Kuala Lumpur – The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and Tourism (MOTAC) Malaysia recently sent a delegation to Japan to launch its 2024 Japan Tourism Marketing Mission by visiting eight major local tourism companies.
Several institutions expressed interest to cooperate in promoting various projects, including educational tourism, the Malaysia My Second Home programme, and personalised travel experiences.
This trip, led by Malaysia’s Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dato’ Sri Tiong King Sing, took place from June 21 to 27 covering Osaka and Tokyo.
The delegation includes Tourism Malaysia Director General, Mr Manoharan Periasamy meets eight (8) Key Japanese Tourism Companies.
The eight organisations visited includes one of the world’s largest travel agencies, HIS, the century-old Nippon Travel Agency (NTA), Malaysia My Second Home programme’s Japanese partner, Long Stay Foundation, parent company of renowned Mitsui Outlets and Lalaport shopping mall, Japan’s largest real estate developer Mitsui Fudosan, the world’s ninth-largest airline All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan’s first private railway operator Nankai Electric Railway, and Loyalty Marketing, the operator of the Ponta shopping points card used throughout Japan.
Additionally, the delegation also met the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA), represented by President Mr.Kuniharu Ebina and Secretary General Koji Ikehata.
In 2023, the number of Japanese tourists visiting Malaysia was 229,892, which is only 50% of pre-pandemic levels.
In 2019, the annual number of Japanese visitors was 424,694. However, in the first four months of 2024, the number of Japanese visitors to Malaysia reached 92,182, nearly 50% higher than the same period last year.
Kuniharu Ebina noted during the meeting that the recovery of Japan’s tourism industry has been slow, compounded by the weakening of the yen.
The number of high-spending outbound travelers has significantly decreased, and Japanese people’s travel preferences have shifted towards personalised services and unique experiences post-pandemic.
“For us, Malaysia is a potential destination that can aid the overall recovery of Japan’s tourism industry, especially with its many advantages.
“Malaysia can offer more unique travel experiences and new attractions that are relatively attractive to Japanese tourists, helping us find potentialcustomers in the market.” Dato’ Sri Tiong King Sing said that Malaysia can provide many unique travel experiences and personalised services, including island hopping, off-road adventures, golf, and student exchange programme.
He also expressed desire to connect with members of the association through this platform, receiving positive feedback, and both parties will follow up on subsequent work.
Furthermore, Nippon Travel Agency (NTA) President Norikazu Kitano stated that due to the weak yen, traveling to Singapore is expensive, putting Malaysia on a relatively advantageous footing.
There is much potential for Malaysia to explore and grow the educational tourism market within the next two years.
During talks with Loyalty Marketing, they mentioned that they have started recommending Malaysia on the international version of the Ponta shopping points card website, aiming to attract at least 3,000 members to vacation in Malaysia, not including accompanying family and friends.
Meanwhile, during a meeting with Mitsui Fudosan, Dato’ Sri Tiong invited about 2,000 employees of the group to organise a holiday trip to Malaysia.
During the mission to kick off Malaysia’s marketing mission to Japan, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Dato’ Sri
Tiong also explored opportunities for the Malaysia My Second Home programme, receiving suggestions to reach potential high net worth individuals.
The trip coincided with the release of the updated version of the Malaysia My Second Home programme and coinciding with meeting the Long Stay Foundation, a longtime Japanese market partner of the programme.
Long Stay Foundation is a market expert and consulting institution for long-stay leisure in Japan, with 3,000 members and 65 supporting units assisting in market promotion.
Also during the meeting, Dato’ Sri Tiong briefed and explained the newly launched Malaysia My Second Home programme.
Based on its market experience, the Japanese agency suggested adjusting the marketing strategy from previously targeting middle-aged participants with 50 million yen in liquid assets to high net worth individuals with 300 million yen in liquid assets, identifying them as potential “platinum group” participants.
Additionally, given the current weak yen against the dollar, participants can choose to make fixed deposits in dollars or ringgit, which is also beneficial for developing the Japanese market.
Long Stay Foundation Secretary General Yujiro Tsuruta suggested engaging with financial institutions and banks and their credit card users to find potential participants, emphasising that upcoming market promotions would be more effective with Tourism Malaysia’s cooperation.
The MOTAC Minister Dato’ Sri Tiong responded by urging the Japanese side to submit a market plan, with the initial phase to be implemented by Tourism Malaysia before handing it over to them.
He added a list of agents would be provided for them to connect with, ensuring the Japanese market promotion gets back on track as soon as possible.
