2004 Accommodation awards now open

CLOSE on 200 entries have already been received in the 2004 AA Travel Guides Accommodation Awards programme. This programme, now running for the 11th year, is known as a reliable quality indicator that is used by tourists when choosing a place to stay. Convenor Vanessa Sand says it is open to any type of accommodation establishment that is a member of the AA Quality Assured Programme, the National Star Grading System, or the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association - or undertakes to join one of these by February next year when the semi-finalists are chosen. Awards are made in 33 categories, including different types of guesthouses, bed & breakfasts, hotels, resorts and lodges, and even tented, traditional and township accommodation. Sand says participation in the programme holds huge benefits. "Being an achiever gives an establishment a definite marketing advantage as it receives widespread publicity and appears in the annual South Africa's Best publication." She says more than 180 000 copies of South Africa's Best are printed, the majority of which are inserted into Getaway Magazine. The rest are distributed at travel trade and consumer shows, by the establishments appearing in it and through the missions of the Department of Foreign Affairs. Accommodation establishments have until November 30, 2003 to enter the programme. The awards programme is supported by the Industrial Development Corporation, Visit SA and Europcar. The 2004 awards will be made during the Tourism Indaba in May next year. For more information, or to enter the programme, contact Helen de Coster or Tersia de Villiers on (011) 483 3044. (Miguel de Sousa)