The Star Malaysia: The Star Malaysia

IF ALL goes well, Malaysia could soon play host to several additional international sporting events.

Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) International Events general manager Tony Nagamiah said MyCEB “managed to secure some good leads” at the recent SportAccord International Convention in Quebec City, Canada, and will be working towards securing the events to be held in Malaysia.

“Malaysia has already been confirmed as the venue for Asia’s first Kids Golf World Championship 2012 and International Olympic Committee Meeting 2015,” he said.

MyCEB represented Malaysia at the SportAccord International Convention — a gathering of more than 1,500 leading representatives from international sports that offers the sports family an opportunity to come together on a global scale, in an exclusive and authoritative networking environment, to build relationships, share knowledge and develop ideas that will benefit the entire community.

Promoting the country: The Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) booth at the Malaysia International Tourism Exchange 2012, which was held from May 31 till June 3 at the Malaysia Agriculture Exposition Park Serdang, Selangor.

MyCEB chief executive officer Zulkefli Sharif had been quoted as saying that the SportAccord International Convention opened up more possibilities for Malaysia to present itself as an ideal host venue to international federations, organising committees and other sporting bodies.

“Malaysia recently won the World Travel Awards for Asia’s Leading Sports Tourism Destination,” he said.

“Malaysia is increasingly and actively promoting itself as an organiser and host to various world-class sports events and recreational activities, with the aim of becoming a major sports tourism destination in the region.

“For Malaysia, sports tourism accounted for RM5bil last year, a growing segment in its overall tourism revenue of RM58.3bil. Malaysia holds great potential in growing this sector and it is for this reason that it aims to become a major sports tourism destination in the region,” he added.

Tony said MyCEB was formed two years ago as part of the National Key Economic Area (NKEA) for the Tourism Ministry.

“MyCEB was initially established to further strengthen Malaysia’s business tourism brand and position for the international business events markets (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions or MICE),” he said.

“MyCEB serves as a central hub to assist meeting and event planners to bid for and stage international business events in Malaysia and act as a conduit for national product development.”

As a measure to further develop the international events industry, MyCEB launched a specialist unit called the International Events Unit (IEU) which focuses on identifying and supporting international event bids, including sports, arts and cultural, and lifestyle events.

“The IEU’s goal is to identify and assist home-grown events which have the potential to attract international publicity and international attendances, such as the Rainforest World Music Festival and Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta,” said Tony.

“We work closely with various agencies, organisations and local partners like the Olympic Council of Malaysia and Puspal (Central Agency for the Application for Filming and Performance by Foreign Artistes) to identify and bid for international events and get the necessary licences.”

For MyCEB, Tony said international events are defined as those that have a minimum of 20% international spectators and participants, and tourists making a minimum of one night’s stay.

“Our key performance indicator is to attract foreign tourists into the country, and get them to extend their stay and expand their wallet. Our target is the high spenders.

“Bids for events to be held in Asia are getting more competitive, as more people are moving towards this region due to the economic crisis in Europe.

“This works well for Malaysia, as it gives us the extra opportunity and mileage to have international events held here,” Tony said

He added that Malaysia’s advantage is its central location in Asia, the availability of proper facilities and infrastructure, and great variety of tourism products.

MyCEB works closely with the 48 Tourism Malaysia offices worldwide to extend its services globally, as well as a network of travel agents to further promote the events held in Malaysia.

“We add in tour packages to the events we secure to attract visitors to extend their stay, whether before or after the event they are attending,” said Tony.

“Malaysia recorded an estimated RM845mil in international tourist expenditure from the 189 international events held last year; MyCEB is targeting RM900mil for this year.”

Since it was formed, Tony said MyCEB has been working closely with the relevant authorities to get the approvals to allow foreign artists to come to Malaysia.

“We have to be careful with the artists that are invited as we have to take care of the local culture and values, and weigh the social impact on the community,” he said.

“It also depends on whether the local promoter can afford to bring in an international act and organise a profitable event, as one failed concert is enough to make an established company go bust.”

Tony personally believes that it is no big loss that artistes such as Lady Gaga are not having concerts in Malaysia, as he feels that concerts are one-off compared to music festivals that are annual events that can be built on to create a bigger economic impact for the country.

In terms of musicals MyCEB supports, Tony said it has to be those brought in by the original productions, such as the upcoming Shrek the Musical.

“We hope to bring in more original acts from New York’s Broadway or London’s West End,” he said.

“Adventure sports such as paintball, water sports and outdoor activities is a growing segment in Malaysia, as the country offers a unique blend of nature with lifestyle, and the right elements in terms of land space, accommodation, food and beverage, and logistics.”

MyCEB, with the assistance of the Finance Ministry, has implemented a tracking system similar to a feasibility study on all international event organisers and promoters from this year onwards.

“All international event organisers and promoters need to pay a withholding tax to the Finance Ministry in order to organise an event in Malaysia,” said Tony.

“The withholding tax is refundable, provided the organiser furnishes an audited report based on the cost of organising the event. The report needs to include a tracking system, including the economic and social impact of the event in Malaysia.”

Tony said MyCEB also provides a subvention programme or grant as seed fund to help the industry move forward with international events.

“The seed fund can be used to start a new event, boost an existing event or bid for an event overseas,” he said, adding that MyCEB does not underwrite an event.

“The criteria to apply for the grant are that the event has to be exclusive to South-East Asia to attract visitors from around the region, has the potential to bring in a minimum of 20% international tourists, and has to have some kind of appeal to Malaysians.”