Japan MICE Newsletter by JNTO Kuala Lumpur office

Overall, we have recorded total 86 Malaysian incentive groups travelling to Japan in 2025, with total 4,382 pax. 

 

Although the data seems low comparing to the previous years, it is a result of policy and requirements change in JNTO HQ Incentive Support, whereas each incentive group can only receive incentive support either from JNTO or local convention bureaus.

 

While there is no minimum no. of pax requirement for JNTO HQ Incentive Support, the limitation of receiving support from local convention bureaus and available gift options, along with the additional requirements of having at least one overnight stay in non-major metropolitan areas, etc., have resulted in lesser reported cases in 2024 and 2025.

Table 1: Overview

The average duration of stay in Japan remains unchanged of 5 nights since 2023.

The travel duration stays between 6-7 days depending on the flight of choice of organizers. Mostly, the organizers prefer direct flights, but for some rural areas where there is no direct flights from Malaysia, the organizers are forced to opt for the transit flights from other countries such as China, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong.

Chart 1: No. of Groups by Destinations 2025

*The areas shown in the chart above contains the data of same group visiting multiple regions.

From Chart 1, we can see that Kansai, Hokkaido and Kanto are the top 3 destinations chosen by Malaysian incentive organizers in 2025 and the trend is similar to the previous years.

 

But based on the observation of JNTO Kuala Lumpur office, the most popular incentive travel itinerary is still focusing on Tokyo, Mt. Fuji and Osaka, a.k.a. the Golden Route.

For Hokkaido, it is one of the top 3 destinations as shown in Chart 1. However, if we look at Chart 2, we can see most incentive groups to Hokkaido are mainly departing in December and February, which is the winter season.

 

For Kansai area, we can see 3 peaks from Chart 2 which drops on May, November and March. For the groups departing in November are chasing for the autumn foliage, while those who depart in March are rushing for the cherry blossom season and those who travel in May are going for the desirable spring weather in Japan.

 

This is one of the classic signatures of Malaysian travel trend, attracted by the seasonal scenery which cannot be seen in Malaysia. Another main clause for the travel season above is to align with the corporate award cycle, where sales/performance milestones are usually set on mid-year or year-end.

Besides, the increasing cost of manpower and high demands of vehicles during the Osaka Expo 2025 has also caused some organizers to go for a smaller group size.

 

Feel free to browse the full report from here.