Desaru Coast introduces the future of events in Southeast Asia with MICE Reinvented

Singapore — Pity about the pandemic. It kept too many people away from enjoying the burgeoning delights of Desaru. Desaru Coast has been recognised by TIME Magazine as one of the World’s Greatest Places of 2021.

Not bad for a place that for decades used to be a sleepy secret pleasure relished mostly by locals — and the expats working in Singapore who regularly slipped across the Causeway to the eastern coast of Johor for long weekends.

Now the secret’s out. And you can ditch any thoughts of savouring the nostalgic delights of yesterday’s Desaru.

Today’s Desaru Coast has remade itself as the future of meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE) to offer fully customisable events that will inspire, rejuvenate and reconnect people.

There is nothing mousy about this MICE destination.

Instead, think i) Corporate Events, Reimagined, ii) Future-proof Conferences & Exhibitions, iii) Wanderlust Destination Weddings & Celebrations, iv) Sports & Such and v) Nature & Nurture. These are what Desaru Coast terms its five distinct event pillars for all occasions.

Desaru Coast hugs the eastern edge of Johor and boasts a collection of some of the most coveted international five-star resorts. Together, they have close to 800 rooms, indoor event spaces that taken together can accommodate more than 2,300 delegates, two award-winning world-class golf courses and the region’s largest waterpark, and a 17-km span of beachfront and wide-open spaces offering infinite possibilities.

As this is an integrated destination, delegates to any event can stay at any one resort and enjoy a spread of activities and experiences across the other three resorts, attractions and outdoor experiences.

This is how Roslina Arbak, managing director and CEO of Desaru Coast Destination Resorts envisions its future:

“Just as the pandemic redesigned the way we live; it has driven us to relook and rethink how events will look like in the future… as an international destination in the world where people seek inspiration, rejuvenation and reconnections, Desaru Coast has reimagined all possible spaces and experiences across the destination to offer a multitude of integrated indoor and outdoor programmes.

“Future MICE at Desaru Coast can be designed with an enchanting mix of indoor and outdoor experiences to include all five-star facilities along with curated activities at the beach, forest, mangroves, local villages, golf courses, ballrooms, and conference centre.”

Desaru is a four-hour drive from Kuala Lumpur and about three and a half hours from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Johor’s Senai International Airport is an hour away, and Singapore’s Changi Airport, is about a two-hour drive away.

Ms Roslina adds: “With three international airports within Desaru Coast’s reach, it is accessible to a regional population catchment of an estimated 624 million within Asean in a four-hour flight radius and a population catchment of 3.8 billion within an 8-hour flight radius.

“Our soon-to-be-opened Desaru Coast Ferry Terminal will offer easy fly & ferry options for arrivals into Singapore to attend events at the destination.

“As travel gradually resumes, Desaru Coast is prime for MICE. We now look forward to boosting confidence in the industry with MICE Reinvented at Desaru Coast.”

Contact Destination Concierge at [email protected] for more information on MICE Reinvented. /TISG