KUALA LUMPUR CONVENTION CENTRE CONTRIBUTED TO MALAYSIA’S AND KUALA LUMPUR’S BETTER RANKING IN 2011
The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (the Centre), the country’s premier convention facility, recorded an increase in international delegates by over 1,000 guests to 19,750 in 2011, compared with 18,725 in 2010.

Datuk Peter Brokenshire, General Manager, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre attributed the Centre’s continuing success to having a world-class facility staffed by a knowledgeable and experienced team who remain committed to putting the company’s vision of “turning heads by making a difference with a team of dedicated, connected professionals, striving for perfection and excellence to become the global market’s preferred choice where all things are possible”, into action.

“The steady increase in the number of delegates recorded over the last two years reinforces the Centre’s reputation, not only as a venue of choice in Malaysia, but also internationally. However, the continuing growth in head count signals the need for larger space. To meet this demand, the Centre has acquired 2,600 sqm of additional space through a semi-permanent marquee adjacent to the Centre known as Hall 6. This will enable us to accommodate larger exhibitions, conferences, concerts and other events,” said Brokenshire.

Brokenshire also applauded Tourism Malaysia and the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau’s (MyCEB)’s efforts to make the country a premier business tourism destination, and that Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur are starting to see the benefits of a fully functioning bureau and subvention fund.

According to the recently released International Convention & Conference Association’s (ICCA) Country and City Rankings Report 2011, Malaysia recorded her highest number of meetings to date with 126 association meetings, an increase of seven from the previous year’s (2010) 119. Of this, Kuala Lumpur took the lion’s share with 78 meetings.

Malaysia also reaffirmed her credentials in the Asia Pacific and Middle East region with a seventh placing, unchanged from the previous year (2010), and a global ranking of 29th place.
Kuala Lumpur leapfrogged Asian counterparts Hong Kong and Shanghai to improve on her global city ranking by two places, to 21st most popular city for international meetings, and by three positions to fifth in the Asia Pacific and Middle East region.

Since opening in June 2005 through to April 2012, the Centre has hosted 5,673 events and over 12.5 million delegates and visitors and in turn, has contributed approximately RM3.7 billion in economic impact to Kuala Lumpur city and Malaysia.
With members in 86 countries, ICCA is one of the most prominent organisations keeping track of the global meetings industry.