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Cape Town - The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Friday called for urgent action to address what it called the crisis in the tourism industry, which is the biggest contributor to the economy of the Western Cape.
"Cosatu believes that an investigation should be put in place that will lead to regulation that protects the long-term interest of the industry," the federation's Western Cape provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich said in a statement.
"The cause of the crisis can be found in the overcharging of international tourists," he said.
The exorbitant prices for wines and crayfish were contributing to visitors feeling ripped off.
"And so the important word of mouth that underlies a tourist destination success is not assisting the SA industry."
The exclusion of workers from the tourism board was another problem and Cosatu would insist that workers' interest be directly represented by a labour representative before funding to support the industry was released.
"We will further call for an independent body to examine the crisis, as the industrial players have been colluding with government at a local level."
This collusion was demonstrated by the Cape Town city council "giving the tourism industry R40m to spend on themselves", he said.
- SAPA
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