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accreditation — English
Some form of official recognition that testifies to the fact that a tourist destination, a place, area or terrain meets certain requirements or a certain set of criteria. International bodies like the United Nations Agency for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) or international conventions such as the Ramsar Convention (see “conventions”) may grant a site (be it a place, a terrain or an area) formal status when it meets certain standards. An international accreditation vastly increases the tourism potential of the site and the surrounding area. The importance of the archaeological remains in a cave system such as in the Cradle of Humankind world heritage site, including Zwartkrans, Sterkfontein and Kromdraai caves, meet all the UNESCO criteria for declaring the area a terrain of international importance. This area was duly granted world heritage status. South Africa boasts other world heritage sites, such as the Vredefort Dome (an impact dome caused by a meteorite colliding with the Earth millions of years ago) and the Mapungubwe Hill ancient archaeological site in the northern part of Limpopo. An accreditation such as this implies certain managerial imperatives. Should managerial practices drop to a standard which is beneath the required level, the accreditation might be withdrawn. Recent mining activities adjacent to Mapungubwe world heritage site threatened the site’s integrity and its international accreditation status. The South African government had to step in to regulate the mining activities in order to salvage the international accreditation of Mapungubwe. There are several accreditations from a variety of recognised bodies, but the UNESCO and Ramsar accreditations (see “wetlands”) are probably the most well-known. A lesser known international accreditation is the Blue Flag accreditation granted to beaches with the necessary qualities, facilities, safety services and well-appointed recreation areas. Many South African beaches have already been awarded this status, for instance Marina Beach in KwaZulu-Natal. An international accreditation from any prestigious body is extremely important for any site of natural or cultural importance. Once acquired, all managerial efforts should be directed at retaining international accreditation.
