BESarawak celebrates two decades of legacy and impact at 20th Anniversary Gala
KUCHING, 24 September 2026: Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) held its 20th Anniversary Gala at voco Kuching yesterday, bringing together 500 guests including government agencies, industry partners, industry leaders, associations, academia, media and the wider business events community, as well as former BESarawak Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers who contributed to the organisation’s development over the past two decades.
“Twenty years ago, Sarawak opened a bridge to the world. Today, that bridge moves both ways — bringing the world to Sarawak, and taking Sarawak's ideas, experience and leadership to the world. Congratulations, Sarawak. ICCA is proud to have travelled this journey with you — and we look forward to building the next chapter together. Happy 20th Anniversary, Business Events Sarawak!” wished CEO of International Congress and Convention Association, Dr. Senthil Gopinath.
During yesterday’s event, the Sarawak government reaffirmed its continued support for the business events industry and its growing role in advancing the Post COVID-19 Development Strategy 2030 (PCDS 2030). Since its establishment in 2006, Sarawak’s business events journey has evolved from building destination capability and competing for international events to focusing on the relevance and outcomes of the events it attracts.
Today, the emphasis is on securing events that support Sarawak’s priority sectors and wider development agenda. As the Legacy Capital of Business Events in Malaysia and Borneo, Sarawak’s promise is to ensure that every business event creates meaningful and lasting value beyond the event itself.
“The first twenty years were about building the industry, establishing Sarawak’s reputation and developing our capability to compete internationally. Today, we are reinforcing how that capability can serve Sarawak’s wider development. Business events can connect our people and institutions with international expertise, strengthen partnerships and create opportunities for the sectors and communities identified under PCDS 2030,” shared Deputy State Secretary (Operations) and BESarawak Chairman, Datu Hii Chang Kee, who also announced that Sarawak will be hosting the first Asia Venue Alliance meeting in Malaysia.
“For many years, destinations have competed primarily for visitors, and that competition will continue. However, in the years ahead, destinations will increasingly compete for knowledge, talent, ideas, technology, investment and networks. Sarawak must be ready to compete in this changing environment,” said the Premier, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg in a speech read by Deputy Premier, Datuk Amar Prof. Dr. Sim.
“Business events have a much bigger role to play in Sarawak’s development. They allow us to bring international expertise, technology, investment and partnerships into Sarawak while creating opportunities for our people and institutions to connect with global communities. As we implement PCDS 2030, the events we host should reflect and support the sectors and capabilities we are seeking to build. An event may last only a few days, but the knowledge exchanged, partnerships formed and opportunities created can generate value for Sarawak for many years,” he continued.
Over the past two decades, Sarawak has secured 1,587 business events with an estimated economic impact of RM4.95 billion, welcoming more than half a million delegates across 1.9 million delegate days. These figures reflect not only the growth of the industry, but also stronger local capability, increasing international confidence in Sarawak and the collective contribution of the people and organisations that have built the sector.
“With the inclusion of business events under the tourism sector in PCDS 2030, and alignment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the strategy itself has become an important conversation. Our legacy approach is how we enter that conversation and demonstrate the value Sarawak can bring to the region and the world,” said Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak, Dato Sri Haji Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
According to BESarawak Chief Executive Officer, Jason Tan, the organisation’s role is to ensure that business events generated value across the wider ecosystem, with a strong focus on people. “International and national business events can bring specialists, decision-makers, researchers and industry leaders into Sarawak. Our role is to connect them with local stakeholders so that knowledge can be shared, partnerships developed and opportunities extended beyond the event.”
“By strengthening the ecosystem around each event, we can create stronger links between government, industry, academia, associations and communities, ensuring that the value generated continues to grow after the event has ended. At the same time, our focus must remain on people. Business events should create opportunities for Sarawakians to learn, participate, build professional networks and develop the capabilities needed for the future. By investing in people alongside partnerships and infrastructure, we can ensure that the value of business events is retained and continues to grow within Sarawak,” he added.
During yesterday’s gala, BESarawak also announced the development of the Sarawak Business Events Analytics & Collaboration Network (BEACON), a central intelligence system that will bring together data across areas including accommodation, events, venues, transportation, the industry supply chain and healthcare. Once developed, the Sarawak BEACON will provide government and industry stakeholders with a clearer understanding of Sarawak’s business events capacity, capabilities and development needs.
To advance the development of BEACON, BESarawak signed a Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) with the Sarawak Artificial Intelligence Centre, bringing together BESarawak’s business events expertise and SAIC’s technological capabilities to jointly shape and develop the system. The initiative comes as Sarawak’s business events industry enters a new phase. After two decades of building its position as a competitive destination, greater intelligence will be needed to understand the industry’s strengths, identify where further development is required and determine how the wider ecosystem can support future demand.
“The next twenty years cannot be built on instinct alone. They must be built on data, intelligence, collaboration and evidence. Sarawak BEACON will give us a stronger foundation to understand the industry, identify opportunities and guide the decisions needed to turn greater capacity into greater value for Sarawak,” continued the Premier.
“Sarawak BEACON will give Sarawak a stronger understanding of what the industry needs, where our capabilities are strongest and where further development is required. As we become more strategic in the events we secure and the impact they leave behind, Sarawak BEACON will act like a compass not only for the industry but also for government, helping identify new opportunities for both hard and soft infrastructure development,” said Datu Hii.
“Together with BESarawak, SAIC aims to develop Sarawak BEACON into a sovereign agentic AI platform, one that keeps Sarawak in control of its data while using AI to generate deeper intelligence and support smarter, more proactive decision-making for the industry,” stated CEO of SAIC, Professor Patrick Then.
Moving forward, BESarawak will continue to attract high-value events, develop people and talent, strengthen the business events ecosystem, build cross-sector partnerships, align events with Sarawak’s priority sectors and measure long-term outcomes in support of PCDS 2030. As BESarawak enters its third decade, Sarawak BEACON marks the beginning of a more data-informed approach to shaping the next phase of Sarawak’s business events industry, moving from understanding what has been built to using intelligence to determine what needs to be built next.
Also in attendance at BESarawak’s 20th Anniversary Gala yesterday, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Datuk Sebastian Ting, Deputy Minister for Creative Industry and Performing Arts, Datuk Snowdan Lawan, Deputy Minister for Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development, Datuk Gerald Rentap Jabu, Miri Mayor, Adam Yii, as well as former BESarawak Chairmen, Tan Sri Dato Sri Dr. Muhammad Leo Michael Toyad and Dato Sri Abang Haji Abdul Karim Tun Abang Haji Openg and former BESarawak CEOs, Jill Henry, Mike Cannon and Amelia Roziman.
