School of Hospitality Participate in the MICE Destination Contest 2019 in Taiwan

The competition is a platform for youths to channel their innovative ideas in contribution to the growth of the MICE Industry, and to market their cities as MICE destinations. This event is hosted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs Bureau of Foreign Trade, Taiwan and Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA). The competition was participated by an international audience from such countries as Germany, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

This year, Sunway University students presented Langkawi Island as a MICE Destination. Many may not know that Langkawi is also known as Jewel of Kedah, and is an archipelago comprising 99 islands. The team was dressed to the nines in traditional costumes exhibiting the locality and culture of Malaysia, and specifically Langkawi. The island is considered an attractive location for the MICE sector and strategically located at “the crossroads of Asia” (News Straits Times Online, June 2019). The team was required to gather their creative ideas, combined with their knowledge, to effectively market Langkawi Island as a MICE destination.

The School of Hospitality strives to promote place-based learning amongst its students through activities such as this. Through this competition, students are able to apply local contexts to a global scale to promote understanding and learning of the industry’s challenges, opportunities, and connections. For the team’s hard work and effort, a Merit Award was awarded to the students.

Ms Hairani M Nur, the guiding lecturer also mentioned: “This competition is a great opportunity to those who are ready for a challenge! Participations guarantee social and industry networking expansion, creativity and communication enhancement, and personal development. It is indeed a great platform to get the students ready for the industry at a global stage!”.