Khwa ttu wins Imvelo Award The San Culture & Education Centre

!Khwa ttu wins Imvelo Responsible Tourism Award

“Have you already heard?” was the most posed question at !Khwa ttu early in the morning of 12 December  2009. Broad smiles, pats on each others’ shoulders and shared pride of having won the Imvelo Investor in People Award made the round. !Khwa ttu’s first time application had been amid a total of 183 tourism businesses competing in six categories. The motivations for the Investor in People category were judged for their approach to development of human resources and !Khwa ttu was found worthy of  the award.

The criteria the panel of experts considered ranged from the variety of training to opportunities for career development and educational provisions for staff members and their families. The comprehensive training programme for trainee guides, the on-the-job training for adolescents, the after-school care for primary school children, the opportunity for toddlers to attend a nursery school and the HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns offered by !Khwa ttu must have impressed the judges. Among five finalists, which included the Forever Resorts South Africa, Garden Court – Hatfield, Le Franschhoek Hotel and the Sheraton Pretoria Hotel, !Khwa ttu emerged as the winner. 

In a packed hall at the ….. CEO Michael Daiber received the award from Mike Nkosi of the Department of Tourism on World Responsible Tourism Day, 11 November. The award ceremony was a valuable opportunity for Michael to exchange views and network with other representatives of all sorts of tourism establishments, ranging from township tour operators, to heritage sites, game reserves, hotels, lodges and entertainment centres.  The Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (FEDHASA) produced a special Imvelo 2009 Magazine with detailed profiles of all finalists and winners. 

Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), one of !Khwa ttu’s longstanding donors, were the first to congratulate us. Their reassuring words “We are sooooo proud of you!” and “You and your good friends and staff at !Khwa ttu have done a tremendous job!” were greatly appreciated and will certainly have an encouraging effect. For more information on Imvelo:  www.imveloawards.co.za .