A JAPANESE delegation from Kansai visited the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) headquarters yesterday to promote travel to the Kansai region, which includes the prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Hyogo and Shiga.
Led by Keiji Yamada, governor of Kyoto Prefecture, the delegation highlighted the Visit Kansai Year as well as the region’s readiness to welcome Muslim travellers.
Traditional Kansai cuisine will be a central theme of the Visit Kansai Year, an ongoing campaign running until December 31, 2013, with 40-50 events featuring food this year, according to Yamada. There are 30 halal restaurants in Kansai, he added.
New Kansai International Airport also boasts a halal restaurant and a prayer room, said Ken Harata, the airport’s senior vice president.
To reach out to Malaysian travellers, Yamada said Wakayama Prefecture and Universal Studios Japan will exhibit under the Japan National Tourism Organization pavilion at the upcoming MATTA Fair in Kuala Lumpur from March 15 to 17.
Last year, Japan received 8.3 million tourists, of which 100,000 were Malaysians.
