More than 6,000 Japanese tourists arrived directly in Penang by air or cruise between January and July this year, said State Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai.
He said the figure, however, did not include Japanese visitors who first entered Malaysia through Kuala Lumpur or other states before travelling to Penang via domestic flights or overland. Therefore, the overall number of Japanese tourists to Penang is significantly higher than the figure reflected in these direct arrivals.
In a statement, he said diversifying source markets was crucial to strengthening the resilience and ensuring the long-term sustainability of Penang’s tourism industry.
“For the long-term and healthy development of Penang’s tourism industry, diversification of source markets is key to strengthening the resilience of the sector.
“Japan, as a high-spending and quality-conscious tourism market, is therefore one of the key markets that the Penang State Government is committed to developing further,” he added.
Wong said the state government had undertaken various practical initiatives in recent years to further penetrate the Japanese market, including developing Japanese-language tourism promotional materials through Penang Global Tourism (PGT).
He said that for example, through PGT the state government has developed a comprehensive range of Japanese-language tourism promotional materials including brochures and videos to enable visitors from Japan to gain a more direct and engaging understanding of what Penang has to offer.
“In 2025, the Penang government led representatives from the local tourism industry to Japan, where roadshows were held in Tokyo and Osaka. These initiatives enabled us to engage directly with tourism industry players in Japan, strengthen industry linkages and establish closer connections,” Wong added.
He said the state government was also strengthening cooperation with Japan Airlines (JAL) to further develop channels into Japan’s outbound tourism market. With this collaboration, said Wong, they would facilitate familiarisation trips for Japanese tourism industry representatives to visit Penang and experience its diverse tourism resources and products first-hand.
“We hope that after returning to Japan these tourism industry players will be able to design suitable Penang travel packages tailored to the preferences and interests of Japanese tourists, and subsequently promote them in the Japanese market,” he said.
Wong said the state government was currently engaging airlines to explore the feasibility of establishing direct flights between Japan and Penang, initially through charter flights as a short-term collaborative initiative between airlines and travel agents.
He said this would help meet the seasonal demand from Japanese tourists travelling to Penang in order to fulfil specific seasonal demand while also providing airlines with an opportunity to test the market, laying a solid foundation for more diverse and sustainable bilateral cooperation in the future. – Bernama
