Having been through a two-month process of obtaining my Tourist Guiding badge, using the Western Cape Department of Economic Affairs and Tourism manual procedure to do so by submitting numerous pages via email, it was interesting to read that the Province is now offering an online Tourist Guide registration and renewal procedure.

It appears that the issuing of tourist registration cards (mine took two months) and tourist badges (still not received after three and a half months) may delay the online registration process, in that a number of departmental processes and procedures may still hold up the registration process, and may not make the Tourist Guide registration process any faster. Trying to register within the Covid Lockdown has added to the delay in the registration process.  I had to request Western Cape Premier Alan Winde for support, with a follow up, and have been impressed with the interaction with Ilse van Schalkwyk, the Chief Director of Economic Sector Support.

‘We are excited to announce a new online system launched to make it easier for the 5 000 tourist guides in the Western Cape to register, renew and update their details.

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.

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, our tourist guides play an important role in welcoming visitors to the Western Cape and ensuring they have a great experience and keep coming back.

Our new online registration, which is the first of its kind in South Africa, is just one of the many ways we have been working hard to support tourist guides during the Covid-19 pandemic in the Western Cape.

To ensure that our 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.

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.

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’: