Question NW1047 to the Minister of Tourism
19 May 2021 - NW1047
De Freitas, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Tourism
With reference to the complaints line of her department, (a) what is the total number of complaints received by her department in each month in the past three financial years, (b) what are the main categories of the specified complaints, (c) how were the complaints handled and/or resolved and (d) how would this be (i) measured and/or (ii) monitored?
Reply:
a) Total number of complaints received by the department in each month in the past three financial years.
Period/ Month |
TOTAL NUMBER OF TOURIST COMPLAINTS MANAGED |
||
2018/ 2019 |
2019/2020 |
2020/21 |
|
April |
8 |
9 |
34 |
May |
4 |
6 |
25 |
June |
2 |
5 |
40 |
July |
4 |
7 |
20 |
Aug |
6 |
4 |
33 |
September |
2 |
3 |
42 |
October |
14 |
12 |
54 |
November |
2 |
3 |
30 |
December |
2 |
2 |
6 |
January |
9 |
15 |
28 |
February |
11 |
25 |
24 |
March |
1 |
33 |
40 |
Total |
65 |
124 |
376 |
(b) Refunds, rescheduling of reservations, service levels, alleged non-compliance with COVID19 protocols and acts of discrimination.
c) The Tourism Act, 2014 (Act No. 3 of 2014) makes provision for the Department of Tourism to put systems in place for dealing with complaints lodged by tourists in respect of tourism services, products or facilities. The Regulation on the Prescribed Manner and Procedure for Lodging and Dealing with Tourism Complaints outlines the process to be followed when managing tourism complaints.
The main focus is on mediation and amicable resolution of tourist complaints and that has proved to be effective. In cases where mediation fails, complaints are referred to other relevant structures for further intervention where applicable.
d) (i) and (ii) Database and records of all complaints received, managed and referred are kept and updated.