Tony says they started work in 2011 by studying other events companies around the world to see what should and should not be done. — Photos: SS KANESAN/The Star
A city that has plenty of interesting events and activities will help boost its tourism and the economy.
Looking at what companies like the Victorian Major Event Company and EventScotland have done to attract tourists to Melbourne and Edinburgh respectively, Malaysia established its own event acquisition company – Malaysia Major Events (MME) in 2010.
MME is a division of Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCeb), an agency under the Tourism and Culture Ministry.
MME was established under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) to identify, promote, facilitate and support viable international events to be staged in Malaysia, as well as promote homegrown events.
MME general manager Tony Nagamaiah said they started work in 2011 by studying other event companies around the world to see what should and should not be done.
“We bid to host international events ranging from sports and arts to entertainment and others, that will be held in five to 10 years time. Our direct competitors are the South-East Asian countries.
“There were many issues faced by individual promoters before the establishment of MME.
“Often, event agents were doubtful of the credibility of the promoters and deals were lost. With the government-supported MME, we have a better appeal.
“Sometimes, it was also the professionalism in explaining certain limitations when coming to a Muslim-majority country like Malaysia. We have overcome this now.
“For example, Beyonce pulled out from a concert in Malaysia in 2007 which gave Malaysia bad press. Perhaps she was not given proper advice on our requirements, as a Muslim-majority country, with regard to clothing and she decided to back out.
“But MME brought other artistes such as Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey and Little Mix, to name a few. The artistes were very understanding and only wanted to please their fans. Most would comply if the requirements were reasonable,” he said, adding that there were plans to bring Rihanna this year.
Tony said MME also gives grants to cover costs such as artiste fee and venue rental to lower the risk of promoters losing money.
MME also helped promote homegrown events such as the Penang Island Jazz Festival, Rainforest World Music Festival, Good Vibes Festival and Urbanscapes.
Tony said their key performance index was based on tourist expenditure.
“Our studies found that tourists who came for events were much bigger spenders than those who came for leisure.
“For example, we had two plane loads of Bon Jovi fans from the Middle East who came here for the concert last year. All of them purchased the most expensive tickets and spent RM7,000 per person on average on flight, food and accommodation in just a few days.
“The same goes for sporting events. For example, for the Electric Run on May 7, Singaporean participants most likely boarded a bus after work on Friday and checked into a hotel and prepared for the run the next day.
“After the run, they went shopping and partied at the clubs that night before returning home the next day. On average, each person would have spent RM3,000,” he said.
Tony said Malaysia was very appealing to the agents compared to its South-East Asian competitors.
“Accommodation is the biggest cost for promoters and Malaysia offers one of the lowest rates in the region. A five-star hotel here would cost US$110 (RM447) per night, much lower than cities like Vietnam, Jakarta, Thailand and India, which would cost about US$200 (RM812), US$150 (RM609), US$130 (RM528) and US$250 (RM1,016) respectively.
“Being a shopping haven does help. Infrastructure-wise, we are the hub for low-cost airlines and supported by public transportations like trains and taxis.
“During the World Team Table Tennis Championships, we recorded 10,000 Chinese tourists from China coming to Malaysia to watch the game.
“During the 10 days, sales in Suria KLCC, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur and Mid Valley Megamall increased by 35%. The tourists reportedly purchased branded goods,” he said.
Tony said Malaysia was shaping up to provide better venues in the future.
“Stadium Putra was closed for an upgrade in September last year, in preparation for the SEA Games.
“It is a setback now but we will have a sports city to promote in the future. It will have multipurpose complexes that could be used for concerts or other indoor events.
“A large-scale event venue is also being planned at the former Pudu Prison site,” he said.
Tony said hosting award shows and movie production was also something Malaysia would like to do more.
“Celebrities spend a lot of money and if you have about 150 of them together, it makes a difference.
“Movies also indirectly showcase the places it was being shot and have great potential to attract tourists.
“On top of local attractions, we also have places like the Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studio, where part of Life of Pi and Marco Polo were shot, among others.
“Other neighbouring countries do not have that, so we are in the forefront. We need to leverage on this and capture these markets,” he said.
Tony said there were plans to bring Gaelic Games, UCI MTB World Championship, U2 and Coldplay concerts, one-of-a kind world-class acrobatic circus Cirque du Soleil and SportsAccord Conventions, to name a few.
“There is no place like Malaysia, where it is not only cheap but also gives the comfort of multiple language proficiency and food variety for tourist.
“So, I hope we hear a lot more of the words ‘It’s happening in Malaysia!,” he said.
