MALAYSIA TO DRAW MORE TOURISTS FROM JAPAN'S SECONDARY CITIES

From Kristy Inus

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Jan 25 (Bernama) -- In a bid to draw more tourists
from Japan, Malaysia will turn its attention to a different market -- the
secondary cities of Japan.

Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen said this during her courtesy call
on Asean-Japan Centre secretary-general Yashikuni Ohnishi, adding that this was
to shift from the focus on the usual big cities such as Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.

"We missed a lot (in promotion)...to second-line cities and associations for
professionals like doctors or medical practitioners.

"These are the new areas for tourism promotion in Japan we are looking at,"
she said during the courtesy call after the 13th Asean Tourism Ministers
meeting, here, Sunday.

She said the population in the secondary cities might not be aware of the
affordability to travel to Malaysia due to the lack of promotional and
marketing initiatives there.

"We want to attract not the high-end Japanese market only, as in these
cities there may be those who like to travel but they don't think they can
(afford it)," she added.

Earlier, Dr Ng said although tourist arrivals in Malaysia last year
increased 7.2 per cent to 23.64 million compared to 2008, the number from Japan
had dropped 8.7 per cent, probably due to the global economic slowdown.

She said in light of this, the ministry would continue to aggressively
promote activities to encourage Japanese retirees to participate in the Malaysia
My Second Home programme.

Ohnishi said most of Japan's retirees looked at Asean countries as their
second home, and were most likely to choose Singapore or Malaysia.

During the courtesy call, Dr Ng also extended an invitation to Japan to
participate in the Floral Parade in Putrajaya in June or July.

She also promoted the homestay programme and suggested twinning
programmes
between specific districts of both countries, so that more Japanese tourists
would visit Malaysia to experience the local culture.

She also highlighted the same programme during her courtesy call earlier
on Asean-Korea Centre secretary-general Young Jai Cho.

The minister also paid courtesy calls on Singapore's Trade and Industry
Senior Minister S. Iswaran and Brunei's Industry and Primary Resources Minister
Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Datuk Seri Awang Yahya Begawan, where she also
invited the two countries to join the Floral Parade.

-- BERNAMA



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