The Penang International Travel Exchange (PITE), a program owned by Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) opened today at the Setia SPICE Convention Centre.
With the 2-day B2B sessions and half-day forums happening at Setia SPICE Convention Centre and gala events held across Penang’s attractions, PITE this year welcomes 80 buyers from a total of 11 countries like China, the Philippines, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Azerbaijan, the United States and the Middle East. The buyers will be joined with 50 sellers from the Malaysia leisure tourism and business events industry.
Also attending the launch include the Honourable Mr. Yeoh Soon Hin (Penang State Executive Councillor of Tourism, Arts, Culture & Heritage), Mr. Ashwin Gunasekeran (Chief Executive Officer of PCEB), and Mr. Presanth Chandra (Managing Director of Apollo Conferences). Organized by Penang-based Professional Conference Organiser (PCO) Apollo Conferences, buyers, and the media will be exposed to the various products in Penang through B2B sessions and outdoor familiarisation trips with Penang’s business events industry players. PITE also sees a half-day forum with diverse speakers from the travel industry.
“PITE is a program initiated with a vision to further expose Penang’s best qualities in enhancing buyers’ and the media’s experiences through a curated itinerary. The Business Events Penang industry is committed to providing the buyers first-hand involvement in the various activities and events,” said Ashwin Gunasekeran, CEO of PCEB in his speech this morning.
“I am certain that the PITE itinerary this year is filled with a fair amount of outdoor familiarisation activities in Penang, which includes site inspections to a few of the attractions that make up Penang,” said the Honourable Mr. Yeoh Soon Hin, Penang State Executive Councillor for Tourism, Arts, Culture & Heritage.
There will also be networking events in the form of a heritage hunt around Penang, and exciting gala dinners within the itinerary that will further allow engagement between the sellers and participants. Among the highlights of PITE 2019 are a gala dinner for the buyers on the iconic Penang Ferry, and networking events at The TOP and The Habitat. They will also get to sample the UNESCO World Heritage Site and other parts of Penang through a different view and exposure.
To capture their experiences here for a lasting memory, PCEB is organizing and sponsoring the #PITE2019 Social Media Contest for the participants of PITE this year. There are 3 categories – the Most-Liked Post, the Most Number of Post and the Most Creative Post. The contest is opened to all platforms and posts have to include the hashtags: #PITE2019 and #Penang2020BEUnfiltered. “Each winner will receive full hosting for PITE 2020,” announced Ashwin during the opening ceremony.
The first edition of PITE last year saw Penang hosting 120 buyers from India and 47 sellers from Malaysia. PITE returns next year from 6th – 10th October 2020.
