Edition 50: Spring 2010

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is on the horizon, as are towering costs for transportation and accommodation in South Africa. Could inflated prices in the quest of big profits be blinding those in tourism to the long-term damage they are doing to their industry? Matt Phillips thinks so.

From the minute South Africa was awarded the right to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament, the mouths of many of those involved in South African tourism have been watering. The opportunity of a lifetime had arrived, and they were in the perfect place to reap the rewards. Prices could be jacked up and record numbers of tourists would still flood into the country, freely spending their dollars, euros and pounds sterling, before flying home to sing the praises of the remarkable nation of South Africa.  The growth of tourism would be endless and the industry would never be the same again. Easy money. Or so they thought.

In reality, the numbers of tourists flying into South Africa to attend the World Cup are far removed from projected figures. Reports of hyper-inflated hotel and B&B prices, which have risen between 200-300 per cent according to several surveys, along with suspected price collusion among local airlines to drastically hike fares, are two major factors contributing to significantly reduced attendance levels. In an unprecedented development, the English Football Association have even been forced to return a portion of their ticket allocation to FIFA, while sales in Germany and the Netherlands have also fallen well below expected levels. Most of the fans filling the seats at the 64 World Cup matches will now in fact be South Africans.

Not only has the urge to maximise revenue during the month-long tournament hurt ticket sales abroad, but it is also highly plausible that the situation, if not remedied, will impact negatively upon the experience and enjoyment of those who do make the effort to attend the World Cup from overseas. And this is where the real damage to the long-term health of South Africa’s tourism industry could be done. While visitors will undoubtedly be impressed by the truly rich, diverse and exciting experiences that South Africa has to offer, if their encounters do not also represent the excellent value for money that has long been an intrinsic part of South African tourism, the probability of them returning to visit time and again will significantly diminish. It’s these return visits that have the potential to plough ever more money into the economy than one single trip in 2010 could hope to raise, no matter how much it costs.

Satisfied 2010 visitors would be South Africa’s best advertisement, regaling friends, family and colleagues with tales of their rewarding visits, thereby increasing the potential for greater tourism revenue in the long term. Alienate them, and South Africa risks its reputation and with it the future health of its tourism industry. To miss out on the potential opportunities for such long-lasting rewards from the legacy of the World Cup, would be a great tragedy for this African nation as it strives to move forward.