MACEOS president Francis Teo insists MICE SOPs can ensure the safe return of business events amid ongoing movement control order. Photo Credit:MACEOS
The Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and
Suppliers (MACEOS) has called upon the Malaysian Government to relax
restrictions imposed on business events due to the ongoing Conditional
Movement Control Order (CMCO).
“With MICE standard operating procedures (SOPs) already approved by
the Malaysian National Security Council (NSC), business events should be
allowed to continue to be organised, adjusting participant numbers
according to alert levels and venue size," MACEOS president, Francis Teo
said. "By allowing small groups to meet, the industry can maintain the
minimum numbers needed to preserve and support the entire business
events ecosystem.”
Following the government's July endorsement of new MICE SOPs, the
country's domestic meetings and events was steadily recovering — until
the CMCO was announced in mid-October after a spike in Covid-19 cases.
As a result, the livelihoods of many of the country's event professionals hang in the balance.
According to Teo, a recent survey of industry players revealed
revenue losses of RM2.25 billion (US$0.54 billion) — marking a 90 per
cent drop since the MCO was first introduced in March.
Cascading down the chain, 5,610 employees have since been laid off,
equivalent to 17 per cent of the total industry workforce. While some
businesses have pivoted to virtual and hybrid events, only 13 per cent
said they were able to do so successfully.
Looking at the current situation, Teo believes full recovery of the
business events industry is unlikely to happen before the third quarter
of 2021.
“By allowing small groups to meet, the industry can maintain the
minimum numbers needed to preserve and support the entire business
events ecosystem. [Our industry] is...the fastest way for businesses to
connect with each other and rebuild the economy again," Teo said.
"Guided by this [SOPs] framework, business events industry players
are well-prepared, trained, and able to implement the standard operating
procedures required to ensure a high level of safety at all our events.
This is the assurance we want to convey to the government, our clients,
our partners, and business events’ attendees."