured business events destination.
PCEB’s CEO, Ashwin Gunasekeran, said: “The two-day programme that commences on December 6 is part of PCEB’s efforts to bring the industry together to realise common goals. We plan to make this an annual event that takes place every December. It will form part of a series of workshops and forums we will organise in the state for industry players.”
Headlining the conference is keynote speaker Noor Ahmad Hamid, regional director of ICCA Asia Pacific.
Other notable speakers and panelists include Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers’ Alun Jones; Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau’s Wong Wai Kin; Putrajaya International Convention Centre’s Oh Kin Tat; and S P Setia’s Koe Peng Kang, who will cover various topics such as Analysis of Business Events in Penang, Succeed at Bidding, and Associations, NGOs & Government Conferences.
TTG Asia Media’s group editor, Karen Yue, will be moderating three panel discussions – Branding a Business Events Destination, Getting My Venue Ready for Business Events, and Attracting Foreign Buyers.
This inaugural event is timely in the wake of some key developments in Penang which will further strengthen the state’s position as a business events destination, such as the scheduled opening of the Subterranean Penang International Convention & Exhibition Centre (SPICE), in March 2017. As the first purpose-built convention venue in Penang, SPICE will be able to serve large conventions of up to 8,000 people.
Malaysia Airlines will also be commencing new services between Penang and China’s Shenzhen and Shanghai in 2017, a development that bodes well for inbound MICE to Penang.
There are also a number of new and unique dining and incentive venues in Penang which opened this year such as The Top at Komtar, Entopia by Penang Butterfly Farm and The Habitat Penang Hill.
