Study reveals tourism impact in South Africa

Study reveals tourism impact in South Africa

The successful hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ brought a tourism boon to South Africa between June and July of this year and gave the Rainbow Nation a grand new look on the international stage.

It is from this resounding triumph that South Africa aspires to restore a reputation for being a tourist destination of choice to visitors across the globe. According to results from a research study conducted by South African tourism there has been a radical change of mindset from tourists who visited the country during the tournament – most of whom were sceptical about the country before the World Cup because of what they had read in the media about the country before they arrived.

It is this swaying of minds, probably more than any of the other achievements, that will be the legacy of hosting the event. Just over 300,000 tourists visited South Africa to watch the FIFA World Cup, an impressive figure for the country especially during a time when South Africa’s local authorities were worried that the global financial crisis might put off people from travelling to the country.

Amongst other things, the tourism report noted that most people who visited the tip of the Southern African continent are keen to come back and explore the country further as tourists. Nine cities hosted the finals in South Africa, but out of those, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban were the most popular spots for tourists. Johannesburg is the business hub of South Africa, while Cape Town and Durban remain prime tourist destinations. Approximately 90 per cent of tourists who attended the 2010 FIFA World Cup mentioned that they would consider visiting South Africa again in the future and nearly all were willing to recommend the country to their friends and relatives.

According to the report, a total of 309,554 foreign tourists arrived in South Africa for the primary purpose of attending the 2010 FIFA World Cup between June and July and those tourists spent about R3,64 billion during their stay.

The study also revealed that:

* The average person who visited the country during the event spent just over ten nights in South Africa. There were a number of issues contributing to time spent in the country. Some fans returned home after their teams were eliminated and some arrived in South Africa during the event following the success of their teams.
* Out of the places fans visited, Gauteng (Johannesburg, Pretoria), Western Cape (Cape Town) and KwaZulu-Natal (Durban) were the most visited provinces. Shopping and enjoying nightlife were the two most common activities which tourists engaged in, apart from watching the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
* The total awareness of South Africa as a leisure destination increased by nine per cent after the FIFA World Cup. Tourists also found their experience in the country much better than they expected before arriving.
* The 2010 FIFA World Cup did help improve the negative perceptions South Africa has on safety and security issues and as a value-for-money destination.
* Even though the tournament was held in winter, the Fan Parks were a popular choice for many supporters. The most visited Fan Parks were also in Gauteng , KwaZulu-Natal, and Western Cape.
* About five per cent of the 2010 FIFA World Cup tourists indicated that they visited other African countries during their trip to South Africa



In general, more than two-thirds of the tourists who attended the event perceived South Africa as a great host, and more than half who had attended previous FIFA World Cups felt that South Africa was a better host than the countries that hosted the event in the past.

The above statistics are just the beginning of the fruits of a legacy that will continue beyond the year 2010 for the Rainbow Nation.

A tournament of firsts

A tournament of firsts


The 2010 FIFA World Cup™ broke new ground simply by being held on African soil, and with Spain joining the elite club of world champions it delivered two major firsts in the history of the game. Those were the most obvious milestones set at South Africa 2010, but the whole tournament was bursting with unprecedented events in a whole range of areas, from team results to player landmarks. FIFA.com now takes you through a full list of firsts from the global showcase.

Result firsts
Slovenia and Greece both picked up their maiden FIFA World Cup wins in South Africa, with Slovenia downing Algeria 1-0 thanks to a Robert Koren goal and their fellow Europeans seeing off Nigeria 2-1.

Japan also enjoyed a breakthrough win of sorts as their 2-1 victory against Cameroon constituted their first ever FIFA World Cup finals success away from home, eight years after they defeated Tunisia 2-0 in Osaka.

As for New Zealand, their 1-1 opening draw with Slovakia earned them their very first FIFA World Cup point. Having finally opened their account following three straight reverses in 1982, the Kiwis maintained their momentum by securing a 1-1 draw with Italy and a goalless stalemate with Paraguay.

