This Tourism Week. 9 December 2010
Minster’s World Cup Report
One shouldn’t ordinarily do this, but I’ve decided to publish Minister van Schalkwyk’s media statement about the survey into the impact of the World Cup verbatim because I think you’ll want to make up your own mind as to whether or not you agree with the findings.
From my limited perspective of living in Knysna, which hosted the delightful Danish and sour French teams, and really didn’t see too much of a spike in visitor numbers (well, not so much that you got the feeling that the town was full), I wonder if the tournament did anything lasting, or whether it was nothing more than a hell of a party (and we all know what it feels like the morning after a party…).
BEGINS: TOURISM THE BIG WORLD CUP WINNER
Minister launches results of survey on tourism impact of the World Cup
The results of a survey by the National Department of Tourism (NDT) and South African Tourism (SAT) on the impact of the World Cup show without a doubt that the event will have a lasting legacy in terms of the South African tourism industry, Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said today.
Minister van Schalkwyk said in addition to more than 309 000 tourists arriving in South Africa for the primary purpose of attending the World Cup and a R3.6 billion boost to our economy in terms of spend, the survey shows that tourists were extremely satisfied with their experience in the country and would highly recommend the destination to friends and family.
“When South Africa bid to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, our bid represented the hopes of a nation. We hoped that hosting the largest sporting event in the world would showcase to the world our wonderful country, its people, our capabilities and our vision for the future.
“We worked tirelessly for many years across all sectors, from government departments to the private sector and as citizens, to make sure we hosted the best World Cup ever. We planned, invested and implemented our vision in the face of many challenges, of fierce skepticism and sometimes even of outright disbelief that we could deliver on our commitments.
“Six months ago the world watched in awe as the spectacular opening ceremony was broadcast globally from Soweto. For the next four weeks our cities and provinces, our tourism industry and our citizens did us proud. And based on the results of our survey of the tourism impact of the World Cup, I can today say without a doubt that the success of the event will reverberate for many years to come,” Minister van Schalkwyk said.
“The World Cup was never about the hosting of a tournament, but rather about building a legacy for our country and our continent – a legacy in terms of amongst others infrastructure development, economic growth, skills development, job creation, nation building and brand awareness. We as South Africans believed, and the world came to believe with us,” the Minister said.
“The results of this comprehensive study of the impact of the World Cup show us that more than 309 000 foreign tourists (309 554) arrived in South Africa for the primary purpose of attending the World Cup. Of these arrivals, 38% were from our continent, followed by 24% from Europe, 13% from Central and South America and 11% from North America,” Minister van Schalkwyk announced.
He noted that in terms of land arrivals from within the continent, the top three source markets were Mozambique (24 483), Swaziland (19 593) and Botswana (16 387). In terms of air arrivals, the top three markets were Nigeria (4 324), Ghana (3 578) and Kenya (2 089). The top three European source markets were the UK (22 802), the Netherlands (8 741) and Germany (8 596).
The arrivals from the United States topped more than 30 000 (30 175), and we saw more than 12 000 arrivals (12 210) from Australia. In terms of Central and South America, the top three markets were Brazil (14 815), Mexico (9 680) and Argentina (8 757).
“The World Cup also attracted a large number of first time visitors to South Africa, particularly from the Americas (North, Central and South America). A total of 59% of arrivals to South Africa for the World Cup were first time visitors to this country,” Minister van Schalkwyk said.
“Furthermore, the total expenditure in South Africa by tourists who came specifically for the World Cup was more than R3.6 billion. Tourists from Europe contributed almost 25% (R954 million) to this figure, followed by Central and South America (R641.1 million), land arrivals from our continent (R585.2 million) and North America (R555.1 million).
“The overall average spend per tourist was R11 800, which is notably higher than the annual average spend in South Africa in 2008 (R8 400) and 2009 (R9 500). More than 30% of the spend was on shopping, followed by 20% on accommodation, 19% on food and drink, 16% on leisure and 11% on transport,” the Minister said.
Further highlights include:
- The average length of stay by tourists was 10.3 nights, with tourist from Australia staying the longest, followed by those from North America and Europe.
- A total of 79% of tourists stayed in paid accommodation, with 21% staying with friends and family.
- Gauteng, which hosted the majority of the matches, was the most visited province during the event with more than 220 000 (223 039) tourists visiting the province.
- This is followed by the Western Cape with more than 108 000 tourists (108 384) and KwaZulu-Natal with more than 83 000 (83 819).
Minister van Schalkwyk said the tourism industry should be particularly encouraged by the findings on satisfaction levels and continue to take steps to capitalise on this positive effect of the World Cup.
