Since the introduction of frequent flyer miles (e.g. Voyager miles) in South Africa, the concept has evolved in a number of ways. Currently, loyalty programmes are widely used in the consumer industry. Despite the fact that these programmes have been in place for several years, the South African Revenue Service (hereafter referred to as SARS) has failed to issue any legislation or guidance with regard to the treatment of these miles from an employees’ tax perspective. The fringe benefit implications of frequent flyer miles have been the topic of research both in South Africa and abroad. However, little research has been identified on the tax implications of loyalty programmes. This study re-examined past studies and literature identified on frequent flyer miles and analysed the impact these have on loyalty points earned on personal and corporate credit cards from an employees’ tax perspective. The study also extended past research and investigated loyalty points awarded to employees as an incentive from an employees’ tax perspective. The study had three specific objectives. The first objective was to analyse past research studies, court cases and other literature in order to establish the theoretical construct of this study. Secondly, it compared the treatment of frequent flyer miles earned by, or awarded to, employees in South Africa to the treatment of these in Australia and Canada. The third objective was to analyse the employees’ tax implications of loyalty points earned by, or awarded to, employees in specific scenarios. These scenarios were limited to loyalty points earned by employers on corporate credit cards and which are awarded to employees for personal use; loyalty points earned on personal credit cards as a result of business expenditure incurred by employees; and loyalty points awarded to an employee, as part of a loyalty programme operated by the employer, as an incentive. The concluding argument of this study was that loyalty points earned on corporate or personal credit cards, which are used for the benefit of employees, may be considered not to be taxable and that consequently, no employees’ tax obligation will arise. However, this argument is plagued by uncertainties and it is questionable as to whether this view will be supported by the South African courts and SARS. In the scenario where loyalty points are awarded as an incentive to employees, it may clearly be argued that these should be taxable with the result that an employees’ tax obligation will arise. However, the nature and value of the benefit, as well as the point at which the tax event occurs, may create inequities and is therefore uncertain. All these uncertainties highlight the need for guidance in this area from SARS. AFRIKAANS : Sedert gereelde vlugmyle (bv. Voyager miles) in Suid-Afrika in plek gestel is, het hierdie konsep in verskeie vorms ontwikkel. Vandag word lojaliteitsprogramme algemeen in die verbruikersbedryf gebruik. Ten spyte van die feit dat hierdie programme vir baie jare reeds in plek is, het die Suid-Afrikaanse Inkomstediens (hierna verwys na as SAID) steeds geen wetgewing of leiding uitgereik oor die hantering van hierdie myle uit ’n werknemersbelastingsoogpunt nie. Alhoewel die byvoordeelimplikasies van gereelde vlugmyle die onderwerp was van navorsing in Suid-Afrika sowel as oorsee is min navorsing geïdentifiseer oor die belastingimplikasies van lojaliteitsprogramme. Hierdie studie heroorweeg bestaande studies en literatuur oor gereelde vlugmyle en analiseer die impak daarvan op lojaliteitspunte verdien op persoonlike en sakekredietkaarte uit ’n werknemersbelastingsoogpunt. Die studie sal ook bestaande navorsing uitbrei deur lojaliteitspunte, wat as ’n aansporing aan werknemers gegee word, uit ’n werknemersbelastingsoogpunt te analiseer. Die studie het drie spesifieke oogmerke. In die eerste plek is dit om bestaande navorsingstudies, hofsake en ander literatuur te analiseer om ’n teoretiese basis te vestig. Tweedens is dit om die belastinghantering van gereelde vlugmyle verdien deur of toegeken aan werknemers in Suid-Afrika te vergelyk met die hantering hiervan in Australië en Kanada. Die derde oogmerk is om die werknemersbelastingimplikasies van lojaliteitspunte toegeken aan of verdien deur werknemers in spesifieke scenario’s krities te analiseer. Hierdie scenario’s is beperk tot lojaliteitspunte verdien deur werkgewers op sakekredietkaarte en toegeken aan werknemers vir persoonlike gebruik; lojaliteitspunte verdien deur werknemers weens sake-uitgawes aangegaan op persoonlike kredietkaarte; en lojaliteitspunte, wat deel vorm van ’n lojaliteitsprogram wat deur die werkgewer bedryf word, gegee aan werknemers as ’n aansporingsbonus. Volgens die studie se bevindinge kan daar aangevoer word dat lojaliteitspunte verdien op sake- en persoonlike kredietkaarte vir werknemers se persoonlike gebruik nie belasbaar is nie en gevolglik geen werknemersbelastingverpligting teweeg bring nie. Nietemin gaan hierdie siening gepaard met baie onsekerhede en word bevraagteken of dit deur die Suid-Afrikaanse howe en SAID ondersteun sal word. In die scenario waar lojaliteitspunte aan werknemers as ’n aansporing gegee word, kan dit duidelik aangevoer word dat hierdie voordeel belasbaar is en dus ’n werknemersbelastingverpligting teweegbring. Daar is egter onsekerheid oor die tydstip waarop die voordeel belas moet word, asook die aard en waarde van die belasbare byvoordeel. Hierdie onsekerhede onderstreep die behoefte aan leiding op hierdie onderwerp vanaf SAID. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Taxation / unrestricted

