Exhibitions key to jumpstart economy

Kuala Lumpur: Face-to-face exhibitions have the potential to reconnect, restart and rebuild communities and economies amid the Covid-19 crisis, according to the Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (Maceos).

President Datuk Vincent Lim said trade exhibitions recorded US$325 billion in sales, contributing US$198 billion to the growth domestic product (GDP) and providing 3.2 million people with jobs globally last year.

In Malaysia, the business events industry has been growing strong in the past few years, with a total of 1,025 business events were organised in 2019 compared to 1,014 business events in 2018.

These business events attracted over 540,000 international business travellers to Malaysia for the purpose of attending meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions, contributing RM3.9 billion in direct expenditure to the country and generated RM9.2 billion in economic impact.

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Hence, Lim said Maceos also made a recommendation to the government regarding the best industry practices for the new norm. “Led by the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), Maceos collaborated with the Business Events Council Malaysia (BECM), consulted with thought leaders in the industry, compiled global industry best practices and developed a comprehensive framework addressing the standard operating procedures (SOP) for Malaysia’s business events industry,” Lim said in a statement, Wednesday.

The framework is a piece of document that industry players can put into practice to strengthen business events safety, protect public health, and instil confidence in everyone.

The document has been well received by the respective government ministries, and Lim hopes that it will help facilitate the re-opening of the business events industry very soon. “So many of our small and medium industry players have been affected by Covid-19.

“Exhibitions — and business events — need to re-open soon so we can all support the rebuilding of the local economy, the industry, and our national economy,” Lim added.

He said the exhibitions sector is the fastest way for businesses to connect with each other on a global marketplace and rebuild the economy again.

Exhibitions and the larger part of the business events industry, positively impact many industries such as tourism, food and beverages, retail, venue and other rental services, accommodation, transportation, and many more.

“Events such as these encourage innovation, boost productivity, attract talents, spark partnerships and collaborations, and create new opportunities for many businesses,” he added.

In addition, the dynamic landscape of exhibitions makes them effective platforms to revive the marketplace, give optimism for businesses to rebuild themselves and provide job opportunities as it sustains an entire ecosystem of business events support services.

Hence, Lim said since the Movement Control Order (MCO) was imposed, Maceos has been actively playing its role within larger discussions held among government ministries and agencies involved in the pandemic control.

“It shared information regarding issues industry players were struggling with and forwarded recommendations for the economic stimulus inputs.

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“Support for industry players was also provided in the form of webinars and knowledge-sharing on how to cope during the pandemic,” he said.

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