PETALING JAYA, April 29 — Entering its 14th year, the next installment of the highly anticipated Malaysia International Dive Expo (MIDE) will once again take place at Kuala Lumpur’s Putra World Trade Centre from May 3 to 5 this year.
This year’s opening ceremony of the “Hottest and Coolest Dive Show” in Asia will be officiated International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Ong Kian Ming.
Brand spanking new at MIDE is the dynamic B2B networking platform, a new initiative designed by the organisers to help the trade and businesses connect in order to develop meaningful business relationships.
With a high-tech scheduling facility for arranging meetings during the event, the platform aims to assist and encourage businesses to not only link with others, but also efficiently and effectively locate investment opportunities, forge lucrative partnerships, and exchange knowledge.
Another major and exciting highlight this year is having not one or two, but three of the celebrated Thai cave rescue divers (Ben Reymenants, Claus Rasmussen and Bruce Konefe) at the Show.
Keen visitors will hear about their passion for cave diving, their participation in the rescue mission, their expertise and knowledge about cave diving, and their tips and advice to those interested in this niche area of the scuba sport.
Of major importance to divers is dive medicine, an area concerning the physiological and medical aspects of scuba diving.
This year, a special forum will be held to focus on the ongoing research by the industry’s largest association dedicated to scuba diving safety, Divers Alert Network (DAN), where the highly respected and widely published vice president, Mission Of DAN World will be present to moderate the panel and share his knowledge.
On sustainability, a dedicated forum on “Ocean Rescue” will no doubt have visitors engaged as they hear from marine biologist Dave McCann and a panel of other environmental experts on the ongoing efforts and research on marine conservation and the everyday habits that can forever change the course of the planet.
This year will also see the participation of boat builders and distributors at MIDE to give water lovers a more well-rounded expo on all things above and below the water’s surface.
Visitors can check out the various types of boats, technology, and the designs available while learning about the latest eco-friendly boat products in the market.
Other highlights at MIDE this year include dive tryouts at the on-site pool, more than 30 presentations by a host of industry experts on a wide range of subjects including marine conservation, marine life, photography and videography, ocean rescue, and technical diving among others as well as dive gear maintenance workshops.
Visitors will stand a chance to win more than RM30,000 worth of lucky draw prizes over the three-day event and a dedicated kids’ zone bursting with stimulating activities that will keep the young ones busy.
Also, female divers can join the dedicated Dive Divas Fan Club on Facebook and give themselves a chance to win one of the many prizes up for grabs for this community.
As usual, visitors will have the opportunity to meet and chat with dive tour operators and tourism representatives, secure a range of exclusive and discounted dive holidays, meet their industry heroes, and learn about the latest in cutting-edge underwater technologies available in the market today.
MIDE founders and organisers Ness Puvanes and Thayalan Kennedy confirmed that the demand for a highly engaging and informative dive expo remains high, as does interest in the sport of scuba diving and other underwater-related activities.
To register, visitors are encouraged to do so online to not only go green but also to avoid the long queues over the three days.
MIDE is strongly supported by the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia.
MyCEB serves as a central hub to assist meeting and event planners to bid and stage international business events in Malaysia and act as a conduit for national product development to all local as well as international organisers.
For more information, please visit www.mide.com.my, email [email protected] or call 603-79809902.
You can also follow MIDE on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates.
* This article is brought to you by AsiaEvents Exsic.
