Cleanliness is crucial for tourism, says Nazri

Just lion around: Guests at a Chinese New Year celebration
watching a lion dance at the Esplanade in Penang.

GEORGE TOWN: The cleanliness of a country is important when attracting tourists and to avoid giving them a poor impression, said Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz.

This is especially so with Pe­­nang, which is seen as a culinary haven, he said.

“If the place is dirty, the im­pression is that we are a dirty country.

“If the place where the food is served is unhygienic, tourists will feel that they are getting food that is not clean.

“Malaysians are clean but we need to make sure our surroundings are also kept clean,” he said at the Tourism Malaysia Chinese New Year celebrations at the Esplanade here on Friday.

Nazri cited the case of Japanese reporters who congregated at Hospi­tal Kuala Lumpur for the co­­vera­ge of the Kim Jong-nam murder.

A Bernama reporter had ob­served that these Japanese pressmen, when their day ended, went about collecting garbage in the compound where they had gather­ed.

Nazri said Malaysians needed to show that they lived in a country that cultivates cleanliness.

As for George Town and Malacca which were Unesco Heritage Sites, he said: “If we do not want to lose our place in the list, we need to ensure the conservation of the heri­tage buildings.

“This is what attracts tourists.”

-thestar online.