KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (Maceos) is calling for the government to lift the ban on business events while also proposing the adoption of a standard operating procedure (SOP) in the new norm to ensure safety and public health.
President Datuk Vincent Lim proposed a systematic plan for the gradual opening of business events, beginning with the domestic market in this first phase while the second phase would attract business travellers to Malaysia after the lifting of the international travel bans.
Lim said that after the government permitted business events to resume in the domestic market, it would help to stimulate businesses for the local hotel, convention centre, food and beverage, and other related sectors.
“Business events is an interconnected industry. The economic benefits will be cascaded down to many sectors,” he said in a statement Sunday.
He said business evets could help jumpstart and revitalise the Malaysian economy quickly.
Lim also said that business events should not be categorised as “mass gatherings” since they happened in highly controlled, carefully managed environments with stringent safety and security protocols in place.
Meanwhile, led by the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), Maceos has collaborated with the Business Events Council Malaysia (BECM) to submit a key piece of document to the government that it hoped would assure authorities and the public of the industry’s preparedness in minimising health risks in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Lim, the document is a comprehensive health and safety framework with best practices from around the world as guidelines for organising business events and meetings in the new norm.
“These measures are also in accordance with the Malaysian Ministry of Health’s regulations, and cover several key protocols such as sanitisation of venues, health checks of delegates, crowd control, procedures for contact tracing, social distancing measures, and more,” he added.
Up to May, the business events industry reported total losses amounting to RM1.75 billion with 1,250 business events affected, Maceos said. – Bernama
