| Tourism industry gearing up for WC 09/03/2010 |
2/3 of South African tourism businesses are polishing up their service in preparation for the influx of 2010 fans, SA Tourism said. According to a Tourism Update Online poll, 70% of related businesses were excited and looking forward to the 2010 World Cup. The Citizen reports that despite a third of tourism business saying South Africa would not be ready for the influx of tourists on time, and that it was nothing but a ’load of hype’, the poll found 64% of businesses were working on improving their services.
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Full report in The Citizen
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| Investigation into price hiking 05/03/2010 |
Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk has commissioned Grant Thornton to investigate allegations that some accommodation providers are hiking prices excessively for the 2010 World Cup. Van Schalkwyk said: ’Until now our impression has been that this is not the case, but we believe it should be investigated and the results made public.’ The results are expected on the 26th of March.
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Full Skills Portal report
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| Visitor arrivals hits record 05/03/2010 |
South African tourism defied global trends and posted a 3.6% increase in arrivals last year, with a record 9.9m foreigners visiting the country, said the tourism minister said. Globally, international arrivals fell by 4% last year, according to the UN World Tourism Organisation, notes a report on the iafrica.com site. While fewer tourists from Europe and North America visited South Africa last year, arrivals from Asia, South America and the rest of Africa were up, tourism minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said in a statement. ’Our status as the 2010 World Cup host nation has, undoubtedly, played its part in arrivals growth to our destination,’ he added.
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Full iafrica.com report
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| Tourism industry to cash in 04/03/2010 |
The South African tourism industry is standing in wait to cash in on the 2010 World Cup, notes a report on the allAfrica.com site. Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said the tournament, which kicks off in less than 100 days, would help to push up the number of tourists visiting the country to 10 million this year. While the global tourism industry shrank 4 percent last year as a result of the global financial crisis, South Africa still ended up in positive territory, said Van Schalkwyk.
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Full allAfrica.com report
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| Major incentives for WC players 03/03/2010 |
Players of the Spain’s national team will each get a bonus of R5,7m if they win the 2010 World. The Sowetan reports that the bonus, which is more than double the R3,09m that each member of the Spain squad that won the Euro 2008 championship collected, will be discussed over the coming days between the players and Spain’s football federation. Spain are considered to be one of the favourites to win the 2010 World Cup along with Brazil and England.
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Full report in The Sowetan
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| Kruger Park releases 2010 accommodation - 03/03/2010 |
There’s good news for bush-loving travellers who’ve struggled to get a booking in the Kruger National Park over the long school holidays. South African National Parks (SANParks) has announced that some camps block-booked to MATCH, the accommodation partner for the 2010 World Cup, will be open for public bookings from 4 March.
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Full report on the iafrica.com site
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| No WC joy for Kruger - 03/03/2010 |
Only about 10 percent of the accommodation that is available in the Kruger National Park has been booked by 2010 World Cup accommodation agent Match, notes a report in the iafrica.com site. So far they had about 50 bookings, through Match, in Skukuza and 16 bookings in three other camps. Sanparks agreed to have 30 percent of its inventory marketed for the World Cup through official FIFA ticketing and accommodation agents. ’There were to be specific release periods if the inventory was not sold on time by Match,’ Phillips said.
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Full iafrica.com report
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| Airlines won’t rip tourists off - 02/03/2010 |
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe has assured visitors that they will not be ripped off by airline companies during the 2010 World Cup. ’There will be no ripping off by increasing airfares,’ said at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium after touring the facility with FIFA president Sepp Blatter, LOC chairperson Irvin Khoza and KwaZulu-Natal Premier Dr Zweli Mkhize. According to a News24 report, Motlanthe said that although prices were determined by the airline companies, he believed that people would not be ripped off. His comment followed concerns that some airline companies were inflating prices in a ’get rich quick’ scheme.
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Full News 24 report
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| Working together towards the WC 01/03/2010 |
The Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) has reached an agreement with South African tour operators to help promote Tanzania attractions during 2010 World Cup, notes a report on the allAfrica.com site. TTB director of marketing Amant Macha, thanked the SA tour companies for accepting to work together with TTB in promoting Tanzania’s tourist sites. Macha said some airlines have also agreed to reduce air fairs to and from South Africa in order to enable many Tanzanians and South Africans to travel between the two countries at affordable fare.
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Full report on the allAfrica.com site
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| Africa’s largest ’accommodation hub’- 01/03/2010 |
The University of Cape Town (UCT) said it would become Africa’s largest ’accommodation hub’ when it opens its doors to 2010 World Cup fans. It said that from June 9 its residences would become a home-from-home for thousands of visitors to the Mother City. The Star reports that the head of UCT’s 2010 task team, John Simpson, said UCT and its huge residence infrastructure were ideally placed for fans. Guests would have access to the university’s extensive shuttle system.
