The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre’s (the Centre) 10^th anniversary year in 2015 turned out to be a banner one for international high-profile events at the venue.

These included; the Global Food Safety Conference 2015; 18^th Human Genome Meeting 2015; 26^th and 27^th ASEAN Summits and Related Summits; and the 128^th International Olympic Committee Session, to name a few. These contributed to the Centre’s 2015 total of 1,230 events which attracted close to 1.8 million delegates.

Since its opening, the Centre has hosted 11,199 events, welcomed close to 19.4 million delegates and contributed over RM6.1 billion in economic impact to the Malaysian economy.

The year in review also saw the Centre achieve a record-breaking occupancy rate of 98 percent in August, which is the highest monthly total ever, as well as her best annual revenue total.

According to the Centre’s general manager, Alan Pryor, aside from the venue’s prime location, world-class facilities, gastronomic excellence, with a 51-strong award-winning culinary brigade, and established industry relationships, the Centre’s continuing success could be attributed to its highly knowledgeable and professional team.

“Without doubt, our team’s commitment to consistently delivering flexible, innovative and value-add solutions though our unique partnership approach and tailor-made offerings to clients have been integral to our success and development as one of the leading meetings destinations in the Asia-Pacific region in just over a decade of operation,” Pryor said.

Moving forward, 2016 will be an important year for the Centre, Kuala Lumpur and Malaysian business tourism industry.

“We are delighted that the annual ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) Congress is being held in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, this year as it offers a fantastic opportunity to showcase the country’s improving business tourism offering to thousands of industry professionals from around the world,” Pryor said.

He added, “The recently launched Kuala Lumpur Tourism Bureau is also planning a series of initiatives throughout 2016 which should enhance Kuala Lumpur’s reputation as a premier destination for business events.”

These include positioning Kuala Lumpur as Malaysia’s cuisine haven; introducing weekly cooking classes for international tourists and spouses of business tourism delegates; launching two new heritage walking trails; creating culture hubs in the city including Central Market and Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre; publishing a luxury tourism product directory; forming a business events desk within the bureau to coordinate business events in the city; and offering short courses for front-liners in the hospitality industry, including taxi drivers, aimed at improving service quality.

Also on the horizon is the Centre’s expansion plan. Groundwork has started on the adjacent Lot 91 development with completion scheduled for 2018.

The extension will provide an additional 10,000 sqm of flexible and multi-purpose space, which means more room to comfortably accommodate larger international association meetings and concurrent events, and the opportunity for many current clients to grow their activities and/or events significantly.