Sep 13, 2013
TOURISM MALAYSIA CLINCHES EXCELLENCE AWARD IN TOURISM BOARD AND EMBASSY CATEGORY AT THE JATA TOURISM AWARDS 2013
TOKYO, 13 SEPTEMBER 2013 - Tourism Malaysia received the prestigious Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) Award of Excellence in the Tourism Board and Embassy Category at the JATA Tabihaku Travel Showcase 2013 , rated as one the largest travel shows in Asia, here today.
The JATA Tourism Award was conferred on Tourism Malaysia in recognition of its exemplary efforts in promoting and enhancing tourism exchanges between Japan and Malaysia including a joint initiative, the JATA 1 Million Project.
The Minister of Tourism and Culture, Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz received the award on behalf of Tourism Malaysia.
Tourism Ministers, national tourism associations, travel professionals and officials, hotels, airlines and travel agents from over 150 countries are participating in the four day show, which ends on Sunday, September 15.
Last year, Malaysia witnessed a tremendous surge in Japanese arrivals with an increase of 21.5%, to peak at 470,008 against 386,974 arrivals in 2011. Overall, Malaysia received 25.03 million tourists in 2012, earning the country, the 10th most-visited destination status in the world!
The Malaysia Pavilion at JATA Travel Fair is offering visitors attractive VMY 2014 holiday packages as well as special discounts through the Friends of Malaysia Card. Other attractions include an array of Malaysian cuisine for visitors to savour.
Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri also launched the VMY 2014 Taxi Wrap Around promotional campaign covering 720 taxis spread across Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Sapporo and Fukuoka.
“We are also proud to be a major sponsor of the JATA Travel Showcase. It’s a great platform for Malaysia to make its presence felt and to help promote Visit Malaysia Year 2014 to the market. I’m delighted that all our efforts and strategies have been fruitful. In the context of tourist arrivals, Malaysia recorded 25.03 million tourist arrivals last year. Of these, 470,008 tourists were from Japan securing a growth rate of 21.5%,” said Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri.
For the first half of 2013, Malaysia recorded 250,293 tourist arrivals from Japan, which is a 15.9% increase over the same period last year. Malaysia targets to receive 500,000 Japanese tourists during VMY 2014.
According to a recent survey done by the Long Stay Foundation, Malaysia is rated as the most preferred destination among affluent Japanese retirees as their second home for 7 consecutive years since 2006. Currently, there are 2,822 Japanese who have registered under the Malaysia My Second Home Programme (MM2H) and are enjoying their stay in Malaysia.
Tourism Malaysia and JATA signed a Memorandum of Joint Initiative (MoJI) last year to bring in 1 million Japanese tourists to Malaysia by 2015. The ‘JATA 1 Million Project’ has been instrumental in convincing local travel agents to promote Malaysia as a main holiday destination.
Tourism Malaysia’s partnership with JATA has also resulted in several successful promotional and marketing programmes. These include the highly successful Go! Go! Malaysia Campaign and the Manaberu Travel Campaign (Learning While Travelling).
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
TOURISM MALAYSIA, TOKYO OFFICE:
Noor Azlan Abu Bakar, Director
E-mail: noorazlanl@tourism.gov.my
Tel: +813-35018691 / 8694
FAX: +813-35018692
WEBSITE: www.tourismmalaysia.or.jp
5F CHIYODA BLDG, 1-6-4 YURAKUCHO, CHIYODA-KU, TOKYO, JAPAN.
For more media releases, media info and media features on Malaysia’s tourism industry, kindly visit the Media Centre of Tourism Malaysia’s website at http://www.tourismmalaysia.gov.my/
MALAYSIA TOURISM PROMOTION BOARD OR TOURISM MALAYSIA is an agency under the Ministry of Tourism & Culture, Malaysia. While the Ministry of Tourism & Culture implements tourism policies, conducts studies and offers incentives for industry players, Tourism Malaysia focuses on the specific task of promoting Malaysia at the domestic and international level. Driven by its aspiration to promote Malaysia as a destination of excellence in this region, Tourism Malaysia has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception and has emerged as a major player in the nation’s socio-economic landscape. In 2012, Malaysia registered 25 million tourist arrivals and RM60.6 billion in tourist receipts.
In 2014, Malaysia will celebrate its fourth VISIT MALAYSIA YEAR (VMY) with the theme “Celebrating 1Malaysia Truly Asia”. The VMY 2014 promotional campaign has started this year with a series of year-long special events and activities leading to VMY 2014. It will contribute to the Government’s target to receive 36 million tourist arrivals and RM168 billion in receipts by 2020, as outlined in the Malaysia Tourism Transformation Plan (MTTP) 2020.
Press contact:
Media Relations Unit:
Mr. Razaidi Abd Rahim, Senior Asst. Director, Communications & Publicity Division
Email: razaidi@tourism.gov.my
Editorial Unit:
Ms. Anis Rozalina Ramli, Senior Editor, Communications & Publicity Division
Email: anisramli@tourism.gov.my
