FRANKFURT, May 24 (Bernama) -- The ongoing IMEX trade show here is
attracting a steady stream of trade visitors to the impressively-designed
Malaysia pavilion.
Datuk Peter Brokenshire, General Manager of the Kuala Lumpur Convention
Centre (KLCC), said Malaysia’s participation was very well balanced with
cultural show offered by a dance troupe, a live demonstration of batik painting
by a Malaysian painter, and a bazaar enticing the guests to bargain in the open
market created at the pavilion with "monopoly money" handed by the Malaysian
Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB).
"It allows the guests to get a feel of how people buy and sell at such
bazaars in Malaysia," one MyCEB representative explained to Bernama.
The bazaar at IMEX proved to be very popular, with a large turnout of buyers
eagerly buying up the handicrafts and other Malaysian products "on sale".
The money that had been handed over to the visitors quickly vanished from
their hands in exchange for the products.
Brokenshire, one of the top executives of Malaysia’s leading convention
venues met at the exhibition ground dedicated to the meetings, incentives,
convention and exhibition (MICE) sector, described Malaysia as a buoyant
destination with its excellent infrastructure.
"Malaysia is seen as a neutral country where it is easier to do business,"
said the KLCC executive who is very bullish about the future of MICE business in
Malaysia.
"In the United States, where we have done many road shows, we found that the
US-based associations are actively seeking us out for the first time.
"US-based associations see the need to engage with Asia, and Malaysia is
considered to be an important player in the region.
"Its rich and vibrant cultural diversity, with the Chinese, Indian, Malay
and others playing a vital role, offer Malaysia a unique position. Added to this
is the fact that Malaysia is a moderate Muslim country that also attracts a
large turnout from the Middle East," he said.
Nevertheless, one could not ignore the fact that this year’s IMEX show was
taking place under the gloom of a continuing economic downturn not only in the
US but also in most of Europe which has been hit by the euro debt crisis, with
Europe’s southern plank, foremost of all Greece, shaken by the prospect of not
being bailed out from its continuing financial malaise and possibly leaving the
eurozone.
"Malaysia has not been affected by the eurocrisis or the downturn in the US.
As a matter of fact, we have had back-to-back schedule at the IMEX. We at the
KLCC had 15 per cent growth in 2011 which was our best year ever.
"We had some very good enquiries. But one very good enquiry has been a
prospective three-year consecutive business involving over 1,500 guests. This is
an information technology related event organised by a US-based association.
"The mood here is very upbeat as far as Malaysia is concerned," Brokenshire
averred.
-- BERNAMA
MM JR