File photo showing a view of Mount Kinabalu.
BINTULU (May 22): All operators in the tourism industry must maintain high quality and standards, with those failing to meet the minimum standards to have their ratings downgraded, warned Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
The Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister said this included homestays and hotels that are not registered under the ministry.
“We will also discuss how to regulate this to improve the experience while safeguarding the rights of domestic and foreign tourists,” he said on Facebook in regards to the supervision and standardisation of star-ratings for hotels, hostels, and homestays.
Tiong added key international tourist markets such as China has rapidly reopened their borders to allow outbound travel, with Malaysia receiving more repeat travellers.
“But sadly, we are still receiving complaints and feedback from tourists on the state of their hotel and holiday experiences.
“The overall environments in hotels are not satisfactory, toilets in certain locations are insufficient with low level of cleanliness,” he said.
He added all of these factors add to tourists’ negative experiences, leading to bad reviews which would influence potential tourists.
Tiong said the reports are almost universally similar where guests spend a lot of money in a hotel with a high star rating, but the actual stay is far worse than advertised, or the advertising pictures do not reflect reality.
“Smelly old carpets, stained toilets, poor sanitation. Malaysia’s positive world image is constantly being eroded by these sub-par standards,” said the Bintulu MP.
He acknowledged the Malaysian tourism industry has been greatly strained during the two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We all know that difficulties from poor sales and income have led to poor maintenance in hotels and homestays.
“However, now that tourism is gaining steam again, all parties involved must rapidly plan for the market’s return by arranging their maintenance schedules, renovations and upgrading of their assets to welcome tourists once again,” he said.
Tiong said the quality of experience related to hotel stays and washrooms are vital to tourists’ perception of the country.
He said Southeast Asia is an aggressive and competitive market for tourists and all parties must improve the quality of their products and services to support sustainability of the tourism industry.
He pointed out that even famous destinations in Sabah such as Semporna and Tawau have received their share of complaints on the lack of toilet facilities and poor cleanliness.
“The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture will be doing its part in monitoring these issues but at the same time, local governments must also keep tabs on the quality of such businesses and act on complaints,” said Tiong.