Tag Archives: Confederations Cup

SA leads World Cup ticket sales

More than 200 000 FIFA 2010 World Cup tickets were sold within the first 24 hours of ticket sales going live on-line last Friday, and the majority were sold to South Africans, reports the Sunday Argus.    This figure excludes applications for tickets via branches of First National Bank.

Ticket applications came from 125 countries, and the highest number of applications, after those from South Africa, were from the UK, the USA, Germany, Brazil, Australia, Japan, Mexico, Canada, Switzerland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Argentina.

The ticket sales are by application, and the successful applicants for the first round of ticket sales until the end of March will be notified in April.

FIFA has expressed its satisfaction with the ticket application response.  It appears less happy with the low level of Confederations Cup ticket sales, given that the Cup will be contested in South Africa in four months from now.

Don’t worry, say tourism bosses

The Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs as well as the CEO of S A Tourism are sending out messages of hope to the tourism industry, given the global credit crunch.

Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk is quoted in TravelHub as follows:   “Our industry is by no means immune to the effects of the international economic crisis, but we are still confident that we will reach our target of 10 million visitors in 2010.    Our country continues to be a value-for-money destination and with international events like the Confederations Cup and World Cup lined up, there will be opportunities in abundance and tourism will retain the important role it plays in our economic growth.”

Tourist arrivals in the first eight months of 2008 showed a 5 % increase, compared to 8 % in the same period a year before.

SA Tourism CEO Moeketsi Mosola urged the tourism industry to not “panic”, even though 2009 will be a challenging year.   He projected tourism growth to reduce to 2 % this year, with hotel bookings already down by 25 – 30 %, reports TravelHub.   “This is a time of opportunity for South Africa to catch up with other destinations. When everybody in the world withdraws (from markets), we must move in,” he said, speaking at a conference in Somerset West.

The first six months of 2009 will be busy, he said, with an Australian cricket tour in February/March; the SAA Open golf championships in February; a British Lions tour in June/July; the Confederations Cup in June; and the elections in April.     Mosola is confident that the 2010 World Cup will the biggest success story ever for South Africa.

FIFA insures 2010 World Cup

FIFA has insured the 2010 and 2014 World Cup events for $ 650 million should they have to be postponed or relocated, reports the Sophia Echo.   This has been standard FIFA practice since 1998.   The insurance policy provides cover against terrorism, natural disasters, epidemics, war, accidents or turmoil.

Following an executive meeting held earlier this week, FIFA announced that preparations for the 2009 Confederations Cup and 2010 World Cup are on track, and that it is confident that the global credit crunch will not  affect the two World Cup events to come.

FIFA’s finances have not been affected by the credit crunch, its investments being diversified, it being largely immune to exchange rate fluctuations, 90 % of its 2007 – 2010 income being under contract, it exercising good cost management and having a diverse porrtfolio of commercial and media partners, said FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke.  

The meeting also decided that the last club matches should be played on 16 May 2010, to protect the players and allow them to rest.  An exception will be the UEFA Champions League final, which is scheduled for 22 May 2010.

Credit crunch creates capital

The global economic crisis may not be such a bad thing for South African tourism after all, given its effect on the Rand exchange rates, and resultant greater affordability as a destination for international tourists.  Domestic tourism too should benefit from the exchange rate volatility, in that locals may switch to local holidays over the festive season, instead of going overseas.

The outlook for 2009 and 2010 is favourable, given the Confederations Cup and British Lions Tour taking place in winter 2009, and the soccer World Cup taking place in winter 2010.  Winter traditionally is a very low income period for the Western Cape in particular.

The past week has seen the US dollar exceed R 10, its weakest ever,  and exchange rates of R 18 to the pound sterling and R 14 to the Euro.   It is the dollar exchange rate volatility that may cost the country a petrol price decrease next month, and also may see an interest rate increase instead of the hoped-for decrease.

The tourism industry appears to be optimistic to date about the effect of the international credit crunch.   Tourism Business Africa quotes Joop Demes of Pam Golding Hospitality as saying that the hotel market grew by 19% in the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year.  Growth is in Gauteng, and particlurly for hotels at OR Thambo airport in Johannesburg.   Revenue per available room has increased by 16 %, and by 19 % for 5-star hotels, and by 25% in Johannesburg.  Demes says that about three-quarters of the country’s 57 000 hotel rooms are booked by locals, driven in particular by the MICE market of conferences and meetings, as well as budget holidays.  

Travel agents are seeing a switch to domestic products. Their international clients are booking accommodation inclusive of meals, as a result of the exchange rate weakening, and are paying more promptly, to avoid further price increases, reports Travel News Weekly.

The credit crunch is also driving locals to game reserves, instead of overseas, says FEDHASA KwaZulu-Natal, as well as to beach hotels in the province.

Southern Sun Hotels is confidently predicting that 2009 will be busier than 2010, not only because of the Confederations Cup and British Lions Tour, but also due to the elections and inauguration of the new President, Soccerex, the Australian and English cricket tours, and the FIFA World Cup Final Draw, which takes place in Cape Town in December 2009, reports Travel News Weekly.   Southern Sun has contracted about 10000 of its rooms to MATCH, the FIFA accommodation agency, and is the single largest accommodation provider for the World Cup 2010.