Hospitality and tourism industry role-players on Tuesday, 16 March 2010, gathered to sign the Code of Responsible Pricing for Cape Town, committing themselves to protecting consumers by promoting “fair value, sustainable and responsible tourism” through value-for money offerings, said Cape Town Tourism chief executive Mariette du Toit-Helmbold.
Signatories include Cape Town Tourism, the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Cape Town Routes Unlimited, Fedhasa, Satsa, Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa, Backpackers South Africa and The Portfolio Collection.
“We need to make sure what we are offering is fair,” said Helmbold.
The recommended pricing for the mid-winter soccer tournament is the same as 2010's peak season pricing — the same prices as in the summer months.
“We can't regulate prices, but we can provide guidelines,” said Fedhasa Cape executive officer Rema van Niekerk.
“Fedhasa can act on written complaints by customers and terminate memberships if our code is not being followed.”
Complaints would be noted by the Tourism Grading Council.
Cape Town Tourism said average costs per night in a central bed and breakfast are predicted at between R500 and R800; a top four-star city hotel is charging between R1900 and R2400 a night for a room and a waterfront five-star establishment will be about R5000 per person sharing per night.
Source: The Times
