Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (MACEOS) has unveiled the MACEOS Strategic Roadmap 2022-2030 during its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 24 May 2022, to strengthen the Business Events (BE) industry in line with the reopening of travel borders to Malaysia on 1 April 2022.
The said roadmap documents the actions and strategies that would guide the industry’s recovery, resilience and sustainability over nine years. It identified the Business Events (BE) industry’s opportunities, challenges, and potential that would facilitate recovery, economic growth, and nation-building.
MACEOS President, Mr. Francis Teo, said that the industry needed a new narrative and branding to strongly convey its key role as an economic enabler and nation builder when he was addressing the members of MACEOS at the AGM held at MITEC.
“We can no longer identify ourselves merely as event organisers, venue operators, or logistics providers. Instead, we must be very clear about the role of BE in driving innovation, product development, knowledge transfer, network creation, accelerating industry impact and economic growth. These are the narratives we need to drive home again,” he said.
“Utilising this data to make better events and content will deliver great value to clients and strengthen our position as an invaluable part of the economy,” he shared.
The roadmap outlined its missions as: to position MACEOS as an industry consultant; to advocate BE economy as a key industry contributor towards the national economy; to encourage the continued growth of the BE community; to be the BE education hub in ASEAN.
Emphasising innovation, development, education and advocacy, the roadmap shared the strategies, actions and key performance indicators for industry players to uphold and implement.
The Business Events industry in Malaysia was growing well pre-pandemic, with 1,138 business events organised in 2019, attracting over 540,000 international business travellers to Malaysia. It was estimated to contribute RM3.9 billion in direct expenditure and RM9.2 billion in economic impact to the country.
However, it was among the worst-hit industries during the pandemic, with severe restrictions on gathering and events disabling its activities. A survey conducted by MACEOS during the pandemic showed a 90% loss of business revenue in the Business Events economy, with close to 35,000 industry workforce affected.
Despite the challenges, MACEOS continued to advocate the role of Business Events in economic recovery.
“Our focus last year was to deepen engagement with the government, advocate the relevance of BE to economic recovery, and support industry members through the trying times,” he added.
MACEOS’ efforts included engaging with government authorities to navigate the pandemic challenges while supporting industry players; participating in various working committee groups to champion the sustainability of BE and its workforce; offering event venues as mega vaccination centres; developing a Business Events safety standards; and collaborating with other tourism industry associations to develop safety standards for the larger tourism and hospitality industry, called Travel Safe Alliance Malaysian (TSAM).
Teo shared that the reopening of global borders was an opportunity for industry players to jump to action and position themselves strongly in the economy.
“It is my greatest hope that the launching of the MACEOS Strategic Roadmap 2022-2030 today will chart a new chapter for BE industry stakeholders. Let it guide us to move forward with purpose and greater awareness of the power of Business Events. Let it be the voice of industry as we make ourselves be heard as the drivers of entrepreneurship, innovation, economic growth and nation-building.”
