A total of 95% of graded accommodation establishments are confident of their level of implementation of the COVID-19 health and safety protocols. This indicates that South African accommodation establishments are geared up to receive guests in a “safe and responsible manner”, according to South African Tourism.
This was revealed in the results – released yesterday (February 15) – of a health and safety protocols study conducted by the SA Tourism Insights and Analytics team and the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa.
Some of the key findings:
- Training
The study found training to be essential to increase the confidence levels for the accommodation sector. The majority of the establishments (98%) heeded the call for training on the health and safety protocols, indicating that training had been provided for employees.
2. Challenges
Although the establishments proved to be “coping overall” with ensuring the safety of staff and customers, the study highlighted that they needed support with updated information on the changes within the hospitality industry, marketing and visible signage of the protocols around the establishments.
Convincing guests and staff to change their behaviour was cited as a challenge as were the costs associated with procuring personal protective equipment and the additional measures that needed to be taken while preparing meals.
3. Awareness
Establishments indicated that they were aware of the various protocols and standards available to them, with 76% saying they were aware of Tourism Industry Protocols Pledge. However, it is concerning to note that only 31% of establishments have been certified for COVID-19 protocols and 40% were unsure whether or not they had been certified.
Methodology
- Conducted at the end of 2020, the study surveyed CEOs, owners and senior management of 456 graded establishments across all nine provinces, and aimed to benchmark the implementation of health and safety protocols from the point of view of establishments.
- Of the establishments surveyed, 95% were indicated to have high confidence levels, 75% of them said they had very high levels of confidence in their implementation of the COVID-19 protocols.
- Guesthouses formed 43% of the establishments surveyed, bed and breakfasts accounted for 29%, with Cape Town forming the largest sample of 40% followed by the Eastern Cape at 13%.
