Censorbugbear reports...

Cancelled FIFA hotel-block bookings were valued at R635-million

Local WC2010 organisers are getting jittery amid international criticism of the cost of travelling to the FIFA WC2010 tournament, write Sunday Times journalists Karen Van Rooyen and Bienne Huisman.  And Rapport newspaper writes that FIFA has already unbooked 450,000+  bed-nights from its original 1,7-million block-bookings since early December 2009.

The Sunday Times writes that ‘South Africans banking on a flood of international soccer fans to boost the local hospitality industry during this year's World Cup may be in for a rude awakening”, noting that travel packages of up to R100,000 for European and South American fans have triggered warnings that Africa's first World Cup may not draw the numbers initially expected. FIFA has estimated that only 150,000 of the expected 483,000 football-tourists will come from African countries.

Brand-new R2.8m World Cup bus stolen

Jan 24 2010 10:40 Antoinette Slabbert – Pretoria, Rapport - One of Autopax's 160 brand new World Cup buses worth R2.8m has been stolen even before it could be equipped with a tracking device.  The buses, with their keys, were left in Autopax's Pretoria depot with only two unarmed guards keeping watch over them. The purloined 2009 model Mercedes-Benz with its YVV793GP registration plate had not yet been painted in its new official colours. The bus is one of a fleet of 570 that Autopax ordered for the tournament. Autopax is part of the Passenger Rail Agency (Prasa) and is responsible for inter-city bus transport for Match, Fifa's accommodation and hospitality agent and local organising committee, as well as for general transport for soccer fans. The bus was apparently signed out on the pretext of being taken for a test drive, but was never returned. The company says it is conducting an internal investigation and reviewing all its security measures. http://www.fin24.com/articles/default/display_article.aspx?ArticleId=1518-1786_2568889

The Sunday Times also writes that ‘with 3-million tickets available for the tournament - which will see 32 nations compete for the ultimate soccer glory - local organisers are getting increasingly jittery amid international criticism of the cost of travelling to the tournament and ticket sales abroad have been fairly poor so far, South Africa’s largest English-language weekly reports.

The Sunday Tïmes for instance quoted Kevin Miles, an England fan and director of international affairs at the Football Supporters' Federation, as saying that there was a "general perception" that the World Cup in South Africa was expensive. He predicted that South Africa would see fewer English fans than those who travelled to previous World Cups. "I've applied for every single game that England plays in - up to the finals. Those are category 1 tickets and it's $2600 for seven games. That's before I've paid for flights, before I've paid for travelling between venues, before I've eaten anything."

The Sunday Times has established that:

• A Brazil fan would have to pay R90,000 for a package that includes return flights, transfers, 12 nights' accommodation and tickets for Brazil's three first-round games;
• A Mexico fan would have to pay R105,000 for a 15-day trip, including return flights, domestic flights and three first-round tickets; and
• Mexican company Super Travel's all-inclusive week-long package (at R59,000) has sold out. It includes only one ticket for Mexico's opening match against Bafana Bafana.

Gustavo Signorio, director of the official Fifa tour operator in Argentina, Mundoreps SRL, said at R22,000 for an economy-class return ticket, airfare from Buenos Aires was expensive during the World Cup. "A room in a three-star hotel is$300 per night and almost all hotels request a three-night minimum stay."

The newspaper also quoted German football legend Franz Beckenbauer, who also slammed the ticket and travel prices, saying that few Germans - already put off by high crime levels in South Africa - could afford the tickets.  And this was confirmed by Marc Young, editor of the Berlin-based English newspaper The Local, who said that while Germans had a "soft spot for South Africa", they would not take kindly to being "ripped off".  "I have a feeling you're going to end up having half-full stadiums, which is going to be a shame."

“Only possible for rich European businessmen…”

Some Dutch fans have opted for a cheaper trip. Oranjereisbureau , a subsidiary of Fifa-endorsed OAD Reizen, is offering a 17-day chauffeured caravan experience that includes return flights from Amsterdam and tickets to two of Holland's three first-round matches at R23,000 per person.  Oranjecamping spokesman Mieke de Vries told the Sunday Times: "We give Dutch fans the chance to follow their team for better value for money." Sadly, her own father, Jacques, 62, cannot afford the trip. "Travelling to South Africa for the World Cup is only possible for rich European businessmen, not for simple people like me," the retired teacher said in a telephonic interview.

