In recognition of National Energy Month and in mitigation of the current energy constraints faced by the country, Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille has invited all eligible tourism enterprises to apply for the Green Tourism Incentive Programme (GTIP) during the eighth application window, which is open from May 2 to June 30.

The GTIP is an incentive programme of the Department of Tourism with the objective of encouraging and supporting private sector tourism enterprises to adopt more responsible tourism practices and move towards the sustainable management and use of water and energy.

The programme is administered by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) on behalf of the tourism department and all applications and approvals are managed by the IDC.

“I encourage all eligible tourism businesses to apply now for the GTIP. Accelerating climate action in tourism is of utmost importance for the resilience of the sector, as well as strengthening adaptive capacity.

“This programme is also part of government’s efforts to reduce demand on the national electricity grid and is a stellar example of government investing in water and energy efficiency measures which not only address the impacts of climate change, but also the impacts of economic and electricity constraints we are all confronted with,” says De Lille.

The previous seven application windows of the GTIP have yielded 130 approved applications, thus far, and a total grant value of R76.1-million has been disbursed to businesses to install energy- and water-saving measures at their tourism establishments.

This programme offers partial grant funding to assist qualifying tourism enterprises, especially small to medium-sized enterprises to reduce the cost of investing in energy and water efficient operations, which is posited to lower their cost of operations and facilitate increased competitiveness and operational sustainability in the tourism sector over the long term.

Under the GTIP, eligible applicants are able to qualify for the full cost of a new energy and water efficiency audit or the review of an existing audit.

Moreover, eligible applicants are also able to qualify for grant funding of between 50% and 90% (capped at a maximum of R1-million per applicant) on the cost of implementing approved solutions that will improve the energy and water efficiency of the tourism enterprise.

The development of the GTIP was informed by escalating electricity prices, the intensifying pressure on the national energy grid and associated loadshedding conditions, as well as water scarcity and drought conditions which negatively impact on the tourism sector.