MALAYSIA’S convention bureau is rolling out its Meet in Malaysia campaign to support the country’s meetings and incentive stakeholders hit by the cancellations brought about by Covid-19.
Ministers are also weighing up proposals for travel bubbles with countries that have “green status regions” in a bid to revive the tourism industry. Destinations being considered include Australia, Brunei, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
The Meet in Malaysia campaign was launched through a hybrid event with 250 attendees at the Everly Hotel, Putrajaya, and live streaming via an online platform.
The campaign, which runs until December 2021, includes two initiatives: “Let’s Meet Tomorrow” and “Let’s Meet Locally”.
Malaysia’s tourism minister, Nancy Shukri, said the strategy put in place by MyCEB (Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau) is aimed at turning “adversities into advantages by planning for the near future”.
“I have been briefed on initiatives by MyCEB such as Meet in Malaysia Campaign which we hope to stimulate the business events segment further and help the industry to kickstart their business again as soon as possible,” Shukri said.
“I understand that MyCEB’s latest campaign is very much in line with the strategy of focusing on domestic business tourism. However, I am also told that MyCEB is taking several steps further to build the international audience as well.”
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The Let’s Meet Tomorrow programme is designed to help the industry prepare for international business events to be organised in Malaysia once borders re-open, while Let’s Meet Locally will come into effect once the local business events sector is allowed to operate.
Tourism minister Shukri said officials were looking at countries with a potential to be green zones before waiting for a destination to be declared Covid free. She gave Langkawi and Bali as examples.
Verdant events in Indonesia and Malaysia
Shukri said bilateral discussions with other countries must be held first while health, immigration, data tracking and monitoring by the relevant agencies in the destinations would be a priority.
The Meet in Malaysia launch on July 24 was followed by a meeting attended by representatives from ICCA tourism and culture ministry officials, Malaysian Association of Convention & Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers (MACEOS), Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau and Sarawak Convention Bureau on recovery efforts for the business events industry.
