Footwear tourism in Malaysia is responsible for a large part of footwear exports that corresponds $200 million annually. MISF (The 4th Malaysia International Shoe Festival) promoted in last March, featured international designers and fostered the local industry.

Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism has promoted the festival and the local industry as part of a plan to develop the country as a luxury destination. Shoe sales account for 17 percent of the money spent by tourists in Malaysia.

In addition to the importance of tourism, the minister of Tourism - , Dr. Seri Ng Yen Yen – highlighted that local shoe-making industry has contributed significantly to the economy, contributing, in 2012, with $ 325 million.

According her, the figure include Malaysia’s $ 200 million footwear exports to the international market such as Brazil, the United Kingdom, Mexico and the Asian countries as well as $100 million in the domestic market.
“It shows that we have succeeded in developing the footwear industry and will continue to make Malaysia as Asia’s leading shoe manufacturer, the next step forward into the world stage,” she told after the launch of the Malaysia International Shoe Festival 2013.

The Festival

The festival showed local talent, but also featured designers from all over the world, with a total 150 brands on display like: Malaysia’s Snowfly and Larrie; Italy’s Fiorucci and Geox; Denmark’s Ecco; America’s Timberland; and many more.
The minister said that this year’s festival, the fourth edition, was expected to place Malaysia as a centre for high fashion, in the global fashion arena, as well as the “Shoe Capital of Asia”.

The big attraction of the festival was the world-renowned shoe couturier Jimmy Choo’s latest design series. Choo, who is also Malaysia’s tourism ambassador, infused his design with traditional Malaysian flare.
“You can say it’s a tribute to our rich artistic culture,” Choo told Malaysian publication, The Star. “We also need to acknowledge the people and the skills involved in producing the fabrics that go into my shoes. The same thing applies to the art of shoe-making—it is very much part of our heritage and it will soon be gone if not properly preserved.”

The festival encourages up-and-coming local talent with the Young Designer Pavilion, the Young Designer Showcase, and the Malaysia footwear design competition. Students from 25 design schools participated in the competition.

The ministry is targeting 2.5 million US dollars sales from the festival. 150 shoe designers from Brazil, Italy and Thailand and proprietors of local show-making companies, are showcasing their products at the festival.

For Mexico, the most relevant country in footwear exports, there was a decrease of 78% in quantity exported, and a decrease of 67 in value in 2012. Brazil, the third largest Malaysian exports market, also had a of 97% in quantity and value, representing itself as one of the largest losses of export in 2012. For Singapore, performance are relatively positive where exports wear over 12 % in quantity, however, in terms of value, there was a decrease of 6%, which means that the average price per pair is falling down.

The country exports now approximately 201,330 million of pairs, 32% less than in the previous year. The value decreased by 30%.