KUCHING, Jan 10 — The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac) is restudying the rating system for hotels as well as food and beverage premises in Malaysia, said its minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.

He said in a Facebook post that this is to develop a clearer and more reflective way to rate the quality of these cornerstones of the tourism industry.

While adding that more details on the new rating will be announced at a later date, Tiong did not discount the possibility of downgrading the star rating of outlets found flouting basic standards of service quality and cleanliness.

"As the Malaysian tourism industry continues to be a major contributor to economic recovery, I appeal to all hotels and restaurants to immediately take steps to improve the basics of their businesses, namely cleanliness, service and product quality as well as washroom amenities.

"Hotels must ensure that they provide the quality and standards expected of their star rating, rather than being complacent following any boost to their rating. This includes, but is not limited to, room and toilet cleanliness, age of facilities and product and service quality.

"Restaurants must also adhere to basic expectations of quality, including clean toilets and having properly trained and certified service and kitchen staff,” he said.

The Bintulu MP also divulged that the tourism industry generated RM197.9 billion from the gross value added of the tourism industry, contributing 12.8 per cent to the gross domestic product in 2021 compared to the 14.1 per cent the previous year.

As such, Tiong said Motac is on a mission to ensure that tourism continues to improve its reputation for high quality and responsible standards of service and quality during the reopening period of Malaysia’s transition to Covid-19 endemicity.

"However, much must be improved to address complaints of low maintenance standards which has brought bad repute to Malaysia tourism. In general, guests often do not get the standard of quality they expect and have paid for.

"It reflects poorly on the industry and indirectly our country in the eyes of the world tourism market, which is expected to be worth between US$1.2 to US$1.31 trillion in 2022,” he said.

On a related matter, Tiong urged all unregistered hotel, restaurant and homestay operators to register with the ministry to help develop the industry to its full potential.

For more information, application guidelines, application forms and other details, they can visit the ministry’s official website.

"Currently, a total of 4,851 tourist accommodations and hotel operators are registered under Motac,” he said. — Borneo Post Online