Tressa Goulding, CAE, CMP, is executive director with the Scoliosis Research Society in Milwaukee, Wis.
Describe your event.
The 22nd International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques (IMAST) is a 2.5-day meeting for surgeons and other healthcare professionals who deal with complex spine conditions. Including exhibitors, there were 847 people from all over the world.
Why did you choose Malaysia?
This was the first SRS meeting in Malaysia. We try to hold meetings in all areas of the world. When SRS members in Kuala Lumpur submitted a proposal, there was consensus that it would be a good option for Southeast Asia.
Which main hotels and venues did you use?
The meeting was at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC), with the Grand Hyatt KL and Traders Hotel KL as official hotels. The traditional Friday night reception was at the Thean How Temple.
Did you encounter any challenges?
The biggest challenge was negotiating the contract with the KLCC. The initial contract contained a number of clauses that were extremely favorable to KLCC but put SRS at significant risk. They would probably have been appropriate had we been bringing a heavy metal concert to the center, but not for a well-established medical conference with a solid history.
After spending several months and several thousand dollars on attorney’s fees, thinking we had made progress then suddenly seeing a reversion to the old contract when leadership at the center changed, we actually made the decision to pull out of Kuala Lumpur and try to move the meeting to Singapore.
At that point, our local members and contacts at the convention bureau stepped in and we were able to finally resolve the contract issues using the clauses we had agreed upon before the management change.
What surprised you most about Malaysia?
I’m not sure it was a surprise, but there is a great customer service/hospitality attitude among the people there. The food was consistently great and there were a number of good options for accompanying persons and for those who came early or stayed for an extra day to see more of Kuala Lumpur or other areas.
What did your attendees say about the overall experience?
We generally heard very positive comments. Some had been concerned about attendance, since it would mean very long flights for people from North America and Europe, but numbers were good and we did reach a lot of people who hadn’t previously attended an SRS meeting.