MaximsNewsNetwork: SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM UNWTO & 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP

MaximsNewsNetwork: 07 October 2009 - UNWTO: Tourism across southern African is set to be one of the major winners of the 2010 FIFA World Cup next year, as the region's ministers put in plans to capitalize on an event that could draw up to 450,000 overseas visitors.

Tourism across southern African is set to be one of the major winners of the 2010 FIFA World Cup next year, as the regions ministers put in plans to capitalize on an event that could draw up to 450,000 overseas visitors.

Countries could score up to three years worth of revenue just in the 45 days of the tournament, which starts on June 11, according to Walter Mzembi, the minister of tourism for Zimbabwe.




He was speaking as African ministers and representatives attended the United Nations World Tourism Organizations (UNWTO) 18th General Assembly in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana.

Tourism ministers are encouraging World Cup fans to combine watching the tournament with a holiday in Africa, either before or after the event.

Nations that border with South Africa are hoping their tourism industries will benefit from thousands of visitors expected by the organizers of the event, which is being held for the first time on the continent.

The biggest initiative so far has been the Boundless Southern Africa program, it is a trans-frontier conservation area for wildlife, initiated and marketed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the lead up to the games. It includes areas of Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.




SADC is also hoping to roll out a universal visa (univisa) by the end of the year. A common visa framework for the games will allow people to move around the region more freely.

Already 40,000 hotel beds across the continent have been secured by South African agents in the lead up to the event.

FIFA, soccer's ruling body, has highlighted accommodation as one of the major challenges in the run up to the event next year.




A boost in tourism during the World Cup will fuel international arrivals that are continuing to grow. It is the only region that has seen positive growth this year.

International tourism arrivals between January and July 2009 grew by 4.4 percent, according to the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.

South Africas international arrivals grew by less -- 1.9 percent for the same period. In 2008, 9.1 million people visited the country from overseas.

Currently, Africa attracts less than five percent of global tourism. Yet analysts believe it should be a lot more and mega sporting events could boost these numbers.




Since the event in Germany three years ago the FIFA World Cup has become the single biggest communication platform for destination branding.

MaximsNewsNetwork:
News Network for the United Nations and the International Community.
See: http://www.MaximsNews.com.
"GIVING POWER & RESONANCE TO THE VOICE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY"

.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• 2010 FIFA World Cup
• overseas visitors
• Zimbabwe
• Walter Mzembi
• MaximsNews Network
• UNWTO