Penang's win is indicative of a step in a new direction that the Malaysian state's business events industry is moving towards, stakeholders said. Photo Credit: Penang Convention and Exhibition Bureau
The 45th edition of the International Advertising Association (IAA) World Congress has been confirmed to take place in Penang, Malaysia, from 6 to 8 March 2024.
The three-day event, plus an agenda of pre-congress activities, will see the expected arrival of 2,000 delegates from 26 countries. The congress is projected to generate RM12.5 million (US$2.8 million) in economic impact to Penang, with an estimated RM1.5 million (US$338k) in room fees alone to be collected over the course of the event.
‘’Brand ReCode : Createch for Better Lives, Better World" has been chosen as theme for IAA’s 2024 World Congress, with programmes curated around a panel of conference speakers, tech expos, board meetings, team buildings, award shows, and master classes.
According to stakeholders, Penang's win is indicative of a step in a new direction that the Malaysian state is moving towards – in attracting events that are of "high value and high impact" and "going beyond" its legacies.
“The Penang Exhibition and Convention Bureau will be selective in the bidding and selection processes of future events, through which mutual benefits are gained by event organisers and the host destination, with the shared intent of creating high value and high impact events,” said CEO Ashwin Gunasekaran.
"It took over four years of intense effort against other more globally famous destinations and pandemic disruptions before IAA Malaysia emerged victorious in the decision to host the congress in Penang," John Doody Chacko, chairman of the 45th IAA World Congress and president of IAA Malaysia.
"It proves that the world is growing to recognise Malaysia and Penang as destinations that are not only attractive in thousands of ways, more importantly, are well equipped in all avenues to host events of world-class stature," he added.
In the mean time, Malaysia is tapping closer collaborations with a regional neighbour in a bid to boost its business events industry further. The Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) for the first time recently conducted an official visit to Jakarta, and received encouraging support from its Indonesian counterpart. Further discussion is in progress to uncover potential prospects for a strategic collaboration between the two countries' convention bureaus.