Tourism Union SA

28/11/2014

13/10/2014

Greater Honeyguide – Indicator indicator

Habitat: savanna, riverine forest and woodlands
Diet: honey, beeswax, fruit, insects, spiders, seeds & gum
Breeding either in spring or summer
Guides humans to beehives
Incubation: 12-18 days
Nesting: 17-37 days
Non migrational
Breeding: Polygynous
No nest built only family where all species is brood-parasitic.

28/08/2014

SOUTHERN RIGHT WHALE Eubalaena Australis
Type: Baleen

Southern right whales live on a cycle of feast and famine. During the Antarctic summer they feed mainly plankton called copepods. They eat between 600kg and 1600kg per day to obtain enough blubber to see them through the winter, when they migrate to our shores. During the time they are here they do not feed at all and live off their blubber.

Southern right whales are easy to distinguish from other species. They have rough patches of skin on their heads, called callosities, which form patterns that differ in each individual animal [serves as their ID]. They have a distinctive “V” –shaped blow, no dorsal fin and highly arched jaws

They are slow swimmers 0,5 – 4 km /h ,but can reach a top speed of 16 km/h. They can stay under water between 4 and 8 minutes.

18/07/2014

TUSA would like to remind you of our meeting on Monday the 21st July at 18:00 at the Fountain Hotel in Cape Town. Please confirm if you will be able to attend. Government is aware of us and our challenges. We need a united front to help them solve our problems. For more information please email me: [email protected]

11/07/2014

Hundreds, if not thousands, of tourist guides are currently affected by the lack of a CATHSSETA certificate. These are not new guides, but mostly guides who qualified 10-20 years ago.

Government has opened a door for guides to have a STRUCTURED meeting where we can get some answers to our many challenges.

We will meet on the 21st at 18h00 at the Fountain Hotel in Cape Town.

This is our one chance to make difference to our profession. Spread the word and be there as well in person. We need you to give us your thoughts.

RSVP before 18 July.

10/07/2014

Are we getting bang for our buck? Tourism spends R1.9 million on flights in one year



9 July 2014

Release: immediate



The former Minister of Tourism, Martinus Van Schalkwyk, spent a total of R1,946,788.00 on international flights between April 2013 and his exit from cabinet following the national elections, a reply to DA parliamentary question has revealed.



In total, Mr Van Schalkwyk went overseas at the state’s expense on 20 different occasions. On eight of these visits he spent more than R100, 000 on flights, and on three such occasions, more than R200, 000.



In the reply to questions asked about these excessive expenses, the Department of Tourism has attempted to justify it by stating that international travel forms part of its key mandate of developing the tourism industry in South Africa. This is indeed the case.



However, in this week’s portfolio committee meeting, when questioning to what extent the numerous MOU’s with other countries is benefiting our tourism market, I was unable to get any concrete details.



These MOU’s, which are signed at great expense – and clearly after much travel – must be properly monitored for their value and ensure that they are indeed being implemented to the benefit of our tourism industry.



To this extent, I will ask that the Portfolio Committee request a detailed report from the Department on the benefit of each visit, together with agreements made on each such occasion, to our Tourism industry.



The DA has very clear policy proposals on how we can boost tourism, and create jobs.

We would, amongst other things:

Maintain well-resourced tourism information centres in strategic locations in the country and abroad;Establish offices in key and selected source markets to promote the South African tourism experience; andWork with tourism authorities in the region to package and market sub-Saharan Africa as a regional tourism destination.

It is vital that we spend our resources carefully, and when some countries do not even have a local SA tourism office, it must bring into question whether we are indeed getting bang for our buck.

08/07/2014

The Leopard tortoise is the largest in southern Africa, reaching a maximum of 70 cm and 40 kg. It is the only tortoise known to be able to swim. They are slow growers and only reaches sexual maturity at between 10 and 15 years old. They weigh about 1 kg at 7 years of age but then body weight doubles every second year thereafter, provided good conditions prevail. They can live up to 75 years.

03/07/2014

Check this out: http://www.labourguide.co.za/downloads. Please note that the hospitality industry has sectoral determination and a bargaining council, but the tourism industry does not have it. It is only when the union has enough members that we can apply for that. Then we will be able to also set standards that are sorely needed for tourism workers. JOIN TUSA! We are the only body that will speak for you as the worker.

The information and downloads on this page is kindly provided by The Department of Labour and The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). You may also find this downloads on www.labour.gov.za and www.ccma.org.za for more information, please visit the official page of the CCM

27/06/2014

Tourism Update Online serves as an online news resource for overseas and local tour operators packaging Southern Africa. With such facilities as online video streaming and daily news, the site serves as a comprehensive news resource for anything you need to know about tourism in the region.

22/06/2014

Congratulations to Johan van Biljon and his team that got the Institute for the Professionalisation of Tourist Guides in Southern Africa off the ground. TUSA is looking forward to great cooperation for this much needed sector of the industry

12/06/2014

mmigrations Act: We’ve won the battle but not the warToday's News
12 Thu, Jun 2014
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SATSA and the Board of Airline Representatives SA (BARSA) have welcomed the Department of Home Affairs’ decision to delay the implementation of a new regulation that children travelling with adults present an unabridged birth certificate when arriving, leaving, or transiting in South Africa.

“It is with some sense of relief that the Department of Home Affairs issued a statement last night that the regulations will now only become effective from 1 October 2014,” SATSA said in a statement.

SATSA has been actively engaging with Minister of Tourism, Derek Hanekom, who in turn has been in discussions with his cabinet colleagues, on the new regulations.

"I would like to assure members that SATSA will continue to oppose draconian legislation that impedes the tourism potential to South Africa," says SATSA CEO, David Frost. "As an organisation we support the need for proper regulations with respect to incoming tourism, but the heavy-handed and non-consultative approach exhibited by the Department of Home Affairs is to be strongly countered."

"This extends to the imposition of biometric visa requiring applicants to appear in person, which will severely impact growing markets such as India and China. Furthermore, we will work with our fellow associations BARSA, ASATSA and Fair Trade in Tourism, through the auspices of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA), and our Ministry of Tourism, to seek a more structured engagement with the Department of Home Affairs, where we can assert a tourism agenda in these deliberations."

The airline industry in SA met with the Department of Home Affairs on last week request a 12 month delay to the policy implementation to allow for full and proper consultation and collaboration.

June Crawford, CEO of BARSA, said the association was delighted that there has been an extension of the date of implementation, although the airline industry had yet to receive communication from the department on this development.

Crawford added that BARSA hoped to see in depth consultation between the Department of Home Affairs and the tourism industry.

Today's News Tourism Update

08/06/2014

Wesgro, the Western Cape’s trade and investment agency absorbed the province’s beleaguered destination marketing agency (Cape Town Routes Unlimited - CTRU) in April 2012.  I attended Wesgro’s AGM i...