Kuching, Sarawak has earned its place, for the first time ever, in the 2010 International Convention & Congress Association (ICCA) Asia Pacific & Middle East city ranking, sharing 42nd spot with Nara and Guangzhou, bettering the performance of many established second tier cities such as Adelaide and Canberra in Australia and Bangalore in India. The recent establishment of the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK), with the collaborative marking efforts of the Sarawak Convention Bureau (SCB), have raised Kuching city’s profile as a bourgeoning destination for international association conventions.
To tap into the global MICE industry, the Sarawak State Government invested RM200 million back in 2008 into the construction of the State’s first dedicated convention centre. Located just outside Kuching city, the BCCK opened for business in October 2009 to cater to the growing number of conferences to be held in the coming years. Among those that have been held are the 14th ORL Head and Neck Congress and the Asia Infrastructure Summit, to name a few.
Paul D’Arcy, CEO of BCCK comments, “Being the first purpose-built convention centre in East Malaysia, BCCK has provided a world-class facility for the many conventions and corporate meetings to be held in the coming years, contributing to the success of Kuching being listed in the ICCA city ranks. This is the first time that Kuching has appeared in the Asia Pacific & Middle East City ranking- a tremendous honour for a developing MICE destination.”
“With the growing number of MICE activities to be held in Kuching, we hope to further expand our facilities in the years to come and to continue to offer true Sarawakian hospitality to delegates and industry partners,” he adds.
The SCB has been in the forefront of the MICE industry in Sarawak since its establishment in 2006, providing support to local association members in bidding for regional and international conventions to Sarawak. To date, SCB has secured a total of 161 conventions which are expected to bring 75,642 delegates and generate RM171 million in direct delegate expenditure.
Many of these conventions will be held in BCCK as it is currently the only venue able to host a large number of delegates, up to 5,000 people at one time. Overlooking the Sarawak River, its unique architectural design offers extensive meeting and convention facility accompanied by five star service and warm hospitality.
Jill Henry, CEO of SCB comments, “The establishment of BCCK and other new and upgraded meetings hotels throughout Sarawak, coupled with strong State Government support to convention hosts, has enabled us to push for more conventions and meetings and assist organisers with marketing and sponsorship support.”
“Kuching’s first ever ranking at 42 is just the beginning, if we continue to build on this momentum, Kuching can definitely raise its ICCA city profile as a competitive destination for MICE activities,” she adds.
The ICCA Statistics Report is the Global benchmark for international association convention business and a sales and marketing resource for its members to target future international association meetings. To qualify for ICCA ranking a meeting must attract over 50 delegates be held over a minimum of three days duration and rotate between at least three countries.
