At the SATSA Academy, we are reimagining professional development for the tourism industry. By combining classroom learning with flexible online training, we deliver practical, industry-driven skills that fit your goals and schedule.
Whether you’re starting your tourism career or sharpening existing skills, our expert-designed courses cover everything from sustainable tourism and cultural intelligence to digital marketing and customer service. With strong partnerships across government, business, and education, we connect you directly to real-world insights and opportunities.
Join us today and embark on a transformative journey towards success in the world of tourism.
Current Opportunities Available
SATSA & atingi – Empowering Tourism Professionals
SATSA is proud to partner with atingi, a global digital learning platform that offers over 550 free courses, including the eAcademy Tourism & Hospitality Programme with 45 self-paced, web-based modules. Since 2019, more than 1.36 million learners have benefited and over 590,000 certificates have been issued, making atingi a leading provider of accessible, high-quality training.
Through this partnership, we provide powerful, free educational tools to Southern Africa’s tourism workforce—helping professionals, business owners, and aspiring entrepreneurs develop skills that enhance professionalism, sustainability, and employability across the region.
The Tourism & Hospitality Programme enables learners to develop essential skills across key areas, including customer service, sustainable operations, entrepreneurship, and more. Here's a snapshot of what it covers:
- Sector Foundations & Soft Skills - Learn the essentials of tourism and hospitality, including communication, organisational skills, and customer experience.
- Business & Entrepreneurship - Course modules, such as Entrepreneurship for Tourism Business and Foundations of Food & Beverage Business, teach vital business practices tailored for the tourism industry.
- Sustainability & Ethical Tourism - Gain expertise through courses such as Introduction to Green & Clean Tourism, How to Create a Sustainable Tourism Business, and more, ensuring ethical and community-conscious practices
- Specialised Topics - Explore a wide range of focused modules, including Fundamentals of Housekeeping, Quick Start English Vocabulary for Tourism, Soft Skills, Customer Service, Tour Guiding, Energy Efficiency, Waste Management, and human-rights-centred tourism practices.
- Certificates and Credibility - Learners earn PDFs or digital open badges upon course completion—100% free and great for enhancing CVs.
Fair Trade Tourism Digital Learning Hub
Created on behalf of the Roundtable of Human Rights in Tourism, the Fair Trade Tourism Digital Learning Hub offers a free, continually expanding library of resources that make responsible tourism practical and accessible to every business.
The hub is organised into easy-to-navigate categories covering the industry’s most pressing responsible tourism topics. It includes ready-to-use materials as well as a dedicated section featuring Digital Learning Platforms for deeper or more specialised learning.
Designed to break down barriers to professional development, the hub allows you to start learning immediately, share resources with your team, and integrate lessons into your operations at your own pace.
Fair Trade Tourism is actively growing this repository and welcomes partners to contribute open-access materials that strengthen our collective knowledge base.
- Previous Sessions Available for Viewing
Geographic Diversity and Tourism Prosperity in South Africa
13 March 2025
South Africa’s inbound tourism sector continues its steady recovery, currently standing at 81.79% of 2019 levels. While this is an encouraging milestone, it also highlights regional disparities in tourism growth. Some areas are bouncing back faster than others—often due to greater accessibility, stronger marketing efforts, and lower travel costs.
As the industry looks ahead, the need to diversify tourism beyond traditional hotspots has become increasingly urgent. Off-the-beaten-track destinations that offer authentic, value-for-money experiences are capturing growing interest from travellers. However, for these destinations to truly thrive, a more balanced and inclusive approach is required.
Key to achieving this is a stronger emphasis on collaboration across the tourism value chain, strategic infrastructure investment, and enhanced digital marketing efforts that shine a light on lesser-known gems.
Watch how this topic took centre stage in our thought-provoking discussion, bringing together industry leaders to explore how we can collectively drive a more geographically balanced tourism recovery, ensuring that all corners of South Africa benefit from the prosperity that tourism can bring.
LGBTQ+ Training Session One: Embracing Diversity - Understanding LGBTQ+ Inclusivity in Tourism
LGBTQ+ Training Session Two: Capturing the Rainbow Heart
June & July 2024
Facilitated by Michael Gladwin, CEO and Founder of Afrigay Travel and the brainpower behind All Stay (LGBTQ+ sensitivity and awareness training for the travel industry), these sessions cover essential topics on understanding and supporting the LGBTQ+ community and ensuring a welcoming environment for all travellers.
4 April 2024
SATSA's VAT webinar was a vibrant exchange of knowledge, strategies, and experiences that spotlighted the intricacies of VAT within the Inbound Tourism landscape.
Becoming the Giant (Personal Development) Session 1
27 Oct 2023
Small Moves for Monumental Change in 180 Days. Session 1 provides an overview of this transformative course designed to empower you with the skills, insights, and strategies to make lasting changes in both your personal and professional life.
Creating the Future with AI
16 Oct 2023
AI can be a powerful tool to propel your business forward, especially in the tourism industry.
Natalia Rosa showcased current and emerging use cases of AI in travel, explored effective communication with AI, analysed popular AI tools for productivity, and discussed strategies to stay ahead of the game.
To access the resources, please click on the links below:
- Training Partners and Providers
We are proud to introduce you to SATSA's Training Partners. The list is not comprehensive and will be updated regularly, so please visit again soon.
SATSA Members
Eco Training Guides & Guardians
EcoTraining is a world-renowned field guide training provider offering immersive, hands-on courses in the heart of Africa’s wilderness. With a strong focus on conservation and environmental education, EcoTraining equips aspiring guides and nature enthusiasts with the skills and knowledge to become stewards of Africa’s natural heritage.
Giant Workforce Solutions partners with tourism businesses to build guest-obsessed, high-performing teams through practical, on-the-ground training and coaching. Their flagship “30-Day Ultimate Guest Experience Transformation” is designed for lodges, hotels, and frontline service teams that need to strengthen service consistency, reduce customer complaints, and elevate their overall guest experience. Through a combination of customised training, structured on-shift coaching, and measurable performance improvements, Giant helps properties protect their brand promise and boost guest satisfaction, ratings, and repeat business.
For SATSA members, this offering is particularly valuable for strengthening operational excellence, improving service culture, and supporting teams to deliver the level of hospitality expected in Southern Africa’s inbound tourism market. Let me know if you want this shortened, lengthened, or styled to match your Training Academy branding.
Industry Partners
Drum Beat Academy is a leading provider of accredited tourism and hospitality training, empowering individuals with the skills and knowledge to thrive in the industry. From tour guiding to hospitality management, their hands-on approach ensures graduates are well-prepared for successful careers in South Africa’s dynamic tourism sector.
