The 2010 Soccer World Cup has made Johannesburg the centre of the tournament, with many of the final being played there as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. Johannesburg is not known as a tourist hot spot, but is known for it's business and expensive shops and wealthy residents.
Although with the main events occurring there, the city is starting to sell itself as a tourist friendly metropol and is boosting the attractions and revamping the overall perception of the city with demand from all over the world to have tour groups for the area.
In the article below, Business Day explores the options available for tourists in Johannesburg at the moment and what is expected when 2010 kicks off. Use the navigation link to view various articles on 2010 Soccer World Cup on CBN's website as well as business related articles.
Putting Jo’burg on World Cup tourist map
Business Day
Johannesburg may not be regarded as a must-see destination for tourists, but as a 2010 Soccer World Cup host venue, many of the city’s attractions are likely to have an unprecedented number of visitors next year.
About 450000 soccer fans are expected in SA for the duration of the World Cup and a large percentage will pass through the city at some point.
“Most people will be travelling through OR Tambo International Airport and Johannesburg is a major host city. We expect a large number of the 2010 visitors will spend at least a couple of days in Johannesburg and will be looking for something to do when they are not watching the games,” says Sugen Pillay, global manager of events at SA Tourism.
Inquiries about Johannesburg’s attractions are already streaming in . “We are already getting e-mails from tour operators wanting to book groups of 400- 500 people at a time. We are expecting to be extremely busy for the World Cup,” says Noelene Patel, operations manager at the Apartheid Museum .
The museum has had a taste of what is to come with visitor numbers swelling to more than 1000 a day during the recent Confederations Cup and British and Irish Lions rugby tour.
Patel believes the museum is one of the city’s top attractions and is often added to a day tour of Soweto. “We normally see about 500-600 people pass through our doors each day. Next year we expect to see that number reaching more than 1000 visitors a day.”
The museum is to open a new bookshop and 200-seat restaurant next month to accommodate a greater number of tourists.
Tony Rubin, MD of Maropeng, which includes the Sterkfontein caves northwest of the city, also expects a significant increase . “We are anticipating a 20%-25% increase over the World Cup.” An average of 23000-25000 people visit the sites each month.
Maropeng also benefited from the recent sport bonanza. “During May and June we had a 46% increase. It is not clear to what extent the fans … contributed to the growth but it certainly played a big role,” says Rubin.
Even the less obvious attractions are expecting to welcome 2010 visitors. “We are planning to focus some of our events around the soccer,” says Jacques Michau of the Everard Read gallery.
The gallery is putting the finishing touches to its new and intriguing, ellipse-shaped gallery space in Rosebank.
“We are hoping to create an art precinct, joining the old gallery space with the new,” says Michau. The new gallery, due in November, will also have a coffee shop, a first for the Everard Read.
Sharon Peetz, conventions and event manager at the Johannesburg Tourism Company (JTC), says the agency has already begun a vigorous online marketing campaign ahead of the World Cup.
“For now we are focusing on the internet because that is where people will go when they plan their trip. As we draw closer to the event we will move into printed literature, which we will distribute in several languages,” says Peetz.
The agency will launch a loyalty card in October, the Jozi Card. “We have partnered with about 60 service providers (for) discounts and additional services.”
Few have a real idea of just how big Johannesburg’s tourism market is. “We will be commissioning our first socioeconomic study towards the end of the year,” says Peetz
