SOUTH AFRICA/FILE: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: WORLD CUP 2010: Cape Town hopes World Cup boom will persist

Record ID: 453832

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA/FILE: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: WORLD CUP 2010: Cape Town hopes World Cup boom will persist
  • Date: 2nd July 2010
  • Summary: BOY HOLDING SOUTH AFRICAN FLAG
  • Embargoed: 17th July 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