MIAS breaks attendance record; 128,000 visitors show up

The World Trade Center was filled to the brim every day.

It seems like the penchant for anything and everything automotive still holds strong, and the recently concluded Manila International Auto Show (MIAS) was a testament to our love for cars.

Last weekend, some 128,000 visitors flocked to World Trade Center, braving the payday weekend traffic and long parking lines to visit what is touted to be the country’s biggest annual motoring event.

“This is a new record for us.” said Jill Ang, managing director for Worldbex Services International, organizer of MIAS.

“This was a challenging year for us because we added another 3,000 sqm to the total exhibition floor area, which is the Truck Pavilion, housing our truck and commercial vehicle exhibitors.

“We also added a premium motorcycle section with some of the best high-end brands represented in the country. So we had to make sure the exhibits are properly presented and curated.

“It is still a work in progress but initial results and feedback was very encouraging. As the automotive market hit the 400,000-unit mark last year, this gave car brands bigger marketing budgets and the opportunity to be more creative.

“We were very glad to be able to meet the expectations of most if not all our exhibitors and sponsors.”

From 31,000 sqm of exhibition floor space, MIAS had expanded to 34,000 sqm, and now with five interconnecting building structures.

Ang was referring to the massive covered court erected adjacent to World Trade Center’s west wing just for the show that housed the truck and commercial vehicle displays.

As an added attraction, several highly modified and show-winning “monster trucks” were displayed in a special exhibit curated by 199 Off Road House.

In line with the 4×4 off-road feel of this year’s front lawn area, a display of several premium motorcycle brands by Access Plus, all-terrain-vehicles by Polaris, and some highly modified extreme 4×4 racing vehicles were on display at foyer entrance area.

Outside the building, Subaru organized an off-road obstacle course for customers to try out their Forester SUV model.

Ford held its “Ford Island Conquest” 4×4 off-road test course complete with a wading pool to showcase its vehicles’ high-wading depth capability.

Mazda Philippines won this year’s best booth award at the main hall of the World Trade Center.

With over 600 sqm of floor space, it had one of the largest footprints among the brands in this year’s show. But it wasn’t size that mattered.

Observers said that the elegant simplicity and quality of execution as well as the very thoughtful layout gave Mazda the lead in this year’s award.

Hyundai Trucks on the other hand, won the best booth award in the Truck Pavilion category.