In the latter part of the 20th century chronic diseases, especially cardio vascular-related diseases (CVDs) and Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) seemed to have emerged as substantial problems. This can be seen in the prevalence and the cost of CVDs in South Africa and worldwide. It was predicted that by the year 2030 more people would be dying from CVDs than from Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/Aids). The reasons for the occurrence of CVDs are linked to biological (i.e. hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, insulin resistance, etc), psychological (i.e. emotional stress), and behavioural or lifestyle risk factors. It is known that physical exercise can aid in the treatment of CVDs. Institutions such as the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommended an exercise frequency of three times per week for 20 minutes. According to literature, a third of patients in exercise studies do not comply with their exercise protocol, and after three to six months, 50 percent will drop out of organised training groups. Less than a third of South Africans complied with exercising 30 minutes a day on most days of the week. Thus, there has been much interest among health-care providers to manage exercise compliance. Exercise compliance is a complex construct, and thus in the present study the role that behavioural patterns play was also investigated via psychological behavioural models. The major objectives of the study were the following: <ul> <li> Firstly, to determine if exercise compliance or non-compliance had an influence on shifts measured in the clinical parameters (i.e. blood pressure, blood lipid levels, blood glucose levels, body mass index, body fat percentage and cardiac risk percentage) over time.</li> <li> Secondly, to determine whether there were any correlation between the psychological behavioural models and the exercise compliance of the members over the course of the Best Med/Access Health-Disease Management Programme (BM/AH-DM Programme).</li></ul> In the present study, a retrospective data analysis was done on data collected from Best Med Medical Aid members (n = 400) who participated in a chronic disease management programme for three and a half years. The inclusion criteria for participation on the programme were the presence of one or more of the following CVDs namely: hypercholesterolemia, hypertension and DM. The members’ clinical parameters (height, body weight, body fat percentage, blood pressure, finger-prick non-fasting (random) blood cholesterol level, finger-prick non-fasting (random) blood glucose, sub-maximal V02 fitness test) were measured every three months. After a baseline assessment was done, an exercise programme was given to each member and a norm of exercising twice a week was prescribed. If members adhered to the norm they were considered compliant and if they did not adhere to the norm, they were considered as being non-compliant. Their exercise compliance, and relevant clinical parameters were measured over 30 months, although data analysis was only a reflection of the first 12 months’ data. At the beginning of the BM/AH-DM Programme the members’ Level of Readiness (LOR) to make a lifestyle change was measured via a questionnaire and by the end of the programme they completed an Implicit Theory Scale (ITS) questionnaire. Descriptive statistics (means, standard deviation) were used to determine the entire groups’ compliance, and to divide the group into compliant and noncompliant groups. The T-test or the Mann-Whitney Test (an equivalent nonparametric technique) was applied to determine significant differences between groups. Thus did the clinical parameters measured over time (baseline to 3 months, baseline to 6 months and baseline to 12 months), change more in the compliant than in the non-compliant group? And were there correlations between psychological questionnaires answers and the two exercise groups? The results indicated that the group’s exercise compliance trend decreased drastically over time. Statistical significant decreases were demonstrated in systolic (p = 0.007) and diastolic (p = 0.012) blood pressure, BMI (p = 0.072 and p = 0.0003), cardiac risk percentage (p = 0.003), and body weight (p = 0.003 and p = 0.0000). All of these decreases were seen in the exercise compliant group. There were no statistical correlations between the psychological questionnaires and the exercise groups. Limitations were the quality of the clinical data, the exercise compliance data that deteriorated over time, and the LOR and ITS