Malaysia hopes their new membership will push the destination's appeal in business events and introduce local industry players to more international opportunities. Photo Credit: Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau
Malaysia has joined the Hybrid City Alliance — a partnership launched in December 2020 to offer solutions for international events taking place across multiple cities.
The move was driven by Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), which hopes to strengthen Kuala Lumpur's position as a knowledge capital by gathering three other cities: Penang (Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau), Kuching (Sarawak Convention Bureau) and Kota Kinabalu (Sabah Tourism Board) into the alliance.
Dato’ Sri Abdul Khani Daud, CEO of MyCEB said: "MyCEB is thrilled to join the like-minded global convention bureaus in the Hybrid City Alliance, to work as a team for the recovery of the meetings industry, share our passion and resources and actively collaborate to attract more business events in our city and the region.
"With this new international alliance, Malaysia’s business events industry is even more prepared to advance feasible digital solutions which resonates well with our Malaysia Business Events Strategic Marketing Plan 2021-2030."
MyCEB believes the alliance of convention bureaus will create a value proposition for clients by connecting relevant cities together as staging posts for their regional and international hybrid events.
“The combined knowledge and experience of the member cities remove barriers, offers solutions and inspires the creation of unparalleled delegate experiences," added Dato’ Sri Abdul Khani Daud.
"We are pleased to see a still rising interest to join the initiative from various destinations and are very happy to welcome on board four Malaysian cities [to] the Hybrid City Alliance network that already spans across six continents,” said Hana Krejbichová, communications & marketing co-chair, Hybrid City Alliance.
Malaysia's membership follows that of the Seoul Convention Bureau, which became the first in Asia to join the Hybrid City Alliance in April 2021.