Zifa, seeking to capitalise on the 2010 WC show, are expected to get a major insight into how they could benefit from SA’s staging of the global soccer showcase when they attend a high-profile seminar on the tournament in Polokwane. According to an allAfrica.com report, "there has been huge interest among Southern African countries on the World Cup since SA won the right to become the first African nation to host the event. The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, who are also hoping to reap some rewards from the invasion of Southern Africa by the football fans during the World Cup, have been working closely with their South African counter- parts to establish ways of cashing in on the imminent tourist boom."
Specialised 2010 training for airport staff - 24/07/2006
Staff at Johannesburg International Airport are to receive skills training to improve customer service levels in preparation for the 2010 WC. Accordimg to a report on the iafrica.com site, "the Airports Company of SA (Acsa) has already made R3.5bn available for infrastructure investment in preparation of SA’s hosting of the Cup. This will go towards the upgrading of the Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban international airports. Acsa said it was working hard to ensure that service levels at the airports matched or exceeded the standards set by the best airports in the world."
The figures are certainly impressive. According to Statistics SA, the country’s tourism industry has experienced growth of over 100% since the demise of apartheid in 1994. According to a report on the iafrica.com site, "the number of international visitors has increased from 3.6m to 7.3m by 2005. But in a country struggling to overcome the effects of apartheid, these figures do not necessarily add up to a success story. As preparations for hosting the 2010 WC get underway in earnest in SA, the country’s tourism industry is likely to face even more scrutiny."
The first WC to be hosted in Africa will provide an unparalleled business opportunity in four years time, organisers of SA 2010 said at a presentation of their wares. According to a Mail & Guardian Online report, "up to five million tourists are expected to flood into SA for the month-long jamboree and the government has committed a R375bn development package to the project."
Billions to see SA documentary at 2006 WC final - 07/07/2006
A mini-documentary will put SA on centre stage during the 2006 Fifa WC final between France and Italy on July 9, SA tourism said. According to a report on the News24 site, "the two-minute production will be screened on giant television screens in Berlins Olympiastadion during half-time and is destination SAs official entrée into the homes, hearts and minds of people the world over."
Controversial crime Web site comes under fire - 07/07/2006
Major investment, tourism, security and football roleplayers have slammed a Web site launched to give international tourists "a preview of death and violence" before the 2010 soccer World Cup in SA. The Cape Argus reports that "the site, Crime Expo SA, lets South Africans affected by crime post pictures of murder scenes and comments. It also features critical press statements and claims gruesome reasons for tourists not to visit the country."
Ghana boosts tourism potential with impressive WC performance - 29/06/2006
Ghana crashed out of the WC in Germany on its maiden appearance much earlier than its vociferous football fans and countrymen had wished. The 0-3 loss to mighty Brazil and defending champions in the second round ended their WC dreams and broke hundreds of thousands of hearts. However, authorities in the West African country are celebrating one important victory: They believe the WC has put Ghana on the world tourism map, a potential gold mine which President John Agyekum Kufour said must be tapped.
Zimbabwe, widely shunned by international tourists on security grounds, has unveiled plans to capitalise on SAs hosting of the 2010 WC to lure football fans to the country. Zimbabwes tourism industry has gradually collapsed in the last five years after major Western markets warned citizens against travelling to the country over perceived political instability.
A golden chance to put SA tourism on the map - 27/06/2006
The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) will unveil a new marketing package to entice tourists into the country ahead of the WC football tournament to be held in SA in 2010. ZTA marketing and communications director Givemore Chidzidzi said that the global sporting showcase was a golden chance for the tourism sector in the Southern African Development Community.
Grab 2010 WC opportunities now - Shilowa - 26/06/2006
Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa has urged small businesses to snap up opportunities presented by the 2010 Soccer WC now and not wait until it is too late. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly those in the tourism sector, are concerned that they might not benefit from the event. The WC is expected to contribute R21bn to the economy, create more than 15 0000 jobs and generate about R7bn in taxes.
Anti-crime campaign may scare 2010 visitors - 22/06/2006
A proposed international anti-crime campaign designed to embarrass SA and scare off potential tourists has been condemned by the government as being a scare tactic. The Web page, www.crimebarometersouthafrica.co.za will go online on July 4 and aims to scare soccer fans planning to visit SA for the 2010 Fifa Soccer WC by giving them a preview of the crime.
Kenya well on track with 2010 preparations - 20/06/2006
An innovative insurance company has started a savings package that allows Kenyans to save towards tickets and accommodation for the 2010 WC in SA. The organising committee is already selling tickets online. The stadiums are ready, and the audience, globally, is feasting their football appetites on the current WC, with an eye on the next one.
