Watch on homestays to ensure quality, says Ng

KUALA LUMPUR: Homestay tourism will be monitored because some of the new participants are offering services that are not up to mark and this could affect Malaysia’s image, said Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen. “Since the promotion of the programme depends mostly on word of mouth, we must take the initiative to maintain homestay services at a certain level,” she said yesterday. According to the homestay performance report, 43,404 people have participated in the homestay programme from January to October, and this was an increase of 13.7% from the corresponding period in 2009.

The amount of income generated from January to October alone was RM8.9mil, an increase of 11.5% from the same period last year. Dr Ng urged the new homestay programmes to be registered under the Malaysia Homestay Society with a fee of RM20 per year. Those who registered will be given a logo as a sign of a recognition from the ministry, based on the activities in their packages and the quality of service. “The logo will help tourists to choose from various types of homestay programmes available, and at the same time create a healthy competition between homestay owners to provide the best homestay,” Dr Ng said. She also said there would be a Homestay Malaysia Carnival from Dec 28 to Jan 1 at the Malaysia Tourism Centre (Matic).

-thestar online.