The Department of Tourism has invited eligible tourism enterprises to apply for support under the Green Tourism Incentive Programme’s (GTIP) 10th application window.

The window opened on 2 September 2024 and will remain open until 28 February 2025.

The GTIP was developed by the Department of Tourism in partnership with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to enable and encourage tourism enterprises to improve efficiency in the utilisation of energy and water resources in their operations.

In this way, the programme not only promotes compliance with responsible tourism principles, but also offers a mechanism for enterprises to reduce operational costs so they can operate in a sustainable and competitive manner.

The GTIP has enjoyed much success from tourism enterprises who applied for support.

Mokgaetji Flora Phala from Mminanoko Eco Guesthouse in Limpopo said: ‘I was spending R2 500 on electricity costs per month. I now spend R500 a month, saving between R1 500 to R2000 a month following the ins
tallation of energy solutions. The GTIP is a great initiative that helps a lot and can be recommended to other businesses.’

Chris de Vries from Maribelle’s B and B in Pretoria, Gauteng, said the amount spent on electricity was high before the installations, but it has gone down significantly.

‘It is still too early to tell the exact amounts, but I have noticed a significant saving from the installations. I would definitely recommend other business to get access to this programme; it is very beneficial,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Gugulethu Nogaya from Imvomvo Country Lodge in MaXesibeni, Eastern Cape, said energy consumption prior to the installation of energy solutions averaged at 24 000 kWh per month.

‘Since the installation it has reduced our monthly energy consumption by half. We were spending approximately R60 000.00 on diesel during peak load shedding, but that has now dropped to less than R5 000 per month only when there are power outages. I would highly recommend the GTIP programme for all lodges, B and
B’s and other businesses as it significantly improves margins by reducing cost and increases customer satisfactions,’ he said.

The GTIP offers partial grant funding on the cost of retrofitting tourism facilities with energy and water efficiency equipment and systems. The application process to access the GTIP is done through two phases:

Phase 1: The applying Tourism enterprises undergoes a resource efficiency audit during which appropriate efficiency measures and solutions are recommended. The cost of this audit is fully covered under the GTIP programme.

Phase 2: Eligible applicants (who completed phase 1) are able to apply for grant funding support of between 50% and 90% on the cost of installing relevant technologies and equipment recommended during the Phase 1 (capped at a maximum of R1 million per applicant).

The GTIP is administered by the IDC and all applications are received, processed and managed by the IDC on behalf of the Department of Tourism.

Since inception in November 2017 and June 2024,
the GTIP has had nine application windows from which 216 applications were approved at a total grant value of more than R140 million.

Tourism Minister, Patricia de Lille, said initiatives such as the GTIP are contributing immensely to greening the tourism sector and in the process helping to sustain the future of this sector.

‘Conserving our scarce natural resource is crucial to the sustainability of the tourism sector. As we work towards the attainment of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), programmes such as the GTIP become critical in reinforcing and supporting tourism enterprises to adopt responsible tourism practices.

‘Accordingly, the GTIP aims to support tourism enterprises to retrofit their facilities with green technologies such as solar PV panels and water saving measures. I therefore encourage businesses to apply for funding support under the GTIP,’ the Minister said.

Tourism enterprises can visit www.tourism.gov.za or www.idc.co.za to read more on the requirements, eligibility and q
ualifying criteria and the application processes for the GTIP.

Source: South African Government News Agency