Asia Pacific
Malaysia builds on its strengths
An expansion at KLCC is one of a good stream of exhibition business in the Malaysian capital
alaysia is continuing
to play well on
its drawcards for
international exhibition
organisers, as a country where it is
easy to do business and one where
the English language is widespread.
The national Convention & Exhibition
Bureau (MyCEB) tells EW of a good
pipeline of international exhibitions,
already ahead of 2019, a year when
MyCEB supported four international
exhibitions with a total of 17,299
international delegates. They brought
RM223.7m (US$54.74m) in estimated
economic impact to the country.
Moving into 2020, there are
already five exhibitions with MyCEB
support. They are expected to bring
in 8,750 international delegates and
RM143.9m in estimated economic
impact. (See table below).
MyCEB tells EW that there is a trend
No Event Name
for organisers to move into niche
profiles by specific product, with the
festivalisation concept being used
more widely. Informa Markets is one
big player in the country, organising
the Defence Services Asia Exhibition
& Conference, Food & Hotel Malaysia
and Oil & Gas Asia.
The expansion of Kuala Lumpur
Convention Centre (KLCC) added an
extra 11,000sqm in July 2019. The
expansion has so far accommodated
36 events, including five exhibitions
that attracted 85,000 visitors.
Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC)
is also soon to be redeveloped into
KL PWTC, offering a floor area of
375,000 sqm and Sabah International
Convention Centre will have an offer
of 92,000sqm of built-up area.
Other tradeshow trends to the fore
in 2020 identified by MyCEB include
ongoing mergers and acquisitions and
Organiser International
Delegates Estimated
Economic
Impact
1 Control World 2020 Media Generation
Group Ltd - Bahrain 750 RM9.9m
2 Cyber Defence &
Security Exhibition and
Conference (CYDES)
2020 Alpine Group –
Malaysia 3,500 RM72m
3 World Hospitality,
Lifestyle and
Entertainment
Exhibition & Conference
(WHOLE) 2020 Alpine Group –
Malaysia 1,500 RM16m
4 Smart Nation 2020 -
Beyond Vision 2020 AMB Tarsus –
Malaysia 2,000 RM34m
5 ASEAN Senior Care &
Wellness Expo, Malaysia
(AGExpo) 2020 C.I.S Network -
Malaysia 1,000 RM12m
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk
associations venturing more into exhibitions and
not just focusing on conferences.
KLCC General Manager Alan Pryor told EW
13% of tradeshows at the venue were produced
by international organisers. “We are seeing
positive growth in 2020, with nine international
exhibitions already secured,” Pryor added.
“The international exhibitions at the Centre
are strongly related to manufacturing, which
includes automotive, building materials
and equipment and followed by leisure and
recreational sectors.
“Some of the recurrent and new shows by
international organisers lined up for 2020
are Diving Resort Travel Expo, Control World
Expo, Rail Solutions Asia, Taiwan Expo, Wire &
Cable, Asia Fence Expo, The Fit Expo, Malaysia
International Hair Festival and tradeshows
showcasing products from China and Korea,”
Pryor said.
Pryor noted a trend in organisers from China
expanding their market to Malaysia in line with
the One Belt One Road initiative. He also said
eonomies of scale were being made. “Series of
shows running across the region help organisers
to bundle their booth sales and strengthen
customer loyalty. More exhibitions are inserting
conference and side events to add value to
the show content attracting more exhibitors
and visitors in order to enhance the visitor
experience as well as promoting better ROI.”
KLCC also boasts a smart management
platform that provides data on crowd flows
within the Centre. The Online Exhibitor Service
Centre, meanwhile, is an e-commerce portal
that enables organisers and exhibitors to order
a variety of add-on services 24/7 and make
payment online.
Issue 1 2020 39