The main Japan Booth at the Matta Fair 2017.

Since 2007, I have been an avid visitor to this travel fair. I have also written extensively about the Matta Fair, provided information to consumers, and shared tips and other information related to travel or buying travel packages.

For ten solid years, I have also seen the changes in trends among travellers, and in the last five years, the digital and online world has taken over most of the sales from the Matta Fair. This is due mainly to the millennials or the younger generation, who believe in free independent travel or FIT, as the industry calls it.

Targeting the food travellers, Kansai Tourism had a Gastronomy experience to offer.

JNTO at Matta Fair Malaysia

The Japan National Tourism Organisation, or JNTO, saw this back then and took advantage of the change in a slow and steady concept. When you look back 10 years ago, the Chinese community from Malaysia loved to visit Japan. Still, all this changed when AirAsia opened a direct route into Tokyo, Osaka and Sapporo.

Easy and cheap direct access to Japan opened up more opportunities for other races in Malaysia to visit Japan. When social media boomed five to six years ago, the Malay market started to look at the Far East, and Japan was one of the preferred destinations.

Social media was the biggest factor in influencing travellers’ decisions. Blog articles were vital, as they were shared online on popular platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

The team from the Wakayama Prefecture at Matta Fair.

JNTO saw the importance of this and started to take a digital approach to Muslim consumers. Because of the steep increase in Muslim travellers from Malaysia, discussions were held to cater to this growing market.

Back then, Japan was barely or not ready for Muslim travellers; hence, it started to incorporate Muslim-friendly packages. This encouraged several tourism players all around Japan to accommodate Muslim-friendly facilities to cater to this market.

Today, Japan can boast several Muslim-friendly destinations, namely Tokyo, Kanagawa, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, and even Hokkaido.

Chiba Prefecture with their Jalan Jalan Chiba campaign at Matta Fair.

Purpose of Japan Tourism at Matta Fair

During the Matta Fair, I must have seen a tenfold increase in the number of Malaysian Muslims visiting the Japan booth over the last few years. When inspecting the products sold, brochures with Muslim-friendly headlines were prominent in destinations around Japan.

There were even flyers printed in Malay to cater to the Malay-speaking community. Prices were generally the same as other standard packages or cheaper, but the selections were diverse. You should know that the Japan Tourism booth is there for promotional purposes and does not sell tour packages.

JNTO and the prefectures or other Japanese businesses are there to promote the destinations. When a consumer wants to buy a package, they must proceed to a travel agent selling Japanese travel packages.

Don Quijote was even present at the last Matta Fair in Malaysia.

Japan Exhibitors at Matta Fair September 2017
1. VISONDATA (M) SDN BHD (Wi-Fi)
2. Okayama City & Maniwa City (Local government)
3. KANSAI Tourism Bureau (Local government)
4. TOHOKU (Local government)
5. Hokkaido Otaru City (Local government)
6. IBARAKI PREFECTURE (Local government)
7. OKINAWA / 冲绳 (Local government)
8. CHIBA PREFECTURE (Local government)
9. EAST JAPAN RAILWAY COMPANY (Transportation)
10. Tokyu Hotels (Accommodation)
11. GIFU / JR-CENTRAL (Local government / Transportation)
12. WEST JAPAN RAILWAY COMPANY (Transportation)
13. Gastronomy Tourism in Osaka Kansai (Local government)
14. AEON HOKKAIDO (Retailer)
15. WASHINGTON HOTEL & HOTEL GRACERY (Accommodation)
16. Hokkaido Tourism Organization (Local government)
17. Prince Hotels & Resorts / Seibu Railway (Accommodation)
18. Shinjuku, Hakone, Enoshima, Kamakura ～Odakyu Group～ (Transportation)
19. WAKAYAMA (Local government)
20. STUDY in JAPAN (Education)
21. Don Quijote (Retailer)

The team from Okayama and Maniwa City at their booth during Matta Fair.

Catering to the Muslim-Friendly Market

One thing that Japan Tourism learned was that the younger generation Malay community loved to travel in groups of friends or with families. They also preferred homestay accommodation or Ryokan over a hotel, mainly due to the pricing factor.

But these statistics were based on a larger percentage versus the city Malay community which preferred a more general vacation, staying at hotels or resorts. With this, the Japanese prefectures had a simple guideline – Muslim-friendly travel.

Meetings were held with JNTO, the local prefecture offices and the industry players all over Japan. They saw the potential of huge numbers of Muslims travelling worldwide and wanted to tap into this market. Remember, Indonesia and Brunei are also apart from Malaysia, so why not cater to this?

Kansai Tourism Board team at the Matta Fair in Malaysia.

Things did not happen overnight, but after a few years, the industry players in Japan saw potential in this specialized market, and some decided to go Muslim-friendly.

Airports also play a key role as they are the first entry point for Muslim travellers. One of them is the Kansai Osaka Airport, which has incorporated Halal and Muslim-friendly restaurants and added a Muslim prayer room for the convenience of Muslim travellers.

Another airport to follow suit is the Chubu Centrair Airport in Nagoya which also provides Muslim-friendly services and food in the airport facilities. This was done in 2014 and has provided ease for Muslim travellers into this region of Japan.

The team from Kanagawa at their booth.

Kanagawa Prefecture has also participated in the Matta Fair, as it is well-known for its many interesting tourist attractions. Popular places around Kanagawa include Yokohama, Kawasaki, Kamakura, Fujisawa, Hakone, Odawara, and Oyama. Other popular prefectures include Kyoto, which is also a very popular Muslim-friendly destination, and Osaka.

Odakyu Group promotes its train services between popular cities in Japan.

JNTO at MATTA Fair 2018

For the next Matta Fair 2018, you can expect more participation from different prefectures around Japan, and most of them will promote Muslim-friendly places. At the Japan booth, you will get the best and most up-to-date information about Muslim-friendly services and a Halal guide to Japan.

Japan Tourism’s participation at the Matta Fair in Malaysia has changed the travel landscape for Muslim and general travellers to Japan in the last five years. As consumer trends grow fast, more emphasis has been put on budget travel.

Japan Walker SEA promoted its magazine during the Matta Fair.

Ryokan has been one of the most popular accommodations, while train travel from city to city is gaining popularity. More travellers are now visiting a few places rather than just one city like in the past.

Current-generation travellers prefer to explore independently and need information about food, facilities or accommodations. This is where Japan Tourism comes in to provide up-to-date information, which is also translated into Malay, Chinese and English for the ease of the different races.

Conclusion

Again, Malaysians, as a multicultural community, prefer different things when they travel compared to people of just one race. Japan Tourism has always looked deeply into this to cater to every race in Malaysia or Southeast Asia.