South Africa has a very wide range of accommodation options, catering for a diverse spectrum of travellers including, businessmen, backpackers, families, adventure-chasers and luxury-seekers.
The tourist accommodation industry in South Africa provides a wide spectrum of accommodation, from formal hotels to informal holiday flats and cottages, game lodges and reserves, guest-houses, youth hostels and bed-and-breakfast establishments.
EcoTravel Africa's comprehensive guides and maps cover all the regions and aspects of interest to tourists, including accommodation.
Grading: The Tourism Grading Council of South Africa (TGCSA) inspects the standards in the hospitality and accommodation industry.
This voluntary grading system, which was launched in 2001, uses internationally recognised star insignia to rate accommodation establishments initially, and will be extended to include relevant businesses in classified sectors of the tourism industry. Once graded, establishments will be encouraged to utilise the star system for marketing and advertising purposes.
Grading assessors undergo training to receive the National Certificate in Tourism Grading. The awarding of such a qualification is a world-first. Assessors are then accredited with the THETA and registered with the TGCSA before being recommended to the industry.
Larger group hotels with their own internal assessors will also be accredited with the THETA. Independent auditors conduct random audits. These auditors also assist in ensuring that the assessors adhere to a Code of Conduct.
According to Backpacker Tourism of South Africa, South Africa is the second most popular destination among international backpackers, after Australia. |
