{"id":664,"date":"2008-12-04T00:36:47","date_gmt":"2008-12-03T22:36:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=664"},"modified":"2008-12-04T02:41:58","modified_gmt":"2008-12-04T00:41:58","slug":"match-is-back-on-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/match-is-back-on-again\/","title":{"rendered":"MATCH is on again!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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At an industry presentation in Cape Town last week, Vivienne Bervoets, Senior Accommodation Manager of the FIFA Accommodation Office, described the publicity surrounding S A Tourism and MATCH as unfortunate, and said that it had damaged MATCH’s marketing.\u00a0 <\/span>She intimated that S A Tourism had wanted to protect the industry’s interests, when it did not wish them to be protected!\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>She indicated in question time that the MATCH accommodation pricing formula was now completely flexible, and that every establishment could set its 2010 pricing at the “fair” level it wishes to.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0This is a major breakthrough for the small accommodation industry, and reflects the power of resistance and critique, which has been expressed in the past two years.\u00a0 <\/span>WhaleTales has been very vocal in its criticism of the MATCH pricing.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>What is odd is that the wording in the MATCH contract regarding pricing has not been amended, and therefore unsuspecting establishments may still use the pricing formula of 2007 rates + 16 %, as specified in the contract.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>No other aspects of the MATCH contract are flexible. Soccer fans wanting to buy tickets for the 2010 World Cup matches are not obligated to buy accommodation via MATCH.\u00a0 <\/span>\"\"<\/a>MATCH and S A Tourism met last week, moderated by Marthinus van Schalkwyk, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism<\/p>\n

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\u00a0 <\/span>Both parties reached a “common understanding”,\u00a0 S A Tourism CEO Moeketsi Mosola said. ” S A Tourism will continue to work with MATCH based on fair pricing and terms in an effort to make the 2010 Soccer World Cup a success.”\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>In the meeting fair accommodation pricing and terms, a transparent tour operator programme, and the implementation of a tourism advisory forum were discussed\u00a0..\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Van Schalkwyk said: “The tourism industry has a very good working relationship with FIFA and MATCH.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>We remain committed as partners to assist MATCH in achieving their target and we will continue to encourage players in the industry to sign up their facilities.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Our working relationship is one of mutual respect and partnership and I would like to encourage all role players to ensure that nothing detracts from this.”\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>No details have been released to the industry as to the specifics of the discussions between MATCH and S A Tourism.<\/span><\/p>\n

S A Tourism resigned its seat on the Advisory Board of MATCH, the FIFA accommodation and ticketing agency, early last month.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Mosola expressed his dissatisfaction with MATCH’s pressure on the pricing of accommodation for 2010.\u00a0 He motivated his organisation’s withdrawal from the Board on the basis of the “unfavourable trading terms placed on local accommodation establishments.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>As we move towards 2010, we want you to know (as the South African tourism industry) that we at S A Tourism are on your side”, Mosola told the delegates at the 7th Annual National Tourism Conference in Johannesburg.\u00a0\u00a0 He added that MATCH should be expected to pay market related prices for accommodation.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>Mosola highlighted that MATCH was using “bullying tactics” to move block bookings made with hotels at the time of the bid announcement across to MATCH, according to TravelHub.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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He said that the threat by MATCH to bring in cruise ships\u00a0for additional\u00a0accommodation, and it stating to FIFA that\u00a0the country was short of accommodation, \u00a0was an unacceptable means of getting tour operators to release their accommodation holdings to MATCH.\u00a0\u00a0 He added that S A Tourism was defending the rights and interests of the tourism industry, and felt that it could communicate more effectively with MATCH from outside its Board than from within.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
The MATCH contract set the 2010 accommodation rates utilising a formula\u00a0of the 2007 rate + 16 %.\u00a0 The inflation rate this year alone is 13 % !\u00a0\u00a0MATCH then adds on\u00a0its 40 % commission fee to this rate.M<\/span><\/span>ATCH has not used the small accommodation industry\u00a0for any previous World Cup event.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 At an industry presentation in Cape Town last week, Vivienne Bervoets, Senior Accommodation Manager of the FIFA Accommodation Office, described the publicity surrounding S A Tourism and MATCH as unfortunate, and said that it had damaged MATCH’s marketing.\u00a0 She intimated that S A Tourism had wanted to protect the industry’s interests, when it did […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[7,3,22,11],"tags":[32367,18,534,23,239,100,563,32389,32368],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t