South Africa’s Department of Tourism announced on Thursday, the addition of support for water efficiency measures in the hospitality industry to the third window application period of the Green Tourism Incentive Programme (GTIP), which opens on September 1 until November 30.
“The inclusion of water efficiency solutions in the Green Tourism Incentive Programme contributes to the Department’s objective of encouraging the South African tourism sector to adopt operational practices for the sustainable management and usage of water and electricity resources and adhering to responsible tourism principles,” said the Director General of the Department of Tourism, Victor Tharage.
The Department launched the Green Tourism Incentive Programme in 2017, in partnership with the Industrial Development Corporation and the National Cleaner Production Centre of South Africa (NCPC-SA) as the technical support, to encourage small and micro tourism enterprises to move toward cleaner and more energy-efficient operations.
While the uptake in the programme was positive during the first two application windows, however, the department recognised the need to expand the programme focus to also include water efficiency to mitigate the impact of persistent drought conditions in various parts of the country’s tourism sector.
The programme funding limits to qualifying small and micro tourism enterprises remain mostly unchanged but were adjusted to include water efficiency as follows:
- 90% of the cost for a new resource-efficiency (energy and water) audit, or the full cost for reviewing an existing resource-efficiency audit.
- Grant funding to qualifying small and micro enterprises on a sliding scale from 30% to 90%, capped at R1 million (€58 565), towards the installation of recommended water and energy efficiency measures.
The IDC manages the GTIP on behalf of the Department, with energy and water efficiency audits being conducted by the NCPC-SA, to determine the best possible solutions to be implemented.
For more information, application forms and guidelines on the GTIP, click here. < >Enquiries can be directed to: gtip@idc.co.za.
Pic: kgWaterAfrica
Caption:
kgGreenTourism
