SA grading council helps Lesotho toruism

RETHABILE MOHONO

MASERU – Tourism Grading Council of South Africa (TGCSA) recently met with the Lesotho Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Culture to facilitate a benchmarking exercise on grading standards to be undertaken by the Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation (LTDC) according to their official Facebook page.

Tourism Grading Council of South Africa, the only officially recognised quality assurance body for tourism products in South Africa, is engaging LTDC to find ways to assist Lesotho in improving these processes as well as improve service delivery in the Lesotho hospitality industry.

As such, TGCSA gave an initial presentation to a delegation consisting of the Director of Tourism, two grading awards committee members and a quality assurance officer.

Masalang Khasake, Quality Assurance Officer for the Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation stated that through the assistance of TGCSA, not only the tourism body would benefit but the entire country.

“With South Africa’s robust, relevant and consistent grading system as a benchmark, we can benefit the local tourism authority by improving service delivery, boost local travel, increase morale, and drive more tourism to our country,” Khasake said.

According to Darryl Erasmus, Chief Quality Assurance Officer at TGCSA, said collaborative tourism efforts between African countries can only assist in standardising and improving the continent’s quality positioning and market share when it comes to global tourist numbers.

“TGCSA is planning to travel to Lesotho in a few weeks to scan the environment and provide grading system guidelines and share the new grading standards. By advancing other African countries from a tourism point of view, the entire continent wins,” Erasmus said.