Scramble for Soccer World Cup Bookings
Planning a trip for a sporting event such as the 2010 Soccer World Cup or the Olympics is a procedure where bookings for hotel rooms and tickets for the games are sent through months before hand. Therefore making sure that your plans are in order before the best seats and rooms are taken you need to do your research and make that booking online or via telephone.
In the article below Michelle Higgins reports on booking ahead for your favourite sporting event whether it's the. Use the navigation link to view various articles on 2010 Soccer World cup on CBN's website as well as business related articles.
Worldwide Scramble to See Top Sports Events
By Michelle Higgins
It may seem too early to be planning a 2010 vacation, but travelers who want to see the Winter Olympics in Vancouver this February or cheer their favorite soccer team at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa next summer had better get going.
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Despite the recession, demand is high for both events, making tickets hard to come by and sending prices for any remaining hotel rooms soaring. But travelers can still watch their teams compete if they’re willing to be flexible, spend a little more money and make their travel plans now.
Unlike at the Olympics, however, where sports are tied to specific venues, and the dates and times of most events are already set, soccer fans won’t know where, when or even which teams will be playing in South Africa until all 32 teams have qualified and FIFA holds its tournament draw on Dec. 4.
That means travelers hoping to watch the United States in quarterfinals, for example, won’t know where the team will be playing — whether it’s at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, or nearly 900 miles away in Soccer City in Johannesburg — until just a few days before.
Of course, that’s always the case when it comes to the World Cup — and the last-minute scramble is part of the fun. But following your team around will be more complicated in South Africa than at the last World Cup, held in Germany in 2006. Fans staying in Frankfurt, for example, were within a two-hour train ride from most United States matches. South Africa, on the other hand, has less reliable trains and highways, and moving from match to match requires flying.
To increase your chances of seeing your team at the World Cup, work with one of the official tour operators to lock in tickets, hotels and other travel arrangements now. These companies have pre-purchased blocks of hotel rooms and flights. Choose a city like Cape Town, Durban or Johannesburg as a jumping off point. When the finals are announced in December, secure the remaining travel arrangements including domestic flights and hotels in or near the city your team will play. (In the event the United States is eliminated, the package follows the team that beats them.)
Conveniently for tourists, the World Cup coincides with South Africa’s winter, which is peak safari season, when diminished vegetation makes for better game viewing. For travelers who want to see the wildlife while they’re in the country, Destination Southern Africa, based in Tucson, Ariz., with an office in Cape Town, recommends booking three nights at a minimum.
“If you only spend two nights,” said Terry von Guilleaume, the owner, “you only get one full day on safari, reducing your chances of seeing animals.”
Date Created: 2009-08-06 |
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