THE Asia Pacific region is developing its international business, International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) president James Rees said.
“ICCA tracks the meetings database each year and there are now 12,000 meetings in our database. While Europe remains a dominant player in the market, the Asia Pacific region is starting to grow its international business.
“There are destinations, venues, and suppliers here in the Asia Pacific region that can maximise this fantastic opportunity,” he said in his keynote address after the opening ceremony of the historic dual conferences – the ICCA Asia Pacific Summit 2019 and the BE@Penang 2019 – at Setia SPICE Convention Centre today.
Rees said the ICCA Asia Pacific membership growth has been fantastic.
“It has grown from about 100 members in 1995 to 291 this year, and I believe that the number will break the 300-member mark next year (2020).
“As the regional membership grows, we have more opportunities to network and share education and businesses together.
“The sectors we represented in the Asia Pacific are venues, destination marketing, meetings management, meetings support, transport and honorary members,” he added.
He said that the headquarters of ICCA is in Amsterdam and it has offices around the world.
“We have over 1,100 members from more than 100 countries worldwide,” he added.
The two-day dual conferences, which started today (Dec 5), attracted more than 350 delegates from 20 countries.
Participants were treated to spellbinding acts such as the LED dragon dance, and the contemporary dance performance by homegrown dance group Euphoria during the opening ceremony.
Also present were state Tourism Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin, Penang Convention and Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) chief executive officer Ashwin Gunasekeran, ICCA Asia Pacific Chapter chairman Jason Yeh and the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Penang Chapter chairman Khoo Boo Lim.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi