Standards and Safety

1. The mandate of S & S is to ensure tourist safety and satisfaction with the product through quality assurance and to undertake duties of the Tourism and Hotels Board
   
   • Sets and administers operating standards for all tourism enterprises (regulations)
   • Consists laws and regulations, set to guide and regulate the tourism industry.
   • Tourism and Hotels Act. No 50:01 of the Laws of Malawi is the first principal Act and was first enacted in 1965,
   • Tourism and Hotels (Amendment) Act, 2003 was enacted in order to bring major changes to the Tourism and Hotels Act,
   • Conduct inspection and licensing to tourism enterprises in liaison with the Tourism and Hotels Board (licensing)
   • Classify and grade tourism accommodation units in liaison with THB (star grading)

1. Submission of project proposals to the Dept. of Tourism
2. Production of plans and sketch maps which should be approved by relevant authorities (on our part plans should be scrutinized to make sure that they are line with the Tourism Regulations in respect of room sizes, positioning of facilities etc)
3. Construction and making the unit ready for guest use- (making sure that we provide advice that is based on what is contained in the regulations not our personal tastes and preferences)
4. Application for a licence. (see application form in the tourism regulations).
5. Scheduling of inspection exercise

NB: The necessary permits or licenses such as liquor license, food license, certificate of registration etc are also checked

Classify and grade tourism accommodation units in liaison with THB (star grading)
Under the Act, the Board shall classify and grade hotels by considering the following:
The structure of the buildings, amenities provided, recreational facilities and natural surroundings.
The degree of comfort afforded, the quality of equipment and furnishings
The standard of cleanliness throughout the premises
The manner in which food is stored, prepared, cooked and served Services provided at the unit and the degree of efficiency of staff and management

1. At the expiry of the grace period in the inspection report, units undergo re-inspection exercise to check shortfalls have been rectified.
2. When going, you carry with you a copy of the inspection report for reference.
3. You request the owner/ manager to take you around the unit to check if the shortfalls have been rectified and you either recommend for a license or closure if they fail to rectify shortfalls

Arrive at the reception
All for the manager
Greetings and introductions
Explain purpose of visit and ask if management has done anything towards rectifying the shortfalls.
Whichever the answer, inspectors go round the premises and verify. When there are still shortfalls remaining, the unit is closed down.
If the shortfalls have been rectified, these should be noted down and recommend for a licence