Waimate is benefiting from a trio of Malaysian cousins who grew to love the South Canterbury town, set up a business and still keep a home there.
Danny Tan, Wei Tat Tang and Mike Yong arrived about four years ago after touring New Zealand to look for a place to set up business.
They established the ARTrio Art Cafe in Queen St, which became nationally renowned and won a number of business awards.
In August last year, they returned to Malaysia for a break, but since then have been promoting Waimate every chance they get, not only to acquaintances but at expos and through contacts in the China Daily.
They sent out a journalist which resulted in several stories in the Asian newspaper.
As a result, Waimate information and promotions officer Donette Fargher yesterday said the town has experienced a big rise in Asian visitors, particularly from Malaysia.
''They became very well known and made a real impact in the town, not just with local people but also their cafe earned a national reputation and attracted visitors,'' she said.
While they no longer have the cafe, they still own a house in Waimate and are expected back some time this year, although it is not known what they will do.
''They may have left Waimate for the time being but that hasn't stopped them flying the flag for the town they love and have come to call home, wherever they go ... they take every opportunity to talk about and promote Waimate, especially to those within the media and tourism sectors,'' Ms Fargher said.
Recently, they were offered a stall by organisers of Kuala Lumpur Book and Tourism Expo from January 11 to 20.
They set up and funded the stall from their own finances. Waimate Promotions sent visitor guides and promotional DVDs.
Mr Tan said the expo was a great success, lots of people visiting the booth and inquiring about travelling in New Zealand and visiting Waimate.
''The fantastic video drew a huge crowd to our booth. We found it a very direct way to inform people about Waimate and the exciting new developments in the region,'' he said.
While taking time out, the three cousins have collaborated on a book about their journey to Waimate and their time spent there, which is expected to be launched on March 2.