Visitors to Cape Town during the 2010 soccer WC could enjoy a ride on a new funicular railway to the summit of Signal Hill from a base station at the top of Strand Street. There they could enjoy the spectacular views over the city, V&A Waterfront, Table Bay and the new stadium complex on Green Point Common before enjoying a meal at a new restaurant built into the hillside that doesnt detract from the familiar outline of Signal Hill.
His Majesty King Mswati III has appointed a team of four ministers to formulate a programme that will look into the projects to benefit the country’s tourism and business sector in the 2010 World Cup projects. In an interview conducted after the Opening Ceremony of this year’s Inter-Twinning Municipal Games held in Nelspruit, Minister of Housing and Urban Development Mabili Dlamini said the King had expressed his desire to see the country benefit in this event.
Conference geared towards 2010 roleplayers - 29/05/2006
A conference is underway to ensure that municipalities are able to contribute to the successful hosting of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. The conference has also given other role-players, especially business, a chance to seize opportunities during preparations for the tournament and beyond, for which government will be spending over R400bn.
The SA Police Services (SAPS) are already starting to gear up for the 2010 soccer World Cup, said Durban SAPS Director Bala Naidoo. By 2009, there would be almost 185 000 police officers in the country, he said. We have already started preparing the security plan; not only the stadium protection but also the route protection, he said.
New cashless 2010 World Cup concept to be launched - 05/05/2006
A new concept using cellphone technology to facilitate purchases by customers at hotels will be launched this month, Fedhasa chairperson Brett Dungan explains. What about a cashless World Cup in 2010 in SA. A new concept which will be launched at the World Tours Meeting this month, using cellphone technology to facilitate purchases by customers at hotels.
Cape Town investors to launch proudly Mitchells Plain initiative - 25/04/2006
While most of Cape Town’s investors concentrate on the 2010 World Cup tourism boom, two Mitchell’s Plain entrepreneurs are determined to get Mitchell’s Plain on the international tourism map with a funky new programme – Destination Mitchell’s Plain Ernest Sonnenberg and Mr Cyril Williams, the programme’s executives, plan to draw tourists to the area through a proudly Mitchell’s Plain initiative with all the ingredients of a Cape coloured feast.
SA hotels prepare for huge influx in 2010 - 24/04/2006
Brett Dungan has lost R800 000 to fraud in the seven years that he has owned his hotel. Now, he is trying to do something about it. He plans to allow hotel patrons to have their credit cards processed through a cellphone rather than a card machine. Its aim is to increase security and customers across the country by 2010 and to ensure that SA hotels can safely handle the huge influx of visitors for the World Cup.
Tourist guides are learning foreign languages - 24/04/2006
Tourist guides in Mpumalanga are being trained to speak foreign languages and will be ready by the time South Africa hosts the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Provincial economic development and planning MEC William Lubisi told a meeting of the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (Fedhasa) that receptionists, petrol attendants, taxi drivers and other front line representatives should also be prepared for the soccer showpiece.
Four brand new hotels will be built at the V&A Waterfront in response to the growth in tourism to Cape Town and the hosting of the 2010 soccer World Cup in SA. Two of the hotels will be three-star hotels, aimed at the domestic market.
Smaller tour operators eager to benefit from 2010 - 12/04/2006
Government is to set up talks between large tour operators and their smaller counterparts ahead of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. This is to ensure smaller tour operators benefit from the event. Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said there was a need to bring the smaller operators together to discuss short- and long-term assistance programmes.
New stadium will increase international tourism - 03/04/2006
The proposed 65 000 seater stadium at the site of the Metropolitan Golf Course in Mouille Point has the potential to significantly increase international tourism, attracting further world class events more consistently to Cape Town, boosting the economy along with local house prices. Barak Geffen, Executive Director of Sothebys International Realty SA, feels that locals are unduly worried about the proposed development and should focus on the bigger macro-economic benefits of the project.
Innovative solutions are needed for a projected shortage of up to 180 000 tourist beds for the soccer World Cup in 2010 to be hosted in South Africa, Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Tuesday. Without major public and private interventions, there could be between 160 000 and 180 000 beds short of the demand.
SADC to use World Cup to promote tourism - 22/7/2005
SADC to use World Cup to promote tourism
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) are preparing to use the World Cup to be held in SA in 2010 to promote the tourism in the region. Tourism authorities of Mozambique, SA, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Swaziland are working together to assess joint strategies in the area of infrastructures in the view of expected thousands of visitors to the region during the tournament. According to Mozambican Tourism Minister Fernando Sumbana, the assessment work is being undertaken by a recently created inter-ministerial committee that was charged with the task of identifying and promoting tourism projects in the eight countries involved in the initiative.
