The number of Chinese tourists coming to visit Malaysia had dropped substantially since May and the media is to be blamed for that, said Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen today.

She said that the media overplay of news relating to the Influenza A (H1N1) contributed to the 20.5 percent drop in Chinese tourists to Malaysia.

ng yen yen jean todt 26062009 02 She said the timing of the drop in the number of tourists coincided with the flu outbreak in May.

The daily reports in newspapers - both in China and Malaysia - on H1N1 had created fear among the people and scared away tourists who wanted to visit Malaysia, she said.

Ng, who is on an official visit to China, said that she would be meeting with Chinese officials to stem the trend and to increase the number of Chinese tourists to Malaysia.

She was also reported as saying by Bernama that H1N1 and the global economic crisis were among the causes for the slowdown in the tourism industry.

Targeting the golfers

In another matter, Ng has also urged Tourism Malaysia officials in Beijing to set up a special consultative committee with local tour operators to study ways to promote

'Golfer Tourism'.

The idea is to bring in Chinese golfers to play in Malaysia during their winter holidays.

The minister said that special committee would give out information on Malaysian golf clubs and on the staging of golf tournaments.

china tourist in malaysia 060905 "We have agreed to cooperate with local newspapers, magazines and television stations to put up more articles or video footages about Malaysian islands," she said.

She also told the tour operators that in future, all Tourism Malaysia promotional brochures and leaflets for China's market would be designed and produced locally, to suit the tastes of the local tourist.

She added that the her ministry wants Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia to work with hotel operators to create special packages for their Chinese passengers on transit flights at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport to stay a night or two in Malaysia before taking connecting flights to Australia and New Zealand.

She said that such transit passengers could choose to stay overnight in hotels in Port Dickson or Malacca.