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Knysna Tourism is a proud member of Greenline. This programme measures our ability to practice internationally competitive standards of responsible business and is benchmarked against national and international guidelines and accepted norms in this field...

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Integrated National Disability Strategy White Paper

Sanitation is Dignity - Guidelines for Sanitation Facilities for People with Disablities

Knysna Tourism supports the efforts of the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa.

Tourism Grading Council Website

- Apply to get graded -

- Finding an assessor close to you -

TOMSA Website

WHAT IS TOMSA?
Tourism Marketing Levy South Africa (TOMSA) is a private sector initiative, set up in 1998 to raise additional funds for the marketing of destination South Africa. As the appointed marketing agency for destination South Africa, South African Tourism (SAT) makes use of these funds to profile the country a preferred tourist destination, locally and internationally. SAT's core business is to drive tourist into South Africa as well as galvanise local South Africans travel within their own country. With additional funding from TOMSA, SAT's marketing reach is expanding, thus opening doors tourism businesses to new markets and business opportunities. Since its inception, TOMSA has grown from collecting R9.9 million in 1999 with less than 50 collectors, to collecting in excess of R70 million in 2009. The marketing of destination South Africa has increased dramatically over the same period where SAT now actively promotes South Africa in twelve core markets around the world, USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Kenya, Nigeria, China, Japan, India and Australia. SAT has recognised the value that can be found in the African markets and is increasingly expanding its promotional activities to reach new markets within the Continent.

WHY WAS TOMSA CREATED?
Ten years ago, it was recognised both by government and industry that for South African Tourism to be successful, a marked increase in the budget was required. The tourism industry business sector committed to play an active role to assist government in increasing the money available. A voluntary levy system was canvassed and agreed upon. At a meeting held in Johannesburg during 1998, attended by the tourist industry leaders and representatives of tourist associations, it was agreed to support the levy scheme, effective from April 1999 as a basis for a sustainable public-private partnership. TOMSA has been incorporated as an association in terms of Section 21 of the Companies Act, 1973, and therefore is a legal entity.

HOW MUCH IS THE LEVY?
Essentially, TOMSA levy collection constitutes paying over 1% of each confirmed booking towards the TOMSA fund. Note that collection of the TOMSA levy is voluntary and the amounts paid do not constitute a tax to the business. The levies are paid by the tourist and the business merely acts as a collector of the levies to be paid over to the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA), administers of TOMSA. Currently, levy collection is largely concentrated at the Car Rental, Tour Operator and Accommodation sectors but will be expanded to other sectors in the future.

For the official BEE Scorecard website - Click here!

1. BEE Industry
1.1 How is BEE Compliance Expressed and what Level is considered Compliant?

BBBEE Compliance is expressed in terms of Eight Recognition Levels. These are:
Level One Contributor (BEE Recognition Level: 135%)
Level Two Contributor (BEE Recognition Level: 125%)
Level Three Contributor (BEE Recognition Level: 110%)
Level Four Contributor (BEE Recognition Level: 100%)
Level Five Contributor (BEE Recognition Level: 80%)
Level Six Contributor (BEE Recognition Level: 60%)
Level Seven Contributor (BEE Recognition Level: 50%)
Level Eight Contributor (BEE Recognition Level: 10%)
Non Compliant Contributor (BEE Recognition Level: 0%)

Level Four is considered fully Compliant.

1.2 When must the business entity be compliant?

On 6 January 2004 Government passed into law the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, No. 53, 2003. The final BBBEE Codes of Good Practice are now operational as of the date of publication in the Government Gazette, No. 29617, on 9 February 2007.

Although there are no direct financial penalties that could be applied to non BEE compliant businesses, the system ensures that Procurement managers and Buyers will favour businesses that are compliant since that enhances their own BEE Scorecard under the Preferential Procurement element provisions.

1.3 Does every business have to have Black people as shareholders?

Black shareholding can attribute a maximum of 23% to the Generic Scorecard, but there is no legal obligation that can be enforced. In any event, Qualifying Small Enterprises may choose any four of the seven Elements on which to be rated, and can leave out the Ownership element entirely, although black representation does contribute to bonus points as well as promotions under certain circumstances.

1.4 If the business has no Black shareholders, what is the point of going through a BBBEE rating?

There are seven BBBEE elements and each contributes to the outcome of the Scorecard and the ownership element is just one of these. Since ownership carries a weighting of maximum 23% and 28% respectively, based on either the Generic Scorecard or the QSE Scorecard, it is possible to achieve an acceptable BBBEE Rating without having any Black shareholders in the business.

1.5 Do all business entities have to be BBBEE compliant?

Only business enterprises (those classified as “Exempted Micro Enterprises”) with an annual turnover of R5 Million and less will be exempted. Such entities will automatically be recognized as Level Four BBBEE Contributors with a procurement recognition level of 100%.

Start-up enterprises are Exempted Micro-Enterprises for the FIRST YEAR following their formation or incorporation regardless of their expected revenue. Tendering for contracts above R5 million does require Scorecard submission.

Businesses that are not exempt fall into one of two categories:

i) Those with an annual turnover between R5 Million and R35 Million are measured under the QUALIFYING SMALL ENTERPRISES (“QSE”) codes.
ii) Those with a turnover of R35 Million and above are measured under the GENERIC SCORECARD codes.

