Eleven European-based international association events delivered almost RM50 million ($11.8 million) in economic impact to Malaysia in 2018.

The events attracted 11,960 delegates and were all held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (the Centre), Malaysia’s premier award-winning purpose-built AIPC (International Association of Congress Centres) Gold Standard venue.

These events were amongst the Centre’s 1,189 held this year to-date (until 31 October 2018), which have been attended by over 1.85 million participants and contributed RM788 million in economic impact to the country.

Events hosted in 2018 included the Girls Not Brides Global Meeting 2018, IPAF (International Powered Access Federation) Asia Conference & Showcase 2018, World Congress of SIVA-TCI (World Society of Intravenous Anaesthesia Onlus -Target Controlled Infusion) 2018, World Cancer Congress 2018, ISQua (International Society for Quality in Health Care) International Conference 2018, ISWA (International Solid Waste Association) World Congress 2018, International Diabetes Federation Western Pacific Region Congress (IDF-WPR) 2018, International Rubber Conference 2018, and UIA (Union of International Associations) Associations Round Table Asia-Pacific 2018.

Speaking on the sidelines of its 12^th consecutive attendance at IBTM World 2018, the Centre’s General Manager, Alan Pryor, shared, “We are excited to be attending IBTM World on the back of hosting a record number of international association meetings in 2018. We are especially looking forward to showcasing Malaysia as an ideal and very affordable business events destination, and sharing our latest developments, including our brand new 11,000 sqm expansion, which opens mid next year.”

He continued, “It is encouraging to see that our engagement programme with our international association clients is delivering consistent value to them and we are delighted with the positive feedback on our world-class infrastructure, ease of connectivity and accessibility, that English is widely spoken and notably the affordability of the destination received from clients and participants, many of which were experiencing Kuala Lumpur for the first time.”

Recent feedback from an event held at the venue highlighting this compelling value proposition was the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations) World Library and Information Congress 2018.

Elaborating on what made it such a success, Organiser - Roberta Odebrecht, Account Director at K.I.T Group shared, “Due to its strategic location in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, the Centre provides a great delegate experience because of its proximity to hotels of all categories, shopping malls and numerous entertainment options. We are most impressed by the team’s professionalism, enthusiasm and proactivity. The venue perfectly understood our client’s requirements and the importance of aligning each other’s business perspectives and objectives. I personally love the adjacent KLCC park, where I can work out in the mornings before I start my meetings. We organised a wellbeing programme there during the congress - the delegates really enjoyed this experience!”

The Worldchefs Congress & Expo 2018 Chairman, Andy Cuthbert, added “This is being called ‘the best congress ever’ for Worldchefs and your team really excelled and made us proud as chefs to enjoy every coffee break, lunch and the spectacular gala dinner. The Gala Dinner was the highlight, the menu and presentation first-class, restaurant standard in a gala for over 750, hats off to you and your team, absolutely remarkable.”