Malaysia positioned in top ten for Asia Pacific

Malaysia has jumped a significant three spots to the 28th position at the recent International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) country rankings and has retained its position as one of the top 10 meeting destination in Asia Pacific.In 2010 the Country welcomed 1.3 million international business event visitors, which attributed to an estimated AUD$5.4 billion to the economy.

The latest ICCA rankings reflect a growth in Malaysia's association meetings business amidst a competitive and challenging market, Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) chief executive officer Zulkefli Hj Sharif said.

Within the next five years, the business tourism industry will be further supported by new facilities which offer international and regional associations meeting planners more venue options to host their meetings and events in Malaysia which could now rotate to other parts of the country such as Pahang, Penang, Sarawak as well as Kuala Lumpur, Mr Zulkefli said.

Future development in the pipeline include the expansion of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre by the end of 2013, The Penang International Convention and Exhibition Centre by 2014 and the development of the MATRADE centre by 2014.

Source = etravelblackboardasia