According to the International Convention & Conference Association Statistics Report 2019, Kuala Lumpur achieved the seventh place, recording its best ranking in seven years.
“This ICCA rankings reveal the high number of international meetings held in Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia last year, and each of these delivered economic contribution, knowledge sharing opportunities and social impact benefits to the country. We hope that in view of the current situation, this ranking demonstrates a strong case for the Government in facilitating the reopening of the business events industry, which will play a vital role in stimulating Malaysia’s economy.”
The Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), Dato’ Sri Abdul Khani bin Daud, said, “MyCEB and its industry partners successfully supported 331 business events in 2019 which contributed a total of RM3.1 billion in estimated economic impact to Malaysia, reflecting the magnitude of the business events industry’s value to the country. It is great to see the industry’s efforts are paying off and international associations are recognising the many benefits of Malaysia as an attractive business events destination.”
“This elevated ranking in both Asia and the world is significant for Kuala Lumpur, not only
as the capital city of Malaysia but also as the economic hub of the country. These
meetings are also important contributors to the development of some of Malaysia’s key
industries,” he continued.
Pryor added, “The ICCA ranking improvement reflects the great collaboration we, along
with other local business events players, had in working together with MyCEB to secure
international association meetings. 2019 was a particularly strong year for medical
conferences at the Centre and we feel that Malaysia’s excellent track record in successfully attracting and hosting medical meetings; the Government’s ongoing focus on the healthcare sector; and the country’s relative success in tackling Covid-19, means we
are well positioned to benefit from any post-COVID surge in medical and healthcare-
related meetings.”
The several high-profile international medical meetings, which were held at the Centre
last year, attracted over 3,500 participants and delivered RM24.3 million in economic
impact to Malaysia. Some of these included the Australian and New Zealand College of
Anaesthetists Annual Scientific Meeting (ANZCA ASM) 2019; Urological Association of
Asia Congress (UAA) 2019; Asia-Pacific Federation of Coloproctology Congress (APFCP) 2019; Soroptimist International Convention 2019; and Asia Pacific Congress of
Interventional Oncology (APCIO) 2019.
Some of the other prestigious conferences held at the Centre involved associations and
professionals representing key sectors for the Malaysian economy including education,
big data and analytics, telecommunications and agriculture.
