The government here, like many others throughout the developing world, is stepping up its efforts to attract tourists, saying that this will bring in foreign exchange and create badly needed new jobs. Using tax incentives, public investment in infrastructure and intensive international publicity, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's government has launched an all-out drive to encourage the growth of big hotels, beach resorts and golf courses. The government views tourism as one of the most important development tools of the decade. Tourism creates few jobs for local people, critics such as Hong contend. Much of the foreign exchange brought by tourists, meanwhile, goes to international hotel corporations instead of to the host country.
Tourism is already an important industry in Malaysia.
Now, throughout the country, an effort is underway to do even more. Backed by international investors, mainly from Japan, golf courses have become especially popular. Developers are hoping to capitalize on the fact that it is cheaper for Japanese golfers to fly to Malaysia than to stay at home and pay the exorbitant membership fees of golf courses in Japan. There are now 90 courses in Malaysia, double the number of the early 1980s, and many more are planned. Advertisements for these resorts boast of their exclusivity.