KZN levy should be part of TOMSA, says trade

THE tourism industry recently
met in KwaZulu Natal to
discuss a way forward for the
10% KZN hospitality levy, which
MEC Michael Mabuyakhulu
recently proposed to create a
war chest for the province to
attract major events.
Donovan Muirhead,
spokesperson for the National
Accommodation Association
of South Africa, told TNW the
industry had agreed during
the meeting that the overall
objectives of the proposed
levy were admirable and
would undoubtedly boost
tourism to the province and
the country. However, the
current proposed format was
called into question and a
number of important details
were discussed regarding the
collection and implementation
of the levy. These details will
be summarised in a report
and submitted to the MEC
during the next few weeks.
The main consensus that
emerged from the meeting
was that the levy should
be collected as part of the
existing TOMSA (Tourism
Marketing South Africa)
levy. This would allow for
a countrywide bidding
support fund regulated and
overseen by the TBCSA. Event
organisers around the country
could then apply to the TOMSA
committee for support of their
events. The TBCSA would also
be able to decide whether the
events would offer sufficient
return on investment.
Adriaan Liebetrau, ceo
of SAACI, says the industry
agreed that there was a need
for a bidding and/or event
support fund for South Africa.
However, this fund should not
be limited to KZN and should
also include other provinces.
He said instead of every
province implementing its own
levy, a national structure would
be more beneficial.
According to Adriaan,
collecting the proposed
support fund levy through the
existing TOMSA levy would
also allow for quicker and
easier implementation. If the
MEC implemented a separate
levy, it would need to be
regulated and passed through
Parliament. This could take
quite some time.
Donovan adds that
implementing a separate
levy could also prove to be a
logistical nightmare for larger
corporations, which would
have to change their entire IT
infrastructure to collect this
additional levy.
He says the industry also
agreed that the levy should
be voluntary and should
benefit the contributors in
some way. He explained that
industry players who agreed
to contribute to the bidding
support fund should receive
some benefits in the form
of market mapping, product
formatting or perhaps free
grading benefits.