Sarawak today celebrated a defining milestone in its business events journey with the reveal of the Sarawak Destination Legacy Report: A Decade of Transformation at IBTM World in Barcelona.
The report chronicles Sarawak’s journey from the founding of Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) in 2006 to its rise as one of the world’s most progressive, legacy-driven business events destinations, establishing itself as the legacy capital of business events in Malaysia and Borneo.
“True transformation occurs when we believe in the mission, commit for the long term, focus on real value, embrace necessary disruption, build strategic partnerships, and empower convention bureaux to lead — because their leadership strengthens the entire sector,” said Amelia Roziman, CEO of BESarawak, at a press conference at IBTM World Barcelona.
This journey laid the foundation for one of Sarawak’s most ambitious initiatives: the Legacy Impact Master Action Plan (MAP) 2023–2025, introduced in 2023 as a structured, measurable roadmap to embed legacy outcomes into event design and delivery. With 2025 drawing to a close, Sarawak is approaching the completion of this landmark plan, having achieved far-reaching results that surpass both internal and global expectations.
Looking back, Sarawak began this journey with ambition and purpose. Today, we have transformed that ambition into real impact. We have built a legacy ecosystem, strengthened government–industry collaboration, and established a model that other destinations now look to for inspiration. From 2026 to 2030, we aim to develop a new MAP to continue achieving legacy capital status, implementing a legacy-driven ecosystem powered by data and digital technology ~ Amelia Roziman
At IBTM World Barcelona, Sarawak also hosted an official intention ceremony for the adoption of the Borneo Legacy Declaration. Established on 3 October 2025 following the Legacy Event Advocacy Policy (LEAP) Summit, the declaration formalises a commitment by policymakers and industry leaders from Asia and Europe to advance the global business events industry, reflecting shared vision and partnership. The LEAP Summit was organised by The Iceberg, presented by the Joint Meeting Industry Council, and powered by BESarawak.
“Sarawak is a great example of adopting this declaration and turning intent into real action. The destination has shown how commitment, collaboration and long-term thinking can elevate not only a region but also inspire global partners to do the same. Sarawak isn’t just signing on, it is demonstrating what meaningful adoption looks like, and we look forward to seeing what’s next from Sarawak,” said James Latham, Founder of The Iceberg.
Executive Director at GainingEdge, Gary Grimmer, who served as the consultant for Sarawak’s Legacy Impact Master Action Plan (MAP) 2023–2025, expressed his strong admiration for the cohesion shown by Sarawak’s industry.
“Having consulted destinations around the world on legacy-driven events, Sarawak has performed far better than we ever expected with the Legacy MAP. They have delivered achievements we believed would only materialise after 2025. Their focus on legacy showcases the very best of the destination, demonstrating a level of teamwork and shared vision between government and industry that we rarely see.”
In December, BESarawak will formally adopt the Borneo Legacy Declaration and launch the Business Events Sarawak Alliance (BESA) programme for the government sector, which fosters collaboration between BESarawak and 12 government ministries in Sarawak, ensuring that the legacy-driven ecosystem is integrated across the public sector. The launch of both the declaration and BESA is scheduled for December and will be officiated by The Right Honourable Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg, Premier of Sarawak.
Sarawak also presented a snapshot of 10 conference case studies, revealing the legacies generated through AI.LEGACY Intelligent Impact Management System and demonstrating how data-driven validation is strengthening the destination’s impact narrative.