Best Convention and Exhibition Centre

1 Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
2 Suntec Singapore
3 Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre

The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) regained its title as Asia’s Best Convention and Exhibition Centre following a major redevelopment last year.

“HKCEC is fortunate that event planners and organisers have again recognised the centre as the best venue of its kind in Asia,” says Monica Lee-Mueller, deputy managing director of HKCEC. “Our ongoing efforts to heighten customer service and event standards are critical factors.

“The improvement on last year’s result is indicative of the standard, quality and importance of HKCEC’s events. Also, the additional space from our second expansion meant many of our fairs were able to grow, where despite the economic downturn, demand for space fortunately still existed.”

Managing director Cliff Wallace was also recognised recently, when he received the Gold Award at UFI's 76th Annual Congress in October, in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to UFI and the global exhibition industry. The expanded 90,000 sqm facility has hosted more than 37,000 events since opening in 1988.

Wallace says of this achievement: “The success of HKCEC, where at least seven clients host events every day, points to the quality of our staff and management team.”

Financial mega-conference Sibos welcomed nearly 6,000 delegates to the venue in September. Panos Tzivanidis, head of Sibos and events for Swift, says: “HKCEC was chosen because of its professional team and ability to meet the sophisticated and complex needs of our exhibition and conference.”

Other major events held this year were Top Gear Live, the Hong Kong Jewellery and Gem Fair, Asia Funeral Expo, Art HK and the GSMA Mobile Asia Congress.

Runner-up Suntec Singapore also hosted several major events, including the 2009 FDI World Dental Congress and the second instalment of ITB Asia. Suntec CEO Pieter Idenburg says: “With our long-standing relationship with the region’s events planners and as one of the key players in Asia, our aim is to continue to ‘wow’ our clients through our passion and commitment. This recognition further testifies our conviction that our employees are the cornerstone of our success.”

In October Suntec announced it would join forces with MCI Group, giving it preferred partner status and working on joint sales missions, event bid development and professional seminar hosting. The venue was also recognised at the inaugural Singapore Experience Awards, winning Best Business Event Venue Experience and Most Innovative Marketing Initiative.

Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (the Centre) came in third after a big year that included the 6th World Chambers Congress (more than 1,000 delegates), the 20th Video Urology World Congress and launches for BMW (1,200) and iPhone (2,000).

“The Centre’s focus on continuous innovation makes it the preferred venue by regional event planners,” says general manager Peter Brokenshire. “Since launching the ‘We Have A Deal For You’ campaign, the Centre has hosted over 800 events with 1.75 million delegates, further strengthening our proven track record in successfully hosting international and regional meetings.”

The centre also opened TenOnCall, a popular addition to the city’s small- and medium-sized meetings facilities.