Registering as a tourist guide, from the Tourism Act

Who must register

The Act defines a tourist guide as a person who, for reward, monetary or otherwise, accompanies people travelling through or visiting any place in the Republic and gives them information or comments about it. The Western Cape registrar puts it as three tests: you conduct tours or activities for reward, you give information or comment about the places visited or the activities, or you call yourself a tourist guide. Any one of the three, and you register. A game ranger walking guests, a surf instructor who talks about the coast, a wine farm host and a township tour operator all fall inside it.

Section 57 has three prohibitions. No unregistered person, or one whose registration is suspended or withdrawn, may act as a guide for reward. No person under a section 50 disqualification may guide. And no person, company or close corporation may employ an unregistered guide to promote its business. The last one is aimed at the tour operator, the lodge and the hotel, and it carries the R100 000 fine.

The requirements

• Be a South African citizen, or hold permanent residence, a valid work permit or a refugee document that entitles you to work.
• Be trained and found competent. Section 51 says competence is determined under the National Qualifications Framework. In practice that means a guiding qualification from a training provider accredited by CATHSSETA, the Culture, Art, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority, or another accredited institution offering a SAQA-registered programme. The two registered qualifications are the National Certificate in Tourism: Guiding at NQF level 2 and at NQF level 4. You submit the CATHSSETA certificate, or the statement of results while it is pending, and the assessor’s letter of competence stating the category you were assessed for.
• Hold a valid first aid certificate from an institution recognised by the Department of Employment and Labour, such as the Red Cross or St John. KwaZulu-Natal’s registrar requires it renewed every three years to match the registration.
• Not be disqualified. Section 50(3) bars anyone sentenced to imprisonment without the option of a fine, or convicted of fraud or dishonesty, anyone who loses citizenship or the right to work, and anyone who fails the prescribed quality assurance process within two years of their last registration.
• Sign the code of conduct and ethics, which under section 52 must require every guide to take reasonable steps for the safety of the tourists they accompany.
• Pay R240, renewable every three years. KwaZulu-Natal takes it by deposit into its ABSA account with your name as reference; the Western Cape takes card payment online.

Categories and classes

The card the registrar issues states the category, the class and the NQF level of your qualification. Guiding outside the card, a site guide taking a coach through three provinces, is guiding unregistered for that work. Driver-guides who transport their own tourists also need a professional driving permit, category P, which KwaZulu-Natal’s registrar reminds applicants to renew every two years; see the professional driving permit guide.

How to apply, step by step

1. Finish the training and get the paper. The CATHSSETA certificate or statement of results, and the assessor’s letter of competence naming the category and class. Check the provider’s accreditation on the CATHSSETA website first; an unaccredited certificate is rejected.
2. Do the first aid course with a recognised provider and keep the certificate current.
3. Certify the copies of your ID or passport and permit, the qualification, the letter of competence and the first aid certificate, at a police station or before a commissioner of oaths. The Western Cape wants recent certifications.
4. Photographs. KwaZulu-Natal asks for two passport-size colour photographs; the Western Cape for one recent passport-style photo on a plain background, no filters, no selfies, no glasses.
5. Apply to the provincial registrar in the province you live in. In the Western Cape, create a profile on the Western Cape Government eServices site and follow the tourist guide permits prompts; the form is populated for you and you can pay by card. In KwaZulu-Natal, deposit the fee, then post or hand-deliver the pack to the registrar at Calder House, 217 Burger Street, Pietermaritzburg. Other provinces’ registrars are listed on the Department of Tourism’s tourist guide portal.
6. Collect the card and badge when the registrar notifies you. Add a consulate letter if you want a foreign language recorded, and your driving and professional driving permits if you want to be listed as a driver-guide.
7. Diarise three years out. Renewal is the same process with the same fee, and the first aid certificate must still be valid.

Complaints and appeals

Anyone may report unregistered guiding or misconduct to the provincial registrar in writing, and under section 53 the registrar must lay a charge with the police where the complaint discloses an offence. A guide whose application is refused may appeal to the National Registrar of Tourist Guides at the Department of Tourism.

What actually goes wrong

• Training with an unaccredited provider. The course was real, the certificate is worthless to the registrar, and the money is gone.
• A first aid certificate that expired between the course and the application, or before renewal.
• Working while the application is pending. The prohibition is on acting as a guide without being registered; it does not have a grace period.
• A lodge or operator using unregistered guides because the guide said they were “doing the course”. The R100 000 fine is the employer’s.
• Guiding outside the category on the card. A site guide on a national itinerary is unregistered for that tour.

Frequently asked questions