Stay innovative to meet customer demands

Su Jenny Chen

Reporter： Please introduce the facilities and business in your venue.

Pr yor：The award-winning Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre is Malaysias premier facility and Asias only AIPC（International Association of Congress Centres） Gold Standard venue， purposebuilt for international， regional and national conventions， tradeshows， consumer exhibitions， meetings and events， entertainment and intimate private functions. The well-maintained Centre offers 22，659 sqm of flexible function space， including two auditoria； 3000-seat Plenary Hall and Plenary Theatre for 470； a Grand Ballroom which seats 2，000 diners， Banquet Hall for 500， three Conference Halls， five Exhibition Halls （12，310 sqm of column-free exhibition halls including a 2，600 sqm standalone marquee） and 23 meeting rooms.

Overlooking the iconic PETRONAS Twin Towers and the 50-acre KLCC Park， delegates and visitors attending events at the Centre are spoilt for choice given the varied and exciting range of recreational， entertainment， food & beverage and accommodation options， with over 25，000 hotel rooms of budget to 5-star properties within walking distance.

The Centres expansion is currently underway and due to be completed in mid-2019. The extension will provide an additional 11，000 sqm of flexible and multi-purpose space.

Since opening in 2005， the Centres track record has been acknowledged by industry peers and the community with 42 international and national awards and accolades including "Most Outstanding Team in Culinary"and “Outstanding Venue Award”..

Reporter： What are the local MICE resources that have contributed to the business of your venue， and what further support would you like to receive？

Pryor：There are a variety of key local business events stakeholders the Centre works closely with to generate business and help the growth and development Malaysias industry supply chain and enhance the attractiveness of countrys premier proposition. These include Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau （MyCEB）， Kuala Lumpur Tourism Bureau （KLTB）， InvestKL， Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers（MACEOS） to name a few.

MyCEB was actually founded in 2009 out of the Malaysian governments National Key Economic Areas （NKEA） Tourism Lab process， which team members from the Centre （representing the business events industry） played a pivotal role. I am also an elected member of the board of the MyCEB. In this capacity， I （along with MyCEB） actively promote business events as an important driver in the governments move to turn Malaysia into a high-income economy by 2020. Wherever possible， the Centre hosts and supports MyCEB-led events and initiatives.

In terms of further support， in order to take to the next step， the Malaysian government needs to further enhance its support for the local business events industry. We also would like to see greater collaboration among relevant business sectors and associations in order to share resources and drive the business events industry forward to bring greater benefit to the local industry and Malaysia as a whole.

Reporter： What do you think are the development trends of the regional exhibition industry？ How do you remain competitive in the market and satisfy customer demands？

Pryor：The ASEAN market is an economic powerhouse. With 600 million consumers and a market worth US$2.5 trillion， many trade fairs and exhibition organisers are capitalising on the lucrative opportunities of this market. Increasing competition in countries and regions like mainland China， Singapore， Taiwan， South Korea and Hong Kong， with strong positioning in the trade fair industry.

In order to successfully do this， organisers must create hybrid events， which contain different components. For example， exhibitions nowadays need to encompass a conference or forum element or a gala dinner and awards ceremony to help generate higher attendance numbers.

It is also no longer ‘one size fits all. Organisers have to find innovative ways to differentiate their exhibitions from the competition. For example， online-to-offline（O2O） is becoming more prevalent. This means organisers have to be even more creative and innovative in how they integrate online content to support their events and entice visitors to attend.

Our philosophy of delivering innovative and value-add solutions that are personalised through our partnership approach； our highly knowledgeable and professional team； commitment to continuous investment in venue maintenance and more， have played an important role in remaining competitive in the market and satisfying customer demands.