KUCHING: Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) wrapped up this year with 460 successful events hosted, achieving 39 percent higher than its target for 2022.
The extraordinary results signified a robust pent-up demand during the recovery phase, in accordance to its position as an award-winning convention.
These events included the International Digital Economy Conference Sarawak (IDECS 2022), Sarawak Oil & Gas Conference (SOGC 2022), the International Conference on Clean Energy (ICCE 2022), the Medico-Legal Society of Malaysia-Medico and Legal Society of Singapore Joint Seminar (MEDICOLEGAL 2022), and the 12th Asian Conference on Lactic Acid Bacteria, World Engineering, Science and Technology Congress (ESCON), to name a few.
“BCCK through its excellent leadership, coupled with the unwavering support from its team has produced stellar results. We would like to express our deepest appreciation to all our stakeholders for their immeasurable support which has enabled BCCK to thrive as a contributor in making Sarawak a competitive business events destination,” said its executive director Datuk Amar Wilson Bayak Dandot.
BCCK’s chief executive officer (CEO) Eric van Piggelen said the team forecast at least four years for the industry to bounce back to pre-COVID-19 times, but it is a huge relief that it is back on track victoriously.
“For example, we hosted the Ramadhan buffet during the Holy Month in April – not long after the restrictions were lifted. And during that one month alone, we catered for over 35,000 customers, which is approximately 94 percent of our total highest record than what we achieved in 2019, prior to the pandemic. That certainly was a major feat,” he said.
This year, BCCK has hosted the inaugural Engage and Taste Borneo Conference 2022 (EAT Borneo 2022). The three-day conference welcomed more than 200 delegates from around the Southeast Asia region.
Other upcoming home-grown events are the Borneo Extreme Auto Show and Tradefest (BEAST 2023), Borneo International Garden Expo Sarawak (BIGEXS 2023), Asia Pacific Tourism Expo and Conference (APTEC 2023) and Borneo Travel Mart (BTM 2023) aimed to be the catalyst for change in bringing together industry-leading experts to convene in Kuching, Sarawak.
BCCK’s enhanced facilities include its top-of-the-line sound systems for D&B Audiotechnic, digital signages, Mobile Telescopic Bleacher Seating System that can occupy nearly 1,900 people, a Digital Broadcast Suite complete with high-definition recording and broadcast camera sets along with other studio fixings.
In addition to the facility upgrades, BCCK also took the opportunity to revamp its food industry, ventured deeper into large-scale offsite catering and portable food production to deliver its clients with bespoke offsite catering services.
The culinary team of BCCK, the Raintree Restaurant, also revitalised its menu, to cater to a variety of cuisine options, whilst maintaining the Sarawakian origin taste.
The new menu offers customers with distinctive Bornean gastronomy experience at fair prices. The well-received menu has garnered 24 percent more than its overall restaurant’s target for 2022.
The centre is set to host prestigious International conferences next year, namely the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA 2023), Asia-Australasia Conference of Radiological Technologists (AACRT 2023), International Primatological Conference (IPC 2023), Asia-Pacific Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (APSTH 2023), Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH 2023) and the Federation of Asian Veterinary Association Congress (FAVA 2023), amongst others.
“We are also looking to host more live events such as concerts, sporting events, theatre productions and with our new equipments, this will enable us to broadcast the events on live, as well as record and distribution,” Eric added.
For over a decade, BCCK has served as the largest and best-equipped convention centre in Borneo. Its recent enhancements and upgradings are designed to ensure its welcome back to the international clientele, hybrid or digital events.
BCCK was the first purpose-built venue in Sarawak, designed to host a myriad of events from large conferences and exhibitions, to smaller meetings, within one venue.
Over the years, the centre has earned the International Association of Convention Centre (AIPC) Gold Quality Standard Certification, which places the centre in an elite group of only 23 other AIPC convention centres in the world to receive such an honour, out of more than 185 international convention centres.
BCCK’s impact on Sarawak has been substantial, delivering over MYR266.7 million (US$63.8 million) in total economic impact since 2013, as well as contributing a value of over MYR92 million to the Sarawak local business-supply-chain network since 2009.
