The Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, has acknowledged the concerns the small accommodation sector has regarding the MATCH rates and the cancellation policy for the 2010 World Cup.   

Business Report reported as follows on 8 July:

“Onerous conditions imposed by Match, the Fifa agency tasked with securing 55000 rooms for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, remained a problem for small hotel operators, Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said this week. 

The minister said that with more than a 100 000 graded rooms in SA, the country had more than enough accommodation for next year’s tournament, but many small operators were reluctant to sign over their stock to Match as they were unhappy with the contract conditions. 

“The industry has raised concerns about the price level offered by Match as well as its escape clause,” Van Schalkwyk said in an interview. 

“Many feel they can do better by holding on to their rooms. While we will continue to work with Fifa and Match to secure enough rooms, it is a free market, and we as government cannot interfere.” 

Addressing Fifa president Sepp Blatter’s concerns about the lack of available rooms in Bloemfontein, the minister said it was not a shortage of hotel rooms but rather a transport problem. 

“We realised that we could not approach private sector players to build hotels where there would be no demand beyond 2010. 

“So we had to come up with a way of transporting fans to the host cities, and the focus is on making sure we have the transport infrastructure in place for next year.”

The Whale Cottage Portfolio has expressed its concerns about MATCH and its unsuitable contract as far as Small Accommodation establishments go from the time that MATCH started doing industry presentations more than two years ago.

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com