MALAYSIA. Malaysia Airports gathered around 300 of its retail, food & beverage and service partners at its eighth annual Concessionaires Conference & Awards on Tuesday, with the theme ‘Unlocking our future potential’. The event was held at the Sama-Sama Hotel at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and attracted partners from KLIA, klia2, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Penang and Langkawi international airports.
Opening the event, Malaysia Airports Senior General Manager, Commercial Services Mohammad Nazli Abdul Aziz said: “Against the backdrop of an ever-changing landscape with intensified competition, we aim to enhance the total airport experience as one of the strategic priorities in the five-year business plan Runway to Success 2020.
“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.”
Mohammad Nazli added: “The task to position KLIA as the lifestyle airport bringing memorable shopping and dining experiences to our passengers and public at large is a particularly challenging one. We therefore rely on partnership and commitment from a multitude of government agencies, retailers, concessionaires, commercial entities and other service providers, working hand-in-hand to create a memorable experience and striving to showcase the best of Malaysia to the world.”
The sessions addressed topics such as travel industry performance, current trends, the outlook for Malaysia Airports and others.
Malaysia Airports also held its inaugural Concessionaire Awards Night, presenting 19 awards (compared to 13 last year). Among the big winners was P&C and cigars specialist Dimensi Eksklusif, which captured the Best Retailer Award at KLIA and Best Core Category Award – Perfumes & Cosmetics (KLIA). QSR Stores won the Best Retailer Award in the regional airports category.
The awards entries were grouped into two classes: KLIA and klia2 (Sepang) in the capital and the other international airports managed by Malaysia Airports in the country (Penang, Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching).
“This awards night exemplifies our commitment to recognising the most innovative and outstanding airport concessions. As we celebrate these accomplishments, we look forward to seeking more effective, efficient and profitable ways of providing exceptional experiences to all our passengers,” said Mohammad Nazli.
Speaking earlier, Malaysia Airports Managing Director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali highlighted the importance of investing in partners’ growth. He said that Malaysia Airports will ensure equal opportunities are given to each partner to shine through their respective services. He said that the conference and awards are vital to keep the airport community working towards a common goal: growing their respective businesses. “The growth of our partners signifies our success on the international platform as well,” Datuk Badlisham added.
