Record collection for tourism marketing levy

Johannesburg – The month of October saw the Tourism Marketing Levy South Africa (TOMSA) collect a record R 6,681,227.25 in tourism levy contributions. This is a massive 25.5 percent increase as compared to what was collected during the same period last year.This according to the Chief Executive Officer of TOMSA, Mmatšatši Marobe, who says this year-on-year increase indicates that the tourism sector continues to enjoy a healthy growth in the numbers of both domestic and international tourist arrivals.

She says despite the much bemoaned volatile economic outlook coupled with the ongoing inflationary pressures, tourism businesses throughout South Africa recorded a healthy number of visitors during the first half of the year – a trend confirmed by the percentage increase in the tourism levies collected by TOMSA,”

According to Marobe, the levy collections is poised to continue with the upward trend considering some of the positive developments in the sector such as the opening of Holiday Inn in Soweto from 1st November 2007, the Mapungubwe Hotel in the heart of Johannesburg, as well as the expansion and renovations of a number of hotels in the country.  “This will all lead to the much needed improvement of accommodation capacity in the local market.”

“This development bodes well for our country as the hosts of the FIFA Soccer World Cup in 2010 – with all the increased attention and interest as a destination.  We can, therefore, unequivocally state that South Africa is a world-class tourism destination and through industry co-operation, we can expect to see improved growth figures in the years going to 2010 and beyond,” says Marobe.

The tourism levy is collected by members of the tourism industry, who believes in the power of collective marketing, including accommodation providers, car hire companies and tour operators. The standard practices are that the tourism business adds a fixed amount of 1% to the consumer’s account. The amount that is collected is then paid over to TOMSA and in turn paid over to South African Tourism for use on generic marketing of our country.

The TOMSA levy is collected one month in arrears thus enabling the TBCSA to use figures as a good indicator of the industry’s performance.  International tourist arrivals increased by approximately 4,2 percent during the first half of the year.

“It is against this background that we would like to send our heartfelt gratitude to our network of collectors for making it possible for TOMSA to continue to support South African Tourism’s efforts to promote this great country and we urge all products and service providers in the industry to sign up as collectors because this levy collection benefits the industry immensely,” she concludes.