SEPANG – Malaysia Airports hosted its annual Concessionaires Conference at Sama-Sama Hotel KLIA today. Already in its 8th year, the conference was officially opened by Mohammad Nazli Abdul Aziz, senior general manager, Commercial Services of Malaysia Airports. With the theme ‘Unlocking our future potential’, the conference was attended by approximately 300 retail, F&B and services concessionaire representatives from all its international airports in Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Penang and Langkawi as well as guests from the industry.
The annual conference is a one-stop platform for concessionaires and airport related professionals to engage in informative sessions, share insights on the current and future developments as well as participate in extensive networking opportunities.
In his opening speech, Mohammad Nazli who joined Malaysia Airports 2 years ago, shared his challenges, insights and expressed his enthusiasm in working towards the future success of Malaysia Airports. “Against the backdrop of an ever-changing landscape with intensified competition, we aim to enhance the Total Airport Experience (TAE) which is one of the strategic priorities in the RtS2020. We aspire to harness our strengths with more dynamism as well as innovate our service offerings to meet the expectations of different types of guests. For Malaysia Airports, promoting a culture of continuous service improvement has become a matter of gaining competitive advantage and optimising non-aeronautical revenue performance,” said Mohammad Nazli.
This year’s theme for the conference is in line with Malaysia Airports continuous efforts to chart the future growth of Malaysia Airports which is also in tandem with its five-year business plan Runway toSuccess 2020 (RtS2020). Mohammad Nazli added, “While efficiency, safety and facilities are essential pillars of a world-class airport, service excellence will continue to be a hallmark of the Malaysia Airports experience. The task to position KLIA as the lifestyle airport bringing memorable shopping and dining experience to our passengers and public at large is a particularly challenging one. We therefore rely on a close-knit partnership and commitment from a multitude of government agencies, retailers, concessionaires, commercial entities and other service providers – all working hand-in-hand to create a memorable experience and constantly striving to showcase the best of Malaysia to the world.”
The sessions addressed topics such as the travel industry performance, current trends, future outlook of Malaysia Airports and many more. Attendees also had the opportunity to engage in candid discussion with their peers as well as industry experts.
Meanwhile, as part of its recognition programme, Malaysia Airports held its inaugural Concessionaires Awards Night on the same day and presented a total of 19 awards to its concessionaires as compared to 13 awards last year. The Concessionaires Awards Night a grand event for the airport community, aims to inspire creativity and excellence amongst the concessionaires and to recognize their outstanding performance and innovative approach. The award entries are grouped according to Malaysia Airports (SEPANG) managed international airports – KLIA and klia2, and Malaysia Airports Sdn Bhd (MASB) managed international airports - Penang / Langkawi / Kota Kinabalu / Kuching.
Among the noteworthy winners that night were Dimensi Ekslusif (M) Sdn Bhd and QSR Stores Sdn Bhd bagging the Best Retailer Award MA (Sepang) and Best Retailer Award (MASB) category respectively.
“Malaysia Airports works continuously to enhance the passenger experience and this grand inaugural awards night exemplifies our commitment in recognizing the most innovative and outstanding airport oncessions that are essential to that effort. As we celebrate these accomplishments, we also look forward in seeking more effective, efficient and profitable ways of providing exceptional experience to all our passengers,” said Mohammad Nazli.
In an earlier statement made by Datuk Badlisham Ghazali, managing director of Malaysia Airports, he reiterated the importance of staying vested in partners growth and that Malaysia Airports will ensure equal opportunities are given to everyone to shine through their respective services at the airports. He further commented that such an event is vital to keep the airport community together and work towards a common goal in growing the respective businesses. “The growth of our partners signifies our success on the international platform as well,” Datuk Badlisham added.
The year ahead looks to be exciting and promising for Malaysia Airports. The ongoing marketing and tactical campaigns complemented by the collective efforts and the commitment of an enthusiastic workforce, will greatly contribute towards the success of Malaysia Airports and scaling it to even greater heights.