Tourist guides in the Western Cape can now register, renew and update their details online. A new system has been launched to replace the hard copy/email application process.
Around 5,000 Western Cape-based tourist guides can now complete their registration digitally.
‘Until now tourist guides have had to complete application forms in hard copy or via email, but now the new online registration system provides them with the opportunity to register or create a profile, search the knowledge base of resources, give feedback, ask a question and chat with an agent,’ said Minister David Maynier in a statement.
Access to the tourist guide registration system is through the Western Cape Government eService portal.
With the re-opening of inter-provincial travel under Alert Level 2, tourist guides play an important role in welcoming visitors to the Western Cape and ensuring they have a great experience and keep coming back.
The new online registration, which is the first of its kind in South Africa, is just one of the many ways the Western Cape government have been working hard to support tourist guides during the Covid-19 pandemic in the Western Cape.
‘To ensure that tourist guides were able to access the relief funding that national government made available to them, we collected and verified the details of an estimated 5 000 tourist guides which were then submitted to the Department of Tourism to receive financial support,’ said Maynier.
‘Our “One Day” tourism campaign which was developed by Wesgro and launched to inspire future travellers during the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, also provided an opportunity for tourist guides to become virtual guides, using streaming services to conduct tours of our top experiences in the Western Cape. At the end of the virtual tour, viewers had the chance to show their appreciation to the tourist guides through Paypal or Snapscan,’ he said.
From September, tourist guides can also schedule appointments to collect their tourist guide ID cards and badges from the Tourism Guide Registration Office at Waldorf Building, 80 St George’s Mall.
While the Office remains partially closed due to the Covid-19 restrictions, almost 200 tourist guide ID cards and badges are ready for collection.
To collect, tourist guides must schedule an appointment with one of our staff members:
| Vorena Rudolph | 021 483 3012 | [email protected] |
| Puleng Leoatle-Kwepile | 021 483 9130 | [email protected] |
| Babalwa Matiti | 021 483 2960 | [email protected] |
Image: Unsplash