Goal firsts
Dimitrios Salpingidis’s equaliser against Nigeria finally ended Greece’s goal drought at this level, his strike coming after 404 minutes and over four games without a single effort. There was a first for Daniel Agger too, but the Denmark defender would doubtless prefer not to be on this list as his own goal against the Netherlands proved his country’s first on the global stage. In another unwanted precedent, Denmark were also on the receiving end of Japan’s first ever three-goal haul in a FIFA World Cup finals outing.

Adding a further deed to his list of exploits, Didier Drogba became the first African player to score against Brazil in six meetings between A Seleção and teams from the African Zone. Meanwhile, on a slightly more esoteric note, midfielder Michael Bradley became the first FIFA World Cup scorer to be coached by his father when he equalised for the United States in their 2-2 draw with Slovenia.

Penalty firsts
Vladimir Stojkovic can pride himself on being the first Serbian goalkeeper to have kept out a penalty at a FIFA World Cup courtesy of his save to deny Germany’s Lukas Podolski. In contrast, David Villa became the first Spanish player to miss a spot-kick in the tournament when he failed to register against Honduras.

The new world champions can nonetheless lay claim to a more desirable landmark as Iker Casillas became the first goalkeeper to stop penalties in two different FIFA World Cups. The Real Madrid No1 first thwarted the Republic of Ireland’s Ian Harte at Korea/Japan 2002 before frustrating Oscar Cardozo of Paraguay in the quarter-finals.

Mirroring that feat, Asamoah Gyan entered the history books as the first player to miss spot-kicks in separate editions of the competition, following up his failed effort against the Czech Republic at Germany 2006 with another fruitless attempt against Uruguay in the last eight.

Player firsts
Cuauhtemoc Blanco can now boast that he is the only Mexican international to have scored in three different FIFA World Cup final tournaments, having added South Africa 2010 to his list by finding the target against France. Rigobert Song did not register for Cameroon, on the other hand, but he nonetheless returned home with a record as the first African player to have appeared in four FIFA World Cups.

Somewhat less distinguished, Nigeria’s Sani Keita and Switzerland’s Valon Behrami became the first players from their countries to collect red cards at the finals when they were dismissed against Greece and Chile respectively.

Progress firsts
Paraguay reached the quarter-finals for the first time in their history at South Africa 2010, experiencing a joy not shared by Italy, who exited the tournament without a single win to their name.

As for South Africa, they became the first FIFA World Cup host nation to be eliminated at the end of the group stage.

Team firsts
Chile’s pair of 1-0 successes against Honduras and Switzerland were their maiden FIFA World Cup triumphs outside South America, La Roja having only previously secured wins at Uruguay 1930, Brazil 1950 and Chile 1962.

Algeria’s achievement was to record their first clean sheet in the global arena as they clinched a goalless draw with no less a team than England, while Paraguay topped their group for the first time. Better still, the Netherlands managed a feat beyond all previous Oranje sides by winning each of their three group games.

Lastly, the quarter-final line-up proved unprecedented with South American teams outnumbering their European counterparts by four to three, but the Old Continent came out on top in the end as Spain lifted the Trophy for the very first time.

Royal Bafokeng Stadium

Royal Bafokeng Stadium

The Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace is one of the stadiums for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. The stadium is named after the Bafokeng people who live in the area.

In 1999, the Bafokeng won a legal battle, which entitled them to 20% on the platinum which is mined on their historical land. Hence, they have shares in platinum mining in the area. Upon completion, the stadium will seat 42,000.

The South African national team played a FIFA World Cup qualifying game against Bakino Faso in 2001, and won 2-1. It has been host to many Premier Soccer League games despite Rustenburg not having its own team.

The stadium is only a 25 minute drive to Sun City and 30 minutes to the Pilansberg. It is 12 kilometers from the Rustenburg city centre.