“The survey results show that more than two thirds of the tourists who visited South Africa during the World Cup rated the country as an extremely good host, with a further 29% rating the country as good. More than half of the tourists who had attended other World Cup events in the past also felt that South Africa was a better host than other countries they had experienced.
“Tourists were highly satisfied with their visits, and 72% rated their experience as extremely good. More than 90% of tourists said their experience of the country was better than they had expected before arriving.
“Very importantly, almost 90% (89%) of tourists said they would consider visiting South Africa again in the future, while 96% said they would recommend the country to their friends and relatives. This is an extremely positive vote of confidence in our destination, our capabilities, our facilities and our people,” Minister van Schalkwyk said.
Finally, in terms of brand awareness, the survey shows that globally there has been a significant improvement in South Africa’s brand after the World Cup. Total awareness of South Africa as a leisure destination increased by 9% following the event, and the intention to visit South Africa in the short term increased by a significant 35%.
More than a third of tourists mentioned publicity associated with the World Cup as their first source of awareness of the country, showing the far-reaching impact of the event.
Minister van Schalkwyk said the World Cup was a major milestone in South Africa’s tourism growth and it cemented a foundation for sustained investment and growth in the tourism industry.
“We are very pleased to note from the report that South Africa is indeed enjoying increased international positive exposure directly because of the World Cup. From our latest tourist arrivals figures, released this week, we also see that beyond the World Cup our arrivals are continuing to grow strongly.
“Tourist arrivals from January to September 2010 increased by 16.8% compared to the same nine months in 2009. From January to September 2010 we saw more than 5.9 million (5 944 568) tourist arrivals, compared to about 5 million (5 087 634) last year. Growth for the month of September 2010 was 12.9% compared to September 2009, with a total of more than 650 000 (658 565) tourist arrivals,” Minister van Schalkwyk said.
“I have no doubt that South Africa is reaping the rewards of hosting the Cup. The tournament has positioned South Africa as a viable investment market and the spin-offs of improved perceptions abroad could have a long-lasting impact not only on South Africa and its development but on the continent as a whole,” Minister van Schalkwyk concluded.
Ends
More information: Thandiwe Mathibela thandiwe [at] southafrics [dot] net or on 011 895 3177.
A presentation on the report is available at www.tourism.gov.za (or download the pdf file here).
Heads Up
Mossel Bay’s new advertising campaign ‘Mossel Bay. Do stuff’ is working (one reason: because there’s simply so much stuff to do in the town). What may surprise you, though, is just how many shows and entertainers appear in Mossel Bay over the summer. Check out this media release.
BarefootBookshop: My latest Review
‘Birth: The conspiracy to stop the ’94 Election’ by Peter Harris (288 pages. Soft cover)
You get important books, and you get irritating books, and, once in a while, you get a really important book that really irritates.
Peter Harris’ ‘Birth’ is one such.
… read my full review and buy the book at the BarefootBookshop.
Stumble It!
2 users commented in " Minister’s World Cup Report "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackHi Martin
Its been a while but here is my 2cents.
I would have hoped that the NDT or SAT would have held workshops or information sessions for operators and owners alike to give them a heads up. Making sure that everybody understood that the World Cup was not a Destination but a foundation, a starting point or a booster if you will of what the industry could achieve AFTER the great event. Like you so well put it…If this was one big party, then we may be suffering from the morning after. Not so if we all understood what we want to get from the event.
One of the most important points to note is that the statistics have given us some sort of direction in terms of potential markets and even existing markets that we could still make serious grounds in. Very important is that fact that we had an sharp increase from parts of the world where we usually have only a small amount of people coming through like North America.
Secondly, while there was an improvement on the perceptions that people have of our country, and an overall improvement in the South African brand, what have we done to make sure that we capitalize on this time.We must make sure the improved perception sticks like a leech, and that like the Leech, we “suck” (lack of a better word) these regions for all the tourism traffic they are capable of producing.
If we were indeed in business growth mode we would still be on peoples minds and lips, and not because some poor lady was murdered in one of our townships. We run the risk of missing the boat, not getting on the gravy train…letting go of a HUGE opportunity to get people on our shores…and they are so beautiful, if I can just pop that in there.
Finally the minister said ” Intention to visit South Africa in the short term, increased by a significant 35%,” Eish…Have we made provisions to get that 35% to come yet? if my maths is correct, 35% of 309 554 is 108 000+ visitors extra that we could have in the short term.
Martin it seems I May have more questions than answers but hey, the next few months should be interesting…sorry for the long “comment”
Thanks Zolani – your comments are always welcome, long or not!
Keep asking questions, man – the world was never changed by people who had all the answers
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