However the event’s local organising committee chairman Rich Mkhondo, claims that the tickets to this World Cup still were 40% cheaper than the previous World Cups, but that they weren’t responsible for the long-haul travel packages. This was a summary: read the entire article on: http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article274688.ece

FIFA unbooks 430,000+ bednights..

Rapport Afrikaans newspaper’s financial page Sake 24.com reports that FIFA’s hospitality agency Match needs fewer hotel-beds for the World Cup 2010 football tournament in South Africa than originally anticipated, dropping more than 450,000 bednights from its original 1,7million hotelbed block-bookings Since December 11 last year, Match has already handed back more than 450,000 bed-nights booked in hotels and guest houses arranged through the African Space group. The tournaments start 135 days from now.

Match’s senior accommodation manager Mrs Vivienne Bervoets confirmed in an interview with journalist Antoinette Slabbert of the Afrikaans publication that on December 11, they had unbooked 314,000 bed-nights in 6,883 rooms – originally a total of 1,7-million bed-nghts were booked.  And a month later, n January 8, Match handed back another 140,000 bed-nights in 3,642 rooms.

Brett Dungan, managing director of Fedhasa, the SA hospitality-industry’s lobby, said it was ‘a pity’ that these rooms were unbooked. “Everyone knew however that this could happen, as can happen with any international conference,’ he was quoted by Rapport.

The risks were too big…

Kobus van Rensburg, the director of the African Space organisation – which according to Sake24.com had negotiated bookings for nearly 199,000 bednights with Match, was disappointed about these cancellations. “The agreement with Match was signed in 2008, but accredited tour-operators were only told on a seminar on 7 December 2009 - after the final draw for the tournaments --  about this (accommodation) product,’ he said. On 8 January, Match announced that the ‘risks were too great’ and that they were unbooking these rooms, said Van Rensburg. The estimated value of these block-bookings, including anticipated incomes which would have been earned by the owners and including the commissions paid to Match,  would have amounted to about R635-million ($63-million), he told Slabbert.

Van Rensburg added however that the ‘door is open if Match needs the units later, and Match has agreed that African Space can work directly with its accredited tour-operators, als also use the FIFA.com website for its marketing”.

• This also is a summary. For the more detailed Afrikaans article, read: http://www.sake24.com/articles/default/display_article.aspx?ArticleId=6-1607_2568878

South Africans don’t have to stay home during WC2010 – auditing firm

Fedhasa meanwhile has placed a warning from audit-tax advisory firm Grant Thornton SA on its website, alerting the industry to an email from travel agents warning South Africans to stay at home during the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. (It) is “causing unnecessary panic.”

“Recent email warnings from travel agents advising South Africans to stay home from June 11 to July 11 because of overbooked hotels, unavailable car hire and impossible airports, are overstated," Gillian Saunders, director of strategic solutions was quoted as saying. "The email communication is causing unnecessary panic. Visitors won't all be in South Africa in the same town all at once and, although there will be certain crunch peak periods, overall it shouldn't impact South Africans' daily schedules too dramatically. It is interesting to note that in our highest tourism month of the year South Africa already hosts almost 870,000 foreign tourists, so there's no doubt our nation and current tourism infrastructure can cope with the influx of additional visitors during the World Cup," Saunders said. –

• The auditing firm estimated that 150,000 of the expected 483,000 football-tourists will come from African countries. http://www.fedhasa.co.za/Pages/News_Section_Details.asp?NewsSectionID=3&NewsID=2902

contacts:

• Match: Zürich, Switzerland: telephone +41 (0)43 222 6801, sales@match-hospitality.com South African hospitality sales: 27 (0) 861 55 2010
• Fedhasa: national chairman, Fedhasa: Tel: 011 726 6666, Fax:  011 482 4254 eddy@magelevendze.com
• News media for Fedhasa-Cape: Hélène Rossouw, tel. 082 771 8834 helene.rossouw@kingsley.co.za

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