questionnaires was neither valid nor reliable tools in making predictions regarding exercise behaviour/compliance. For future research it is recommended that measurements of blood pressure and cholesterol be done more thoroughly, and dietary fat intake must be monitored. A valid and reliable cardiac risk tool, LOR and ITS questionnaires must be designed. AFRIKAANS : Die voorkoms en kosteïmplikasies van kroniese siektetoestande in Suid–Afrika en wêreldwyd, het in die laaste gedeelte van die 20ste eeu ‘n wesenlike probleem geword. Kardiovaskulêre (KVS) siektes en tipe 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is veral voorbeelde van sulke siektetoestande. Daar is voorspel dat in die jaar 2030, meer mense wêreldwyd aan KVS sal doodgaan, as aan Menslike Immuniteitsgebrekvirus/Verworwe Immuniteitsgebreksindroom (MIV/Vigs). Die risikofaktore wat met die oorsake van KVS geassosieer word, is die volgende: <ul> <li> Biologiese (met inbegrip van hipertensie, insulienweerstandigheid, hoë bloedcholesteroltellings, ens)</li> <li> Sielkundige (bv emosionele spanning) • Risikofaktore wat verband hou met lewenstyl.</li></ul> Literatuur bevestig dat fisiese oefening help om KVS en diabetes mellitus te behandel. Die American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) het ‘n oefenriglyn van drie maal per week vir 20 minute lank as ‘n minimumfrekwensie daargestel. Volgens literatuur oefen ‘n derde van pasiënte wat deelneem aan oefeningnavorsingsstudies nie volgens die riglyne wat gestel word nie en binne die eerste drie tot ses maande sal 50% van die pasiënte ophou oefen. Navorsing wat op die Suid-Afrikaanse bevolking gedoen is, toon dat minder as ‘n derde 30 minute lank op meeste dae van die week oefen. Dus is die belangstelling van gesondheidsterapeute rakende die bestuur van gereelde oefeningdeelname geprikkel. Gereelde oefeningdeelname sluit ook die rol van gedragspatrone in en dus is sielkundige gedragsmodelle gebruik om dit ook in die huidige studie te ondersoek. Copyright / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2009 / Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences / unrestricted

Arts festivals form a large part of the South African culture originally as many local communities began to share their culture with visitors by means of arts festivals. This has grown into a large industry that has tremendous financial gain for the hosting communities. With over 500 arts festivals each year in South Africa alone, visitors are certain to find a festival to satisfy their specific needs and wants. Therefore, with so many genres available, each festival has created its own niche market and loyal customer base. An extensive literature study was conducted for the purpose of this thesis and it was found that research of small to medium arts festivals has been neglected. This finding motivated the main theme of this research. As mentioned earlier, there are so many genres available that the festival organisers may experience difficulty when deciding what to offer and how many genres to offer in order to still be sustainable and attract a sufficient number of visitors. Furthermore, the large number of arts festivals organised each year makes it increasingly difficult for festivals to build a loyal client base. First-time visitors can be converted into repeat visitors if the marketing strategy is precise. Repeat visitors, as stated in the literature, results in a sustainable income for each festival. Another question that motivated the research was the location of the three arts festivals (Innibos, Vryfees, and Kierieklapper). Three arts festivals in three provinces makes an interesting study to determine whether there is a difference in the three types of visitors that they attract and the spending patterns at each festival. While addressing the problems stated above, this study produced the following three articles: * Article 1: ―Determinants of spending at Vryfees with a focus on genres‖. * Article 2: ―First-time versus repeat visitors at Innibos Arts Festival‖. * Article 3: ―Role of location in the attendance and spending of festinos‖. Article 1 investigates spending determinants that influence visitor expenditure on the different genres offered at the Vryfees Festival in Bloemfontein, based on a survey conducted in 2011. The research is based on the notion that different genres have different spending patterns. Article 2 focuses on the differences and/or similarities between first-time and repeat visitors at the Innibos Arts Festival as an alternative approach to market segmentation. Lastly, the third article focuses on three different arts festivals in three different locations in South Africa. The research was conducted by means of a visitor survey at the three arts festivals during the same year with questionnaires administered at Innibos (428), Vryfees (336), and Kierieklapper (202) respectively. The most significant contributions of this study can be summarised as follows: * the tourist spending behaviour in regards to the difference between first-time and repeat visitors is significant and can be