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The chief executive officer of SA Tourism, Cheryl Carolus; the chief executive officer of the Grading Council, Dr Salifou Siddo; members of the boards of SA Tourism, the Training Authority and the Grading Council; industry partners; guests; members of the media.

Our tourism industry is continuing to grow at an unprecedented pace and, like any other industry, it grows because the service is in demand. This service, therefore, will have to be quality-assured, and that happens through the creation of both domestic and international standards.

The overarching basis for the establishment of the Grading Council can, therefore, be fairly summarised as a mechanism which creates conditions for clients to compare establishments, know what to expect in terms of quality, and, where standards are not met, be able to protest based on objective criteria. Standards can also be used as a marketing tool for selling South Africa.

When we decided to set up the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa in August last year, we set out specific terms of reference for the Council, and, among others, we envisaged that the Council would:

* develop the framework and capacity for the management and implementation of a star grading system within the accommodation sector initially, and thereafter within the tourism sector generally;
* establish accreditation conditions for assessors in conjunction with the Tourism, Hospitality and Sports Education Training Authority (THETA), and approve the accreditation of truly accredited assessors within the private sector, with an independent auditing system to monitor the role of assessors; and
* develop mechanisms and the capacity to deal with conflict resolution and consumer feedback.

Like the rest of us in the tourism business, we strongly believed that the establishment of the Council would bring us closer to the realisation of a transformed tourism industry.

To be able to operate on the basis of these terms of reference, the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa (TGCSA) set for itself broad operating principles. These principles were that the:
* process must be voluntary, affordable, accessible and market-driven; and
* the process must lead to the improvement of standards in the tourism industry, must be extended to all sectors of the tourism industry, and should find strong foundations in the promotion of high-level partnerships with all sectors in the tourism industry.

Today, just more than a year since we established the Council, we look back with pride and see great achievement in living by these principles.

* The TGCSA has developed a grading scheme based on the internationally recognised star-grading scheme. The national star-grading scheme was initially applied to the accommodation sector and, to date, 152 accommodation establishments have been graded.

* The scheme is affordable and enjoys the support of major industry players such as the Don Group, Protea Hotels, Southern Sun, Sun International, and lodge groups like Sabi-Sabi and the Mantis Collection, which have already given their blessings and support to the scheme.

* The TGCSA is well on its way to achieving the highest level of participation by the tourism industry in delivering consistent high quality. Unlike the old scheme, the new scheme is flexible and makes provision for a wide range of accommodation establishments to be graded.

* This affordability of the scheme has made it a viable marketing tool, which is accessible to smaller operators.

With the transformation imperative in mind, the TGCSA is also contributing its fair share to the transformation agenda of the tourism industry. The following are merely examples:
* Of the 37 interim assessors trained by the THETA and registered with the TGCSA, 17 are from historically disadvantaged backgrounds. The assessors are independent entrepreneurs.

As I congratulate the Council for a year of hard work and commitment, I also call upon provincial tourism bodies to show support for the TGCSA by living up to the challenge set by Dr Mike Fabricius, chief executive officer of the Western Cape Tourism Board, and sponsor the grading of emerging businesses.

There are, however, those who adopted a wait-and-see attitude as the process unfolded -- I once again call on them to join the scheme.

Under the current tourism law reform project, a new home will be found for the Grading Council. We anticipate that it will be independent but that there will still be strong linkages to government to ensure that the transformation objective is not lost.

I also wish to note the generous contribution of the THETA and the Scottish Tourism Board to the training of assessors, and want to take this opportunity to once again welcome Dr Salifou Siddo, the new chief executive officer of the TGCSA. I am certain that with his expertise the work already done will be complemented.

Issued by the Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, 29 November 2001