GEORGE TOWN: The state government aims to position Penang as a preferred destination for organisers from the United Kingdom (UK) to hold business events over the long term, state Exco for Tourism, Arts, Culture and Heritage, Yeoh Soon Hin said yesterday.
He said business events were among the areas the state government aims to promote as a reason for people to come to the island state, besides making it known as a cruise point, for medical treatment, leisure or group tours.
“For Penang, tourism is a sector which now matters more than before. I believe Penang is also progressing at an unstoppable pace to further market and promote itself as a destination to not be missed,” he added.
Yeoh made these remarks at a press conference here yesterday before the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Penang Convention and Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) and The Meetings Show, London (TMS London) to mark their partnership for the BE @ Penang 2019 .
The BE @ Penang is Malaysia’s largest business conference from Dec 5-6 this year and will run concurrently with the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Asia Pacific Summit at the Setia Spice Convention Centre here.
The MOU was signed between PCEB Chief Executive Officer G Ashwin and TMS London Commercial Director, Ross Barker.
The PCEB is a state bureau established to develop business events and meetings, incentives and conventions and exhibitions (Mice) in Penang, while TMS London is UK’s largest corporate meetings and incentives tradeshow organiser.
Yeoh said the UK had a significant market for Penang business events and TMS London was one of the platforms to promote the state to the people of the country.
“Through this milestone, Penang will be able to improve its efforts to market Penang further as a destination for business events and the tourism industry of the UK,” he added. – Bernama
