The Malaysian delegation is led by Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen, the chairman of Tourism Malaysia, and she is accompanied by the Deputy Secretary General (Management) of the Ministry of Tourism & Culture Malaysia, Dr. Junaida Lee Abdullah, as well as several officials from the Malaysian Immigration Department. Also present are the representatives of the Sabah Tourism Promotion Board, the Malaysian Health Care Centre, and eight MM2H agencies.
The seminar was held in Okayama city on 23 November, followed by Kokura and Kyushu the following day. A total of 300 participants attended the event in each city. During the seminar, Tourism Malaysia promoted the country as a retirement haven that is safe and politically stable with high standards of living. Malaysia’s tourist destinations and the upcoming Malaysia Year of Festivals, (MyFEST) 2015 were also highlighted.
Tourism Malaysia received a courtesy visit by the President of Sanyo newspaper as well as an interview in Okayama, while in Kokura, Tourism Malaysia was interviewed by Mainichi newspaper. Among the topics discussed during the interview session included the country’s security, political stability, as well as the lifestyles and cultural variety of the Malaysian people.
The next seminar will be held in Sapporo on 27 November 2014, followed by Tourism Malaysia’s participation in the Long Stay Exhibition 2014 in Tokyo on 29 November.
BACKGROUND INFO:
The MM2H programme is a long term stay visa programme to attract participants from all over the world to live and invest in Malaysia upon retirement. It is an initiative by the Malaysian government and allows foreigners who meet certain criteria to stay in Malaysia on a multiple-entry social visit pass. Applicants are allowed to bring their spouse and unmarried children as dependents. The MM2H visit pass is initially issued for a period of ten years, and is renewable thereafter.
Japan recorded the highest number of MM2H participants for two years in a row, in 2011 and 2012. Statistics show that until September this year, Japan was in second place after China, with a total of 3,491 participants since the programme was introduced in 2002.
According to studies by the Japan Long Stay Foundation, Malaysia has been the top choice for long term holidays by the Japanese people for 8 years in a row since 2006.
While Japanese retirees remain the target market for MM2H due to their encouraging response, the youth market has also started to show an interest in this programme.
-Tourism Malaysia.
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