Belly-dancing and Ngajat lessons are not usually associated with site visits for International Association executives but this was just one of the innovative ways that Sarawak Convention Bureau recently introduced a group of UK and Belgian based meeting planners to the ethnic flavours of the region.
The diverse programme also featured traditional Bidayuh massage, visiting the Orang Utan rehabilitation centre at the Semonggoh Nature Reserve, enjoying lunch in a traditional village house and travelling by native longboats to an Iban longhouse for a ceremonial welcome. The longhouse is really a village under one roof and when a village member marries, an additional living area is added to the length of the property. The longhouses are mostly only accessible by river as they are situated in the interior of Sarawak.
The site visit group travelled to Kuching via Kuala Lumpur on Malaysia Airlines to be greeted at Kuching Airport by Christina Wendt, Director Business Development from the Sarawak Convention Bureau (SCB) and representatives from Diethelm, one of the local Destination Management Companies who handled the logistics for this visit.
Kuching is the capital of Sarawak on the north part of the island of Borneo and none of the group had been to this part of Malaysia before.
It is “an undiscovered destination”, said Graham Bartram, Secretary General for Congresses from the International Federation of Vexillological Associations. “Even though it was a long haul flight it was not a tedious journey, Sarawak is very accessible and the Convention Bureau ensured that we were refreshed with a reviving massage before embarking on our programme”.
Also included in the programme was the Sarawak Cultural Village, a living museum with authentic houses from the different ethnic tribes that inhabit Borneo and a venue that is ideally situated for gala dinners and welcome receptions. More could be learnt about the indigenous animals, plants and native customs of the region at the historic Sarawak Museum.
Henry Verhasselt, Executive Secretary of the International Liaison Centre for Film and Television Schools (CILECT) said, “The extensive options for pre and post tours are excellent, combining exoticism with comfort”.
Regine Toussaint from the Union of International Associations said that her most memorable experience was a barbecue at the Damai Beach resort: “Such a deep emotion, so unreal, very peaceful, very quiet and a private beach for just 10 people with delicious food. It had a very British atmosphere in a surreal way like something from an Agatha Christie movie without the murder!!!”
Sarawak does of course have its British connections so it is no surprise that some of this is conveyed with an Asian flavour. The people of Sarawak’s capital, Kuching, look fondly back at the White Rajah Period when the Brooke family colonised Sarawak protecting the rights and interests of indigenous people and leaving a legacy that can be seen throughout the city today.
The group walked the White Rajah Trail with tour guide, Mr Edward Mansell, a direct descendant from the days of the Rajah and in the evening were transported into the Rajah era with a colonial dinner at the Old Courthouse Kuching. All participants were dressed and made up for the evening by local make up and costume specialists, Fancy Queen, in a meeting room at the 5 star Pullman Hotel Kuching, introducing the meeting planners to the hotel meeting faciiities with an inspired subtlety.
“The White Rajah dinner was fantastic”, said Azley Abd Razak, Lecturer at the Bristol Business School who is planning to organise an international Triple Helix Conference in the future. “As a Malaysian who has lived in the UK for some years now, personally I found this quite an emotional experience especially with the entertainment from the Malay dancers”.
For Anne Degimbe, Events Manager at the International Association of Young Lawyers, her most memorable experience was the Batang Ai island resort managed by Hilton which the group reached via luxury 4X4 vehicles stopping at the market town of Serian and Lachau en route followed by a short boat ride. The hotel is the only property on this small island near to the hydropower plant and dam at Batang Ai and is designed to resemble a series of traditional longhouses.
Naturally for an international group with the potential to bring their international congresses to Sarawak, the visit would not have been complete without a visit to the new Borneo Convention Centre Kuching which was opened in 2009. Greeted by the sales team and Chief Executive, Mr Paul D’Arcy, the site inspection guests enjoyed dinner at the BCCK’s Raintree Restaurant and agreed that the facilities are “very impressive” and “definitely world class”.
Bartram agreed, “The Convention Centre exceeded my expectations. There were the right number of breakout rooms, it is mostly on one level and even a smaller congress would not feel lost in the space. We were told that some hotels will be built onsite in the foreseeable future but I was also impressed with the city centre hotels which are only a short journey away. The rooms at the Pullman Hotel were spacious and light and the Hilton Hotel was undergoing a major refurbishment and is ideally located”.
Sarawak has so many unique selling points that the group found it difficult to name them all. However, the general consensus was of the mixture of rich natural environment, multi-cultures, historical heritage and modern facilities.
The level of international business that could potentially be generated for Sarawak from this site inspection is vast. Each of the international association executives has the influence to encourage international congresses to be held in Sarawak or to stimulate an interest in bidding to host their congress from their national Malaysian member societies. A previous site visit secured the Asia Water Forum in 2010 which was the first truly international congress to be held at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching attracting 560 delegates from approximately 90 countries with several more bids in the pipeline.
