BIG NOVEMBER FOR MALAYSIA!

– Malaysia All Set to Welcome Over 10,000 Delegates in November

Kuala Lumpur, 19 October 2010 – The month of November will be a busy month in the business events¹ calendar for Malaysia. The international association meetings across various fields including medical sciences, finance, and education are expected to attract over 10,000 conference delegates to Malaysia in November.

As a high-yield tourism sector, international conventions are known to bring tremendous economic benefits to the host country. The nine conventions listed (below) are estimated to inject in excess of RM 62 million (USD 20 million, EUR 14 million, AUD 20 million) in terms of international visitor expenditure to Malaysia, thereby benefitting the local hotels, food and beverage outlets, shopping centres, tourist attractions and more.

These events include:

• The 8th GLOBELICS International Conference (1 – 3 Nov) – 350 delegates
• Water Safety Conference 2010 (2 – 4 Nov) – 400 delegates
• 6th IMT-GT International Conferences on Mathematics, Statistics and Their Applications (ICMSA) (3 – 4 Nov) – 200 delegates
• 18^th World Congress of Accountants (8 – 10 Nov) – 6,000 delegates
• 3rd Asia-Pacific Gastroesophageal Cancer Congress (10 – 12 Nov) – 250 delegates
• 8^th Asian Congress of Neurological Surgeons 2010 (22 – 24 Nov) – 2,000 delegates
• 3^rd Asia Pacific Educational Research Association Conference (APERA) (23 – 26 Nov) – 500 delegates
• 9^th Asian Congress on Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (25 – 28 Nov) – 500 delegates
• 18^th International Conference on Computers in Education (29 Nov – 3 Dec) – 250 delegates

A first for Malaysia and the largest association meeting to be held in the country this year, the 18^th World Congress of Accountants will see 6,000 finance professionals from 124 countries converging at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, between 8 to 11 November 2010.

“The choice of Malaysia as the host for WCOA 2010 by the International Federation of Accountants is indicative of the trust and confidence of the global financial and business community in the high professional standing of the Malaysia accountancy profession,” said Mr Abdul Rahim Abdul Hamid, President, Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA).

Commenting on Malaysia’s growing appeal for association meetings, Mr Zulkefli Hj Sharif, Chief Executive Officer, Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) said, “Malaysia is ideally located between the two booming economies of China and India, and right in the heart of Asia. With national carrier, Malaysia Airlines flying to some 100 destinations across 6 continents daily, world leaders and delegates can easily access Malaysia and gather here for these conventions.

“The completion of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) 2 as the largest low-cost carrier hub in Asia come 2012 will further boost delegates’ connectivity to Malaysia,” Mr Zulkefli continued.

MyCEB was established in 2009 by Ministry of Tourism, Malaysia to further strengthen the country’s business events brand and position internationally. A non-profit organisation, MyCEB serves as a one-stop centre to assist meeting planners to bid for and stage regional and international business events in Malaysia and act as a conduit for national product development.