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A compliment is one of the speech acts that has been identified as being able to enhance communication fluency. However, if the compliment is uttered in the context of cross-cultural communication, it is not only different in its application, but also different in its way of delivery, frequency and function. This study examines the complimentary speech act used in the Japanese language of Japanese-speaking Malaysian tour guides when used towards Japanese tourists throughout their guided tour sessions. This study is a qualitative study and the data were collected through audio, visual and observational notes on the interaction of four Malay tour guides when using the Japanese language while interacting with 12 Japanese tourists during four sets of guided tours, as part of a Free Independence Travel (FIT) package. The findings show that the complimentary speech in terms of the function, strategy, and topic choice by the tour guides is accurate for the target culture. However, the response patterns by the Japanese tourists towards the complimentary speech in this cultural encounter were beyond and did not conform to the supposed norms and social rules of Japanese culture. Although the complimentary speech that was applied in this cross-cultural context was contradictory to or beyond the cultural norms, it nevertheless did not lead to conflicts. This study provides exposure on the utterance of complementary speech used by tour guides during the course of the tour visits because this will enhance the smoothness in the flow of cross-cultural communication using the medium of the Japanese language. This research is hoped to act as a reference in Japanese language education for tourism as a guide to enhance the cross-cultural communication skills of Japanese-speaking tour guides in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]