KUCHING: Sarawak has secured 1,587 business events since 2006, generating an estimated RM4.95 billion in economic impact over the past two decades.
Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the events attracted more than half a million delegates and generated 1.9 million delegate days.
He said the figures reflected industry growth, stronger local capabilities and increasing international confidence in Sarawak as a business events destination.
“These figures tell a bigger story. They represent twenty years of industry growth, stronger local capability, rising international confidence in Sarawak and the collective effort of the people who built this sector,” he said at the Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) 20th Anniversary Gala at a hotel last night (Sept 23).
Abdul Karim said the industry also recorded its strongest performance last year, when Sarawak secured 160 business events with an estimated economic impact of RM262.8 million.
He said Sarawak’s approach to business events had evolved considerably since the Sarawak Convention Bureau, now BESarawak, was established in 2006.
Initially focused on attracting events, delegates and tourism-related economic activity, the industry later expanded its emphasis towards creating longer-term benefits through knowledge exchange, partnerships and sustainability.
The shift accelerated following the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of the Post COVID-19 Development Strategy 2030 (PCDS 2030) in 2021.
Abdul Karim said Sarawak subsequently placed legacy at the heart of its business events model, aligning the sector with the state’s broader development aspirations.
In 2025, Sarawak introduced AI.LEGACY, the Business Events Intelligent Impact Management System, to measure the impact generated by business events.
It also established LEGACY360, bringing together government, industry, associations, academia, media and communities through education, leadership and collaboration.
“We were no longer looking only at how many events Sarawak hosted, but at what those events changed, who they benefited and what they left behind,” he said.
Abdul Karim said the approach had enabled Sarawak to pursue economic performance and longer-term impact simultaneously while strengthening its competitiveness as a business events destination.
He said the state would increasingly use data, insights and collaboration to guide decisions and maximise the value generated by the industry.
“We have spent years creating impact. Now, we must turn that impact into intelligence,” he added.
