The Tourism Grading Council of South Africa (TGCSA) was established in
September 2000 by the Minister of Environmental Affairs & Tourism
with broad representation from the tourism industry. The TGCSA mandate
is to develop and manage a framework for grading across the entire tourism
industry. To date, close on 5 000 accommodation establishments and over
40 conference venues have been graded.
TGCSA together with assessors, who are independent entrepreneurs, carry
out the actual grading process using two core documents i.e. that which
covers the Minimum Requirements required and a more in-depth one covering
the actual Grading Criteria. The use of both sets of documents is to set
out and ensure exactly what will be required by the assessor of the establishment
to meet the quality levels needed, when obtaining a Star Grading. The
Minimum Requirements set out and define the lowest quality standard demanded
throughout each area of the establishment and it will be these areas that
will be selected for review. For example a description, under Housekeeping
reads All rooms, venues, fittings, furniture and equipment should be kept
clean and well maintained. These written explanations should provide an
understanding of how and what is expected, in each area, from the establishment.
The Minimum Requirement document contains a description of each area within
the establishment and those will be the areas that the assessor will be
judging, when making a final recommendation. In short, this document is
essentially a detailed guide as to what the management or owner of an
establishment needs to have in place in order to begin to offer a quality
product or service offering.
These however are only the Minimum Requirements. In order to gain a
better understanding of the higher levels of quality, one needs to turn
to the second, more comprehensive document i.e. the Grading Criteria.
The Grading Criteria document takes a much more in-depth look at each
aspect and area of the establishment service offering. There are separate
documents for each category and definitions as to the nature of the different
types of establishments. Each Grading Criteria document provides a score
for each defined standard, from one to ten unacceptable to excellent.
Assessors then use a percentage calculation that provides the guideline
for each grading band (1 to 5 Star). It is by working through each definition
that one is able to make an assessment of the overall total grading of
the establishment i.e. the award of the star rating. Once the management
or owner of an establishment is satisfied that they can match the standards
covered in these documents then application for grading can begin. There
are certain business, license and safety documents that will need to be
completed prior to an assessor confirming state of readiness to be graded.
During the assessment the assessors continually refer back to the documents
mentioned above and the acquired knowledge gained from previous experiences.
The assessor then makes a recommendation to the Awards Committee. Final
ratification of assessor recommendation of star grading for a particular
establishment rests with the Council. It should always be remembered that
the function of TGCSA does not exist as a policing organization, but rather
should be seen as a business partner. TGCSA is always ready and willing
to offer any possible assistance to any establishment.
ENDA
12 November 2007
Calling All Accomodation
Owners
The 2010 FIFA World Cup™ is less than a thousand days away and FIFA
wants to ensure that South Africa has enough accessible accommodation available
for visiting international fans for each soccer event.
“It is with this in mind that the Tourism Grading Council of South
Africa (TGCSA), has embarked on a massive national campaign to prepare
accommodation establishments across the country to receive the estimated
half a million foreign visitors who are expected to descend on South Africa
in three years for the soccer spectacular” says Thembi Kunene, newly
appointed CEO of TGCSA.
“The national campaign, 2010 Accommodation Sign-Up, is presented
in partnership with MATCH (the only company appointed by FIFA to manage
accommodation, ticketing and the IT solution for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™)
and the Tourism Enterprise Programme (TEP) (a public-private partnership
between the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the Business
Trust) kicks off in the Western Cape next week and runs for 6 months”
comments Kunene.
The project will be implemented in more than 25 locations around the
country to provide opportunities for SMME accommodation owners to get
information about becoming official Accommodation Providers for the 2010
FIFA World Cup™. The 2010 South African event is the first
time in the Cup’s history that non-hotel accommodation providers
(Bed and Breakfast establishments, for example) can be official accommodation
providers for the world football championship. FIFA is working through
its appointed agent, MATCH, to provide non-hotel accommodation for visitors.
MATCH will contract a minimum of 55,000 rooms in hotels and in non-hotels
in the host cities and in accommodation satellite areas. Satellite areas
are areas where 200 rooms or more can be secured for visiting fans and
where the area is accessible for transport to and from the host cities.
To validate the signing of the MATCH contract, establishments need to
become star graded with the TGCSA, the official provider of a framework
and process for grading across all relevant sectors of the tourism industry
in SA. TEP is providing financial assistance in terms of star grading
fees to previously ungraded SMMEs. The assistance available pays up to
50% of the fee in years one and two, and up to 25% in the third year.
To qualify for assistance, you have to be registered with TEP.
“TEP facilitates the growth and development of SMMEs in the tourism
economy, resulting in income generating opportunities and sustainable
job creation,” says Lindsay Daniller (2010 Programme TEP). The organisation,
she says, is committed to ensure that SMME accommodation providers are
able to take advantage of signing up with MATCH, to become graded and
to benefit from being part of the largest sporting event in the world.
Once the MATCH contract is signed, establishments have 12 months in which
to become star graded. Mahandra Naidoo, Senior Operations Manager at MATCH
says numerous ‘very attractive’ benefits are to be had from
becoming an official MATCH accommodation provider for the FIFA 2010 World
CupTM. “MATCH will profile all contracted establishments on the
FIFA.com website,” he says. “Moreover, we will use contracted
accommodation providers all over South Africa… not only in the centres
where games are being played.” The most significant benefit of signing
up with MATCH is that establishments will be posted onto one of the world’s
most visited websites – www.FIFA.com. “In 2006 this website
received more than 4 billion page views,” says Naidoo. “The
majority of football fans use this website as a starting point for their
planned trip to FIFA World Cup™ events. More and more people all
over the world are turning to the internet to get information, make purchases
and plan their travels. The internet is going to be a major factor for
the 2010 event in South Africa.” The FIFA website is, without doubt,
the most important global marketing tool for 2010. It’s designed
to provide a one-stop shop (tickets, transport, accommodation) for fans
planning their trips. It gives accommodation establishments global exposure
not only for 2010, but also as South Africa’s status as a premier
travel destination grows and as more people from all over the world decide
to pay this country a visit. Other benefits of contracting to MATCH as
an accommodation provider are: SMME accommodation owners will be official
accommodation providers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™; Establishments
will be advertised in the 2010 Accommodation Brochure that will be produced
for fans who attend the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa; Accommodation
establishments will be able to market themselves locally and internationally
as a contracted accommodation provider for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™
and they will be able to use the phrase ‘A MATCH Accredited 2010
Establishment’.
2010 Accommodation Sign-Up representatives are travelling around the
country between November 2007 and March 2008 to assist as many establishments
as possible to sign-up. New MATCH contracts should be signed by the end
of May 2008. “2010 Accommodation Sign-up is an excellent example
of how business and government have come together to bring the benefits
of 2010 to more tourism businesses in more areas of South Africa”
concludes Kunene.
For more information, log onto www.tourismgrading.co.za or www.tep.co.za or call (011) 567 2710 (9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday).
ENDS
8 November 2007
For more information and interviews please contact:
Tel: 011 567 2710
