KUALA LUMPUR, 20 August 2018 ­– The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (the Centre) recently hosted Ben Goedegebuure, General Manager, Maritz Global Events and Nancy DeBrosse, Senior Vice President, Strategic Account Management for Experient for an educational visit. Maritz Global Events brings together the industry-leading power of Maritz Travel, a recognised industry leader in corporate conferences, meetings, and incentive travel; and Experient, which is one of the best-known and most respected brands in the association meetings, live events and tradeshow world.

The visit was part of the Centre’s global educational industry engagement programme to grow its business acquisition of international corporate and association meetings and events, as well as build greater awareness of Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia’s business events proposition through a first-hand experiential immersion.

The educational programme was designed and organised by the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre Business Events Alliance (KLCCBEA) to provide an experience that would walk the client and the delegate through the integrated convention centre precinct proposition. It also provided the opportunity to meet the industry supply chain and enjoy Malaysia’s kaleidoscope of cultural diversity, historic traditions and wonderful attractions, including the country’s famed culinary reputation as the participants “ate their way” through the visit!

The Centre’s General Manager, Alan Pryor shared, “We are delighted that Maritz Global Events accepted our invitation. It was great being able to spend time with them exchanging ideas and exploring business opportunities. It was wonderful to hear that our guests were impressed with Malaysia’s warm and friendly hospitality, the ease of connectivity, that English is widely spoken and notably the affordability of the destination. The knowledge exchanged throughout the visit has affirmed Malaysia has an untapped opportunity and proven extremely useful in shaping our global business development plans moving forward.”

Included in the programme were plenty of interactive and thought-provoking activities, including a city and walking heritage tour of Kuala Lumpur; a brief jaunt to Tiarasa Escapes Glamping Resort in Janda Baik; a hands-on pewter making class at the School of Hard Knocks, Royal Selangor; experiential site inspections and one-on-one engagement sessions with partners; and an insightful Industry Dialogue with Alliance partners and stakeholders, which focused on market insights, market opportunities and pricing models.

The Maritz Global Events team were also involved in a stimulating session around developments in Malaysia post the recent General Election and the first change in government for 61 years. This featured key opinion leaders and influencers, such as Producer and Presenter, BFM 89.9, Sharaad Kuttan and Director of Strategy, Advisory & Services, InvestKL, Michael Warren, who shared their insights on Malaysia’s exciting offering and future with the guests.

Thanking Alan and his team for their warm Malaysian hospitality and immersive trip, Ben Goedegebuure, said “Kuala Lumpur is an excellent destination and its principal qualities are expertise, value for money, and the exceptional hospitality in this country. It is one of the outstanding international destinations to recommend to all multinational and international delegates that might come to this destination.”

Echoing Ben’s comments, Nancy DeBrosse, shared, “This is my first visit to Kuala Lumpur and the country of Malaysia and I’m really excited to tell you that I’m very pleasantly surprised at the entire city. From the modern buildings and the infrastructure you have in place, to the kindness, politeness and the hospitality of everybody in this city is just amazing. The commitment to technology in the buildings for the meetings industry is really attractive – I think you have a wonderful opportunity here to market to the North American meetings and events community.”

Pryor continued, “We have been consistently investing in the European and North American markets to secure international conventions and elevate Malaysia’s profile in these markets to attract more international business events to Kuala Lumpur. Having Maritz Global Events visit Malaysia provided the perfect platform for us to showcase the Centre, Kuala Lumpur and the country’s attractive and growing business events proposition.”

“What is now required is a consistent presence in market and a strong visible packaged business events brand. Our next engagement will take place at IMEX America in October. We are also in discussion on collaborating on potential projects that include a Healthcare compliance course and Advocacy,” concluded Pryor.