New Star Grading Plaques Launched

A new star grading plaque, together with a universal accessibility plaque, has been introduced by the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa (TGCSA). The launch of the new plaques is being hailed as a major milestone in the TGCSA's bid to overhaul its grading criteria, minimum requirements and operating systems.

The previous grading criteria were originally introduced in 2002. Inconsistencies in the application of the grading criteria and minimum requirements, coupled with inadequate management processes and systems, led to a lack of uniformity in the awarding of stars.

Speaking at the unveiling event held at the King Edward Hotel and the Forest Hall Guest House in Port Elizabeth, Chief Quality Assurance Officer, Thembi Kunene, said: "The new plaques will help protect our brand and put a stop to the illegal use of stars as they are now trademarked."

On the new plaques the stars are placed above the category name. A critical inclusion is a sentence stating that the plaque is the property of the TGCSA, which will allow officials to legally enter a property to remove a plaque if necessary. Each plaque also features a unique serial number linked to the membership number of the property.

Also in attendance at the unveiling was Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, who said: "Our grading plaques are a symbol of the assurance we provide to tourists, both local and international, that they can rely on star graded establishments when making their choice of accommodation or conferencing establishment. A significant amount of time and energy was spent during this process in fine-tuning the criteria to get them right for the industry. The aim was to not only ensure that South Africa can maintain its international competitiveness as a tourist destination, but indeed to show that we can be world leaders in terms of quality assurance."

"But a system is only good as the people who are participating in it. The public are not only on the receiving end, but also an active player in the system. As South Africans, we tend to accept poor service, but we are asking that the public not only complain, buy also provide feedback on where improvements can be made," said Van Schalkwyk.