Sarawak requires more hotels, centres due to high demand for business events

KUCHING: Business event planners have been urged to continue designing programmes that enable meaningful encounters and create an environment of participation for their delegates.
 
Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said industry suppliers must also continue designing initiatives that support a planner’s sustainability and legacy goals.
 
“My ministry will always support and facilitate your initiatives as best as we can so that Sarawak continues to be a destination of choice for business events,” he said at the 10th Anak Sarawak Awards ceremony at the Imperial Hotel here yesterday (May 12).
 
Abdul Karim also said designing business events for legacy impact in a sustainable manner is Sarawak’s strong suit and the ultimate seller when it goes for international bidding.
 
“We have learned that international planners and decision-makers prefer destinations that recognise and appreciate the social and economic benefits of their events.
 
“For many, sustainability and legacy building are a big part of an association’s core business and the reason for its existence. Even corporate events today are highly conscious of sustainability and legacy building.
 
“Therefore, we must leverage the opportunities that come from purpose-driven business events. Sustainability and legacy may sound too far into the future, but they are one of the reasons for an excellent performance last year,” he said.
 
He added that last year, Sarawak hosted 100 business events worth RM230.3 million in total economic impact, gained approximately RM125.1 million in delegate expenditure, paid RM13.8 million in taxes, and created 18,275 jobs.
 
“About 27.9 per cent of business events hosted last year were by the tourism sector, followed by the education and human capital sectors at 26.9 per cent and the services sector at 16.8 per cent, which are related to the sectors listed in the Post-COVID-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030,” he said.
 
He also said Sarawak won every international bid last year, which contributed to a 100 per cent success rate, an increase of 15.8 per cent in 2020, and 7 per cent in 2021, indicating that the state has a strong value proposition that appeals to international business event planners and decision-makers.
 
“This is also the reason why we need more hotels and convention centres, and we are happy that the Premier has agreed with these plans,” he said, adding Kuching will have another convention centre to cater to a large number of delegates.