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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.<\/p>\n
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. \u00a0I 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Province made the announcement about the online Tourist Registration process as follows:<\/p>\n
\u2018We are excited to announce\u00a0a new online system\u00a0launched\u00a0to make\u00a0it easier for the 5 000 tourist guides\u00a0in the Western\u00a0Cape to register, renew and update their details.<\/i><\/p>\n
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\u00a0the knowledge base of resources, give feedback, ask a question and chat with an agent.<\/i><\/p>\n
Access to the tourist guide registration system is through the Western Cape Government eService portal<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n With\u00a0the\u00a0re-opening\u00a0of\u00a0inter-provincial travel\u00a0under Alert Level 2, our tourist guides play an important role in welcoming visitors to the Western Cape\u00a0and\u00a0ensuring they have\u00a0a great experience and keep coming back.<\/i><\/p>\n Our new online registration, which is the first of its kind in South Africa,\u00a0is just one of the many ways\u00a0we have been working hard to support tourist guides\u00a0during the Covid-19 pandemic\u00a0in the Western Cape.<\/i><\/p>\n To\u00a0ensure that our tourist\u00a0guides\u00a0were able to access the relief funding that national government made available to them,\u00a0we\u00a0collected\u00a0and verified\u00a0the details of\u00a0an estimated 5 000\u00a0tourist\u00a0guides which were\u00a0then submitted to the Department of Tourism\u00a0to receive\u00a0financial support.<\/i><\/p>\n Our \u201cOne Day\u201d tourism campaign which was developed by Wesgro and launched to inspire\u00a0future\u00a0travellers\u00a0during the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions,\u00a0also\u00a0provided an opportunity for\u00a0tourist guides\u00a0to\u00a0become virtual guides, using streaming services to conduct tours of our top experiences in the Western Cape.\u00a0At the end of the virtual tour, viewers\u00a0had\u00a0the chance to show their appreciation to the\u00a0tourist\u00a0guides\u00a0through\u00a0Paypal\u00a0or\u00a0Snapscan.<\/i><\/p>\n From September, tourist guides can also schedule appointments to collect their tourist guide ID cards and badges from the Tourism Guide Registration Office\u00a0at\u00a0Waldorf Building, 80 St George\u2019s Mall. While the Office remains partially closed due to the Covid-19\u00a0restrictions, almost 200 tourist guide ID cards and badges are ready for collection.\u00a0To collect, tourist guides\u00a0must\u00a0schedule an appointment with one of our staff members\u2019:<\/i><\/p>\n