In May 2025, Sarawak reached a new milestone on the international stage.
At IMEX Frankfurt, the premier global trade show for the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) industry, the state unveiled its revitalised Tribe Legacy Sarawak campaign, themed “Driving Impact Together”.
The launch represents a conscious shift in focus: from short-term success to long-term legacies that enrich communities, celebrate culture, and safeguard the environment.
This milestone signals Sarawak’s aim to establish itself as the “Legacy Capital of Business Events” in Malaysia and Borneo by 2030.
The campaign highlights the state’s evolving economic approach: harnessing natural and cultural assets to attract visitors while ensuring every hosted event creates lasting value for people and the environment.
What is the Tribe Legacy Sarawak Campaign?
The Tribe Legacy Sarawak campaign, led by Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak), is anchored by three interconnected components:
- AI.Legacy – an AI-powered impact measurement platform co-developed with University Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).
The tool helps planners measure and report long-term impacts across economic, social, environmental, and cultural dimensions.
According to BESarawak, AI.Legacy tracks outcomes such as job creation, SME engagement, carbon output, and community benefits, making impact measurable and transparent.
- Legacy360 – a collaborative platform that unites government agencies, industry partners, and community representatives to design events with long-term legacy goals.
The initiative pushes planners to think past short-term wins and build social, environmental, and economic sustainability into every stage of event development.
- Borneo Inspires Legacy Awards (BILA) – a recognition programme honouring individuals and organisations whose events generate measurable, long-term benefits for Sarawak.
Its international eligibility reflects the state’s broader strategy to attract major global events that reinforce sustainable and inclusive development goals.
The Importance of Launching on the World Stage
Unveiling the campaign at IMEX Frankfurt was a strategic move.
By stepping onto one of the world’s biggest MICE stages, Sarawak made a deliberate statement: it is ready to compete globally with a legacy-driven model that goes far beyond traditional tourism campaigns.
Unlike traditional tourism marketing, the Trible Legacy campaign positions Sarawak as a destination that integrates experiential quality with sustainable, measurable impact, elevating its profile in the global MICE market.
The launch also reflects a new way of evaluating events.
While business events in Sarawak were once measured primarily by attendance and direct revenue, the Tribe Legacy framework expands the evaluation criteria to include multiplier effects, community upliftment, environmental responsibility, and cultural preservation.
The international unveiling underscores Sarawak’s commitment to pursuing not just event numbers but long-term social and environmental value.
Potential Impact on Sarawak
When effectively implemented, the Tribe Legacy Sarawak campaign can produce wide-ranging, long-term advantages:
- Economic Uplift Beyond Short-Term Gains
Business events have long played a significant role in Sarawak’s economic landscape.
In 2024 alone, the state hosted 111 events, surpassing the target of 100, and generating RM313.6 million in overall economic impact.
Delegates alone accounted for RM 170.4 million, with 38,248 attendees spending directly in the state.
Through AI.LEGACY and Legacy360, event planning and impact tracking can be aligned with economic development goals.
This includes prioritising local suppliers, engaging SMEs, creating employment opportunities, and supporting industries beyond the traditional hospitality and transport sectors.
By systematically linking events to measurable economic indicators, Sarawak can cultivate a stronger, more diversified business ecosystem.
- Social and Community Development
Legacy-driven events open avenues for knowledge sharing, capacity building, and deeper community involvement.
Activities such as seminars and community-based engagements help equip local and indigenous groups with long-term competencies.
The BILA framework further motivates event organisers to prioritise social impact, directing benefits to communities that are often overlooked in conventional business-event models.
- Environmental Sustainability
Sarawak’s push towards a green economy, highlighted in the upcoming Sustainability Blueprint 2030, can be strengthened through legacy-driven events.
By integrating sustainability practices—such as reducing carbon emissions, minimising waste, and supporting conservation efforts—business events can promote environmental stewardship and set benchmarks for other sectors to follow.
- Global Branding
Ultimately, excelling in legacy-focused events strengthens Sarawak’s standing on the global stage.
By moving beyond traditional eco-tourism and cultural offerings, the state can position itself as a sophisticated, responsible, and innovative business events destination, appealing to global NGOs, forums, and investors focused on sustainability and long-term societal benefits.