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Full The Star report
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| Floating hotels for Durban - 01/03/2010 |
The main port of call for two luxury ’floating hotels’ which will bring tourists from around the globe for the FIFA World Cup spectacular will be Durban, notes a News24 report. At a special media tour on board the MS Amsterdam, which is similar to the MS Westerdam and MS Noordam which are charted for the event, Werner von Moltke, founder of One Ocean Club (OOC) said that Durban with its ’superb winter climate’ was the place to be during the World Cup.
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Full News24 report
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| Locals urged to lure visitors back to SA 01/03/2010 |
While Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile has warned there is still some way to go before the Eastern Cape is ready to host the 2010 World Cup, he has given residents practical advice to entice visitors back traditional meals like ’walkie talkies’ (chicken heads and legs). Speaking at the provincial 2010 World Cup Summit in East London, Stofile said: ’Locals must entice these people and benefit, but let us not exploit them.. The Herald reports that he encouraged residents to provide visitors with traditional dishes like ’smileys’ (sheep’s heads), ’walkie talkies’ and offal, saying: ’They will not care about rice - they can get that anywhere.’
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Full report in The Herald
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| University lends beds for WC 28/02/2010 |
2010 World Cup accommodation blues may now be a thing of the past in Port Elizabeth as the local university has chipped in to offer beds on campus. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University spokesperson Roslyn Baatjies says nearly 1800 beds on campus had been booked out. Sunday World reports that most of these beds will be used by the South African Police Service. Police will be brought from Eastern Cape prior to the start of the first match to assist with security until the end of the tournament.
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Full Sunday World report
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| 73% rooms booked for WC - 25/02/2010 |
Nearly three-quarters of the hotel rooms marketed by for the 2010 World Cup in have been booked, organisers said. FIN24 reports that Match says 73% of their rooms have been reserved, with just over 100 days until the competition, said Irvin Khoza, chairperson of the LOC. ’The report we received from Match is satisfying,’ Khoza told a news conference. Match reached deals with hotels across South Africa to market 48 000 rooms during the 2010 World Cup.
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Full FIN24 report
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| Pricing still competitive 24/02/2010 |
The Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) has released a statement asserting that South Africa is ready to host the 2010 World Cup and refuting media reports that suggest tourism products and services are over-priced ahead of the tournament. The TBCSA addressed the issue of price gouging, the practice of unfairly raising prices for the duration of an event, in a press conference in Sandton on February 23, saying that the majority of South African businesses will be responsible in their pricing. ’We are in the business of pursuing profit, but we will do so with a conscience,’ said Mmatati Marobe, CEO of TBCSA.
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Full TBCSA report
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| Zimbabwe hoping to cash in on WC 24/02/2010 |
Zimbabwe’s ailing tourist industry is hoping to restore its health by luring South African holidaymakers eager to escape the football madness of the 2010 World Cup. The Times reports that the world famous Victoria Falls and rich game parks once made Zimbabwe among Africa’s top holiday destinations. Over the last year, Zimbabwe has begun clawing its back toward normality, abandoning the local currency left worthless by galloping hyperinflation and forming a unity government that has curbed the political violence.
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Full report in The Times
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| Cruising the WC in the lap of luxury - 24/02/2010 |
Super-rich soccer fans staying on five-star floating hotels during the 2010 World Cup will have everything Cape Town has to offer and more. According to a report on the IoL site, the two luxury cruise ships expected to dock here for the 2010 World Cup offer tourists everything from spas to sports activities, wine cellars, shops, libraries and a casino. The MS Amsterdam, a five-star floating hotel similar to those that will dock in Cape Town during the tournament, arrived in the city.
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Full report on the IoL site
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| The WC will be safe - 22/02/2010 |
South Africa’s top cop said on Monday that 2010 World Cup fans will be safe and the country will be safer because of the work his force has done to prepare for the tournament. In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, National Commissioner Bheki Cele said the 2010 World Cup’s legacy for police has meant new equipment for his force and training for his officers with experts from Britain, France, Germany, the United States and elsewhere.
The question is, `Will people be safe in South Africa?’, Cele said Monday.
’Starting on the 11th of June, people will be safe in South Africa.’
Cele said nothing he can say will be as persuasive as what World Cup fans will experience. He is determined that they go home telling a South African success story. South Africa’s crime rate, among the highest in the world, has been a concern since it won the bid to become the first African host of the 2010 World Cup.
