In accordance with its commitment to uphold global standards of quality in tourism education and research, the Department of Tourism Management has been presented a renewal of the TedQual Certification by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) until 2008. This certification was first granted to the Department in 2000, the first in Africa, which has at its core a methodology and high standards with an international scope, to clearly define the quality of tourism education and research.

The audit was conducted under the auspices of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) by Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS), an independent company based in Geneva. Their evaluation was based on 183 different ‘parameters’ including infrastructure, management, curricula, faculty, students, instruction, and the environment (i.e. the society and the industry).

The specific aims of the TedQual Certification System are to:

• establish an international quality assurance model, through voluntary standardization of tourism education and training systems; and
• smooth the way towards greater pedagogic productivity and efficiency in tourism on an international level.

Through this TedQual certification, the University of Pretoria forms part of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Education Council, along with other leading universities worldwide. Resulting from this is the international recognition of the qualifications in tourism management awarded by the University of Pretoria.