MALAYSIA ATTRACTS LARGEST INCENTIVE GROUP FROM JAPAN - 2,300 participants of tour group generates an estimated RM 24 million worth of economic impact

Kuala Lumpur, 7 February 2013 – A large incentive group of 2,300 from Japan’s upscale cosmetics production and distribution brand, POLA arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, 5th February 2013. The incentive programme, supported by the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) is participated by 150 company officials and top sales staff from various parts of Japan.

“Connections were made by Minister of Tourism Malaysia, Dato Seri Dr. Ng Yen Yen during her recent visit to Japan. Mr. Hiroki Yokoyama, the President of POLA was convinced by the Minister to implement its incentive programme in Malaysia, given that it is a country conducive for business events coupled with the availability of a myriad of interesting activities that is unique to the country,” explained Mr. Zulkelfli Hj Sharif, CEO of MyCEB. “We have also offered our support to ensure the programme’s success. The incentive tour is estimated to generate RM 24 million in economic impact for the country,” he continued.

“The Government of Malaysia has put in place several programmes to attract incentive and business groups to Malaysia as part of a bigger economic agenda to make Malaysia a developed nation. Under the Economic Transformation Programme, business tourism has been identified as one of the focus points for the Ministry of Tourism,” said Dato’ Seri Dr. Ng Yen Yen.

MyCEB, as the conduit of business events in Malaysia has provided its assistance from the beginning of the group’s arrival. Arrangements were made to assure that POLA’s visit to Malaysia begins from the airport with fast track immigration clearance and police escorts for smooth traffic.
During their visit to Malaysia, POLA will also host a grand scale award ceremony held tonight at the prestigious Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC). The dinner will be attended by the Minister of Tourism Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Dr. Ng Yen Yen and the Director General of Tourism Malaysia, Dato’ Mirza Mohammad Taiyab.

“POLA’s incentive tour has exceeded the number of participants in similar past large incentive groups from Japan such as SUBARU, the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries and HOMER ION, a Japanese cosmetics company featuring its flagship brand, Moisteane, which had 700 top sales staff to Malaysia back in 2007,” explained Zulkefli.

Malaysia is increasingly considered as a preferred destination for business events such as large scale corporate and incentive meetings. MyCEB and the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board in Japan will continuously ensure that Malaysia is not only promoted to Japanese companies but also Japanese business events organisers.

For more information, please contact:

Shazrina Othman
Manager, PR & Communications
Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau
Tel: +603 2034 2090 • Fax: +603 2034 2091 •Email: shazrina@myceb.com.my

NOTE TO EDITORS

About the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB)

MyCEB was established in 2009 by Ministry of Tourism, Malaysia to further strengthen Malaysia’s business tourism brand and position for the international business events market. A non-profit organisation, MyCEB serves as a central hub to assist meeting and event planners to bid for and stage international business events in Malaysia and act as a conduit for national product development. MyCEB’s goal is to improve its rankings as an international meetings destination within International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) and to grow business tourism arrivals to Malaysia.

Apart from business events, an important component of MyCEB is the International Events Unit (IEU) which focuses on identifying and supporting international event bids in the areas of sports, art and culture and lifestyle.

In November 2011, MyCEB unveiled its business events tagline, ‘Malaysia – Asia’s Business Events Hub’ which encompasses its aim to communicate Malaysia’s proposition as a gateway to Asia for meetings – where many of Asia’s diverse cultures, languages and lifestyles are represented and have merged through a long history of trade and meetings.

For more information, please visit www.myceb.com.my

About POLA Inc.:
POLA, Inc., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the largest cosmetic companies in the world with annual sales of more than $1.8 billion, and is the No. 1 direct selling cosmetic company in Japan. The company was founded in 1946 and has grown to over 1,300 employees and 100,000 independent POLA beauty consultants across fifteen countries on four continents. The dedication of POLA beauty consultants to personal attention has been a trademark for generations. The parent company POLA ORBIS HOLDINGS INC. is listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock exchange.

February 2013