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Full News24 report
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| 2010 World Cup visas from March 22/02/2010 |
The South African Consulate General says all arrangements are in place to host the upcoming 2010 World Cup and that it will start issuing special visas come March, notes a TNT report. ’Requests for visas, accompanied by the World Cup tickets, will be considered within five working days from the date of application’, South African Consul General Mahdi Basadien told a meeting of travel agents and media at the Westin Jeddah. Matches for the 2010 World Cup will be played at stadiums in South Africa from June 11 till July 11. Tickets are already available online.
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Full TNT report
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| PE frustrated about 2010 ticket sales 21/02/2010 |
Frustrated Port Elizabeth tourism officials say FIFA’s secrecy surrounding ticket sales for the 2010 World Cup matches in the city is adversely affecting plans for the event. Sunday World reports that the best news so far from FIFA was that the England versus Slovenia game on June 23 was sold out, according to Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism (NMBT) official Erenel Louw. ’However, even judging from this figure it is still impossible to calculate the total number of tourists expected here. You could calculate an average of how many friends or family are expected to come along with each ticket-holder’, he said.
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Full Sunday World report
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| The Taj Cape Town gears for opening 20/02/2010 |
A well-known Indian hotel group and airline will soon begin business in South Africa.
The Taj Cape Town, part of the Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, will open its doors at the beginning of March, and Jet Airways will begin flights between Johannesburg and Mumbai from April 14. The Times reports that Nikos Kardassis, Jet Airways’ CE, said they were delighted to be entering Africa with a daily Mumbai-Johannesburg service. ’South Africa’s reputation as a leading tourist and business destination and the fact that it will play host to the 2010 World Cup also present a huge opportunity for Jet Airways,’ said Kardassis.
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Full report in The Times
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| Accommodation campaign picks up 18/02/2010 |
Despite relatively slow accommodation bookings across the board for the 2010 World Cup to date, Seeff Sandton’s Rentals Manager, Alisha Paterson, says she remains upbeat about the money-making prospects for home-owners. To say that the response to Seeff’s joint venture with Gary Bailey and the press campaign around letting out homes for 2010 World Cup accommodation was overwhelming is an understatement. Real Estate Web reports that Seeff Sandton put a specialised team together to focus on the 2010 campaign.
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Full Real Estate Web report
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| Google trikes make their way around SA 17/02/2010 |
The Google Street View Trikes arrived in South Africa in November last year, when they started collecting imagery of historic landmarks; heritage sites; scenic panoramas; and sports venues around the country. Google teamed up with South African Tourism to compile a list of 20 special locations on which the public voted. Given the global excitement building around the 2010 World Cup, the latest destinations that the three-wheeled, pedal-powered Trikes have visited include some of the new football stadiums.
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Full Media Update report
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| Zimbabwe targets 30 % of WC tourists 17/02/2010 |
Zimbabwe is targeting 30% of the 330 000 tourists expected to come to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup, seeking to use the global soccer showpiece to rebrand the country’s image, notes a report on the allAfrica.com site. Addressing journalists during the Ai Pan African Tourism Infrastructure Investment Summit, Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Walter Mzembi said Government and the private sector were working on extension visits to promote the Victoria Falls during the 2010 World Cup.
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Full all Africa report
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| Zimbabwe arrests reporter on WC assignment - 17/02/2010 |
Zimbabwe’s security agencies are thwarting attempts to boost tourism to the cash-strapped country during the 2010 World Cup in neighbouring South Africa, a government minister complained. The Times reports that Zimbabwe’s Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi told journalists he was ’extremely concerned’ after a Mexican journalist, who had been specially accredited by authorities to make a documentary on tourist sites in southern Zimbabwe, was wrongfully arrested. Mexico is one of the 32 teams participating in the tournament.
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Full report in The Times
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| Tent City for the WC in Joburg 17/02/2010 |
The City of Johannesburg is expecting thousands of fans to flock to the city during the 2010 World Cup, hence the introduction of Tent City in Waverly Park, in Joburg which is set to house 2010 World Cup visitors The four to six sleeper tents are set to cost an estimated R530 per night and already have bookings from Brazil and Australia. The tents are equipped with single beds lockers heaters portable chemical toilets and mobile showers. Tent consultant Barry Mackay says tent city will be able to accommodate over 1 400 people and 200 people will be able to pitch their own tents for about R300
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Full YFM Blog report
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| 2010 ’in tents’ experience - 16/02/2010 |
Fancy making that once-in-a-lifetime trip to South Africa for the football this summer, but don’t fancy leaving your wallet open to the 400 per cent hike in hotel prices that has been reported across the host country in the build up to this summer’s World Cup? The Daily Mail reports that there is always the cheaper option of a few nights sleeping outdoors, staring at the stars and listening to the whisper of the wind in the trees with just 1500 others. Such will be the possibility available to the more price-conscious football fan when a vast campsite appears in Johannesburg in time for this summer’s big sporting event.
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Full Daily Mail report
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