JOHOR BARU, MALAYSIA - Malaysia's tourism promotional efforts, particularly in China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan have suffered a setback following the outbreak of influenza A (H1N1) earlier this year.

Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Mirza Mohammad Yaiyab said there had been a significant drop in the number of visitors, including golfers.

He said this at a press conference held yesterday in conjunction with the grand final of the World Amateur Inter-Team Golf Championship (WAITGC) 2009 at the Tanjung Puteri Golf Resort.

Mirza said Malaysia, through the Golf Club Managers Association of Malaysia and organisers of the WAITGC, had aggressively promoted the event globally.

However, there has been a decline in the number of people coming from Hong Kong, China, Japan and South Korea of late, affecting not just the sport of golf but the entire tourism industry.

"This is probably because tourists from these countries are more cautious about the H1N1 scare than others."

Despite this, he said a group of 120 golfers from China are now in Kuala Lumpur for a tournament.