Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) Wins Award

Furniture World Magazine

Once again, the Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) made headlines when it was awarded the Best MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) – Exhibition of the Year Award 2005/2006 at the Malaysia Tourism Awards by the Minister of Tourism, YB Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor. The Malaysia Tourism Award is the highest accolade of its kind in the country, serving to honour the exceptional individuals and corporations that have contributed towards the development of the tourism and related industries. There is only one award under the Best MICE category, giving recognition to the MICE industry that has contributed to Malaysia’s share of the exhibition market. In 2005, MIFF won the Best MICE – Exhibition of the Year Award 2004 and it continues to dominate the category for the award this year. The nominees to the Best MICE category were judged under the strictest criteria that include the total exhibition space used, number of participating countries, percentage of international and local exhibitors, number of international and local visitors, marketing and promotional efforts, pre/post exhibition tours as well as the show’s economic impact in terms of revenue and hotel accommodation used. Winning this award reinforces MIFF’s standing as the best exhibition in the nation as well as one of the leading 10 furniture tradeshows in the world. Coupled with its recognition as an UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry approved event, the union of the world’s leading tradeshow and organisers and fairground owners, sets another milestone for MIFF in terms of the degree of professionalism and international standards it exemplifies. Another astounding success was recorded at MIFF 2007 held from the 6 – 10 March at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) and the MATRADE Exhibition and Convention Centre (MECC) that brought in 7,266 international buyers and visitors from 135 countries, surpassing previous achievements. This places MIFF as the international furniture exhibition that brings in the highest number of buying countries annually in the world. With over 10 global furniture fairs taking place in the month of March in Asia, MIFF’s ability to continuously attract the presence of the largest number of buying countries is a reflection of the show’s quality and importance in the furniture world. Every year, a significant economic spin-off is generated during the exhibition period. As a MICE tourist tends to spend double the amount of the average tourist, in excess of RM 30 million is enjoyed by the hotel, tourism, food & beverage, transportation and domestic trade industries through international visitors attending the MIFF show. In addition, 30% of the furniture export sales of the country are also concluded during the fair. MIFF 2008, the 14th edition of the show, is scheduled to take place from the 4 – 8 March at PWTC and MECC. The show will be consolidated at two venues to further convenient operations and visitors to the fair. The halls at MECC will be expanded, increasing the overall size of the exhibition to 80,000sqm compared to 75,000sqm in 2007. With this expansion in terms of scale and size, visitors can expect to bedazzled with more of the latest creations and designs reflecting originality, ingenuity, innovativeness and progress in the world of furniture.