1Malaysia International Shoe Festival Joins Tourism Calendar - Minister

KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 (Bernama) -- The 1Malaysia International Shoe Festival (1MISF) which has been held since two years ago has made it into the Malaysian Tourism Calendar in a move to introduce and strengthen the position of the festival in the world. Minister of Tourism Dr Ng Yen Yen (second from left) said the move to include the festival at the end of March and early April meant the festival was one of the official programmes of the ministry which would be held every year. "1MISF is one of the priority programmes in the calendar apart from Citrawarna Malaysia, Contemporary Art Festival and Food Festival, which would be held from May to December each year. "In order to ensure our programmes are well-known, we must fixed a date to inform the world," she told a media conference on the launch of the shoe festival at the Malaysian Tourism Centre here Tuesday. Also present were Tourism Ambassador and world famous shoe maker Prof Dr Jimmy Choo (left) and president of the Malaysian Footwear Manufacturers Association (MFMA) Tony Ting (right). The festival, scheduled to be open by the Queen Tuanku Hajah Haminah Hamidun, is organised by the Tourism Ministry and MFMA from March 29 to April 1 at the Putra World Trade Centre here. On 1MISF, Ng said the third festival targeted 60,000 visitors from both at home and abroad to make Malaysia as the 'Shoe Capital of Asia' apart from being a platform for industry players to promote their respective brands to the world. She said not many understood the importance of the shoe industry to the national tourism sector as there were almost 1,000 companies producing and designing shoes in Malaysia. She said the recognition of the importance of the shoe industry could be seen at tertiary institutions in which there were more than 200 students taking up courses in shoe design at Universiti Teknolgi Mara (UiTM) and Selangor Human Resources Development Centre. Dr Ng said to identify Malaysia as the Shoe Capital of Asia, the ministry was seeking ideas and approaches to attract more foreign tourists to the country's local shoe market which had been recognised as one of the cheapest in the region. She said lately, made in Malaysia shoes had become one of the 'must buy' products for tourists and in fact the value of Malaysian shoe exports to several countries such as Singapore, Germany and Italy had exceeded RM600 million a year. "So we should be quick to ensure our shoe industry develops to live up to its branding as a 'Shoe Capital," she said. (photoBERNAMA) MALAYSIA