considered an important spending determinant; * the tourist spending behaviour in terms of length of stay between first-time visitors and repeat visitors is significantly different, suggesting that familiarity with the destination (as the repeat visitors are) has an important impact; * different locations attract their own type of tourists and certain locations receive a higher economic injection than other provinces do because of the type of festival held. All three arts festivals attract mainly Afrikaans speaking attendees; and for the first time, a comparative study has been conducted on three arts festivals targeting the Afrikaans speaking community. Additionally, this is the first time a comparative study was conducted on three small to medium arts festivals located in three different provinces; and * the developed spending model described in the last chapter of this thesis can assist the festival organisers with future festival marketing to improve their income and marketing strategy. / PhD (Tourism Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Arts festivals form a large part of the South African culture originally as many local communities began to share their culture with visitors by means of arts festivals. This has grown into a large industry that has tremendous financial gain for the hosting communities. With over 500 arts festivals each year in South Africa alone, visitors are certain to find a festival to satisfy their specific needs and wants. Therefore, with so many genres available, each festival has created its own niche market and loyal customer base. An extensive literature study was conducted for the purpose of this thesis and it was found that research of small to medium arts festivals has been neglected. This finding motivated the main theme of this research. As mentioned earlier, there are so many genres available that the festival organisers may experience difficulty when deciding what to offer and how many genres to offer in order to still be sustainable and attract a sufficient number of visitors. Furthermore, the large number of arts festivals organised each year makes it increasingly difficult for festivals to build a loyal client base. First-time visitors can be converted into repeat visitors if the marketing strategy is precise. Repeat visitors, as stated in the literature, results in a sustainable income for each festival. Another question that motivated the research was the location of the three arts festivals (Innibos, Vryfees, and Kierieklapper). Three arts festivals in three provinces makes an interesting study to determine whether there is a difference in the three types of visitors that they attract and the spending patterns at each festival. While addressing the problems stated above, this study produced the following three articles: * Article 1: ―Determinants of spending at Vryfees with a focus on genres‖. * Article 2: ―First-time versus repeat visitors at Innibos Arts Festival‖. * Article 3: ―Role of location in the attendance and spending of festinos‖. Article 1 investigates spending determinants that influence visitor expenditure on the different genres offered at the Vryfees Festival in Bloemfontein, based on a survey conducted in 2011. The research is based on the notion that different genres have different spending patterns. Article 2 focuses on the differences and/or similarities between first-time and repeat visitors at the Innibos Arts Festival as an alternative approach to market segmentation. Lastly, the third article focuses on three different arts festivals in three different locations in South Africa. The research was conducted by means of a visitor survey at the three arts festivals during the same year with questionnaires administered at Innibos (428), Vryfees (336), and Kierieklapper (202) respectively. The most significant contributions of this study can be summarised as follows: * the tourist spending behaviour in regards to the difference between first-time and repeat visitors is significant and can be considered an important spending determinant; * the tourist spending behaviour in terms of length of stay between first-time visitors and repeat visitors is significantly different, suggesting that familiarity with the destination (as the repeat visitors are) has an important impact; * different locations attract their own type of tourists and certain locations receive a higher economic injection than other provinces do because of the type of festival held. All three arts festivals attract mainly Afrikaans speaking attendees; and for the first time, a comparative study has been conducted on three arts festivals targeting the Afrikaans speaking community. Additionally, this is the first time a comparative study was conducted on three small to medium arts festivals located in three different provinces; and * the developed spending model described in the last chapter of this thesis can assist the festival organisers with future festival marketing to improve their income and marketing strategy. / PhD (Tourism Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014