Gaps and Challenges:
Despite its potential, the campaign is not without
Measurement and Standardisation: Quantifying “legacy”, particularly in social and environmental terms, presents inherent difficulties.
Without established metrics and benchmarks, AI.LEGACY’s reporting may risk being overly general.
BESarawak notes that the platform was initially built without prior reference points, and is evolving through iterative development.
Stakeholder Buy-in: Success depends on strong collaboration among government agencies, industry players, and local communities.
Indigenous and local groups must be truly empowered in decision-making, so the outcomes don’t skew toward big corporate interests.
Balancing Sustainability with Volume: The business events industry traditionally emphasises attendance figures and revenue generation.
Embedding sustainability and community value can drive up costs or add layers of complexity, potentially putting off organisers.
Lack of Local Benchmarks: As mentioned earlier, Malaysia has few examples of biodiversity-rich, culturally diverse regions leveraging business events as legacy drivers.
This makes Sarawak a trailblazer, though it naturally comes with greater uncertainty.
Risk of Symbolic Actions: Without proper regulatory frameworks or incentive mechanisms, legacy efforts risk becoming symbolic gestures rather than meaningful actions.
Regional and Global Insights
Experiences from other regions offer valuable guidance:
Globally, legacy-oriented MICE events increasingly incorporate community engagement, climate-friendly practices, and mechanisms for post-event knowledge transfer.
In many parts of Europe and North America, tools for assessing economic, social, and environmental impacts are now standard.
Across Southeast Asia, destinations are beginning to work closely with local communities to deliver cultural programmes, protect heritage, and ensure more inclusive growth.
Though these settings are not identical to Sarawak, they show that inclusive, community-benefitting approaches are entirely achievable.
Internationally, many events have been catalysts for socio-economic change—improving infrastructure, strengthening local skills, and leaving positive community legacies.
While Sarawak’s context remains unique, these examples reinforce the value of thoughtful planning, robust measurement, and genuine stakeholder participation.
Recommendations for Strengthening Tribe Legacy Sarawak
Establish Clear, Context-Sensitive Metrics: Set clear benchmarks for economic, social, environmental, and cultural impacts, and involve independent experts to verify the methodology and enhance AI.LEGACY’s data credibility.
Institutionalise Accountability: Make it compulsory for organisers to outline their legacy plans upfront and later report back on what impact was actually achieved.
Prioritise Community Inclusion: Include local and indigenous communities as active partners in both planning and delivery.
Prioritise local procurement, SME engagement, and culturally grounded contributions.
Engage Global Partners: Engage with international institutions and sustainability networks to benchmark best practices, secure high-value events, and elevate Sarawak’s profile on the global stage.
Ensure Transparency: Regularly publish reports on achievements, obstacles, and key lessons to foster transparency, strengthen stakeholder engagement, and enhance the appeal of future events.
Conclusion
The global debut of Tribe Legacy Sarawak at IMEX Frankfurt 2025 marked a pivotal moment, signalling Sarawak’s ambition to lead not only in tourism and business events but also in responsible, impact-driven planning.
However, this milestone should be viewed as the starting point rather than the endpoint.
The real challenge is delivering concrete, measurable benefits: enhanced livelihoods, preservation of cultural heritage, environmental sustainability, and inclusive economic growth.
If Sarawak can make full use of AI.LEGACY, Legacy360, and BILA, learn from global examples, and maintain close collaboration with local communities, the campaign could transform the state into a world-class model for legacy-driven business events, leaving a footprint far beyond any conference or exhibition.
In the end, the ultimate measure of success won’t be attendance figures, but the lasting prosperity of Sarawak’s people, culture, and environment.
References:
- Sarawak Reinforces Global Presence with Launch of Revamped Tribe Legacy Campaign at IMEX Frankfurt
- Tribe Legacy Sarawak Goes Global with Focus on AI and Community Impact
- Sarawak Launches Transformative Initiative on a Global Scale
- Sarawak to Launch Revamped Tribe Legacy at IMEX Frankfurt 2025
- Sarawak Exceeds 2024 Business Events Target, Achieves Estimated RM323.6 MLN Total Economic Impact
- Sarawak Celebrates Another Milestone Year for Business Events
- Tourist Performance on Track to Reach 5 million Visitor Arrivals
- Sarawak Tourism Numbers Continue Upward Trend
