Entries for the esteemed Lilizela Tourism Awards for accommodation establishments and
tourism-related products and services opened this month. The annual awards
recognise and reward tourism players and businesses who work with tireless pride to
deliver world-class products and services, growing South Africa’s global competitiveness
as a destination in the process.
The Lilizela Tourism Awards have been honouring the “best of the best” products,
experiences and people in the South African tourism sector since 2012. An initiative of the
National Department of Tourism and spearheaded by South African Tourism, the annual
awards ceremony is always a star-studded and celebratory affair.
“The Lilizela Tourism Awards give us the opportunity to celebrate passionate and
committed trailblazers as well as service excellence in the South African tourism
industry,” said South African Tourism’s Chief Executive Officer, Sisa Ntshona.
“We are proud that through the Lilizela Tourism Awards, we have increased awareness of
the important role that tourism plays in spurring on economic growth in the region. The prestige that is associated with this awards initiative is evidence that South African
Tourism’s ongoing drive to promote service excellence and product grading through the
Tourism Grading Council of South Africa (TGCSA) is yielding positive results for the tourism industry, " he added.
In 2017, the awards attracted a record number of 1 649 entries, up by about 40% from
2016’s figure. Tourism businesses across the nine provinces are encouraged to enter.
Accommodation establishments are required to be graded with the TGCSA to enter and
those yet to be graded are encouraged to do so on the www.tourismgrading.co.za site.
The TGCSA is the only recognised and globally benchmarked quality assurance body for
tourism products in South Africa.