1.6 What is the difference between the QSE and the Generic Scorecard?

The Qualifying Small Enterprise (“QSE”) must elect to be rated on any four of the seven BBBEE elements. Where a selection is not specifically made by the business enterprise, the four best element scores will be used to calculate the final result.

This means that an enterprise can still achieve a reasonable BBBEE rating, in spite of not performing well in three of the seven elements.

The Generic Scorecard includes all seven BBBEE Elements, namely:

Ownership
Management Control
Employment Equity
Skills Development
Preferential Procurement
Enterprise Development
Socio-Economic & Sector Specific Contributions

1.7 Who is SANAS?

SANAS (South African National Accreditation System) is the recognised accreditation body on behalf of the DTI. SANAS is therefore responsible for overseeing the development and maintenance of the required rating standards in the BEE industry.

1.8 Who is ABVA?

The Association of BEE Verification Agencies (ABVA) is an independent national membership organisation representing the black economic empowerment (BEE) verification industry.

1.9 What is a transitional BBBEE score?

Until 8 February 2008, any business can select to have a transitional score calculated.
This means that the BEE status is calculated by taking ONLY the relevant Ownership and Management Control subtotals and multiplying it with a fixed factor of 1.92.

1.10 Can BEE Scorecard advise businesses on their BEE strategy and on ways to improve their BEE Score?

This does not form part of our core services, but we can recommend the services of Pointbreak Entrepreneurs, who specialize in advice of this nature. Visit the the following website to learn more.
www.pointbreakentrepreneurs.co.za

2. BEE Scorecard system

2.1 What type of BEE status and score confirmation is provided by BEE Scorecard (Pty) Ltd?

i) The BEE Scorecard System is an online system that applies the DTI’s Codes of Good Practice to your input data and provides an accurate electronic Scorecard and status of your Business.
ii) The system also provides a printable version of your BEE Scorecard, which you can distribute freely.
iii) The system also produces a printable FACT SHEET that allows an Auditor to verify the input data utilized by the system to calculate the BBBEE Score and-Status;

2.2 How confidential is the information that is captured in the BEE Scorecard system?

The confidentiality of your information will be honored and protected at all times. Access to the system is strictly controlled by secure username and password combinations.

All sensitive financial information that is required to determine a BBBEE Score is further secured through 128bit encryption and is certified by Thawte.

No third party is able to access any of your businesses data, unless expressly made available by you for publication on our public website.

3. BEE Scorecard Ratings

3.1 Will the business obtain a different B-BBEE Score should the measurement be done elsewhere?

Rating Agencies must apply the content of the BBBEE Codes strictly. However, as the Codes are also subject to some human interpretation, there remains some room for marginal error in the rating process. Since the BEE Scorecard system has been developed after an intense and extensive study of the Codes, we are confident that the cold, hard facts captured by the business enterprise itself will be converted by the system into a reliable and objective B-BEE Score and Status.

4. More on BEE Exemption

In view of the latest release of information by the DTI, the rules for BEE Exemption have changed as follows;

Being BEE exempted means having an automatic B-BBEE Contribution Level of Four and a procurement recognition of 100% Sufficient evidence of qualification as an Exempted Micro-Enterprise is an auditor’s certificate or similar certificate issued by an accounting officer or verification agency.
Businesses with an annual turnover of between R5 and R35 million needs to only comply with FOUR of the seven BEE Scorecard elements.
Exempted enterprises DO qualify for a promotion to the next BBBEE Status level under certain shareholding conditions The Sector that the business operates in does not influence exemption.
The number of employees of the business also has no impact on exemption.
Start-up enterprises are Exempted Micro-Enterprises for the FIRST YEAR following their formation or incorporation regardless of their expected revenue. Tendering for contracts above R5 million does require Scorecard submission.

Department of Labour website - click here

Basic Conditions of Employment Act 1997

Basic Guide for Employers to the Basic Conditions of Emplyment Act

What Hospitality Workers and their Employers should know about Minimum Wages and Basic Conditions of Employment

Occupational Health & Safety Act & Ammendments

Employment Equity Act

Labour Relations Act & Ammendments

This age will direct you to information on Knysna`s Bylaws.



Click here for information from the Knysna Municipality

Select "By-Laws" under the Communication tab and then choose the bylaw you would like to read and click on the heading to open/download.

info

Quality Assurance
In order to be a member of your local tourism association (Knysna Tourism), certain minimum standards need to be met and maintained.

Before any membership application can be finalised a Quality Assurance inspection will be conducted by an independent consultant from Cape Town Routes Unlimited (CTRU). Once Knysna Tourism have received the green light from them the application will be finalised and membership fees are invoiced.

This accreditation will be valid for 24 months and the consultant will contact you for a renewal inspection. A certificate will also be issued by CTRU for you to display in your establishment. Knysna Tourism cannot accept any membership without following this process.

Applicants that are graded with the TGCSA are exempted from this prerequisite. A copy of your grading certificate must accompany new membership applications. Should an applicant wish to opt for grading over accreditation but would like to get the ball rolling, are able to do so. Written proof of your application to the TGCSA must accompany your membership application to Knysna Tourism.

The links below provide more information on minimum requirements.

Minimum Standards for Accommodation Establishments

Minimum Standards for Tour Operators

Minimum Standards for Homestays

Important Contact Details:

Quality Assessor - Ilze Jacobs - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it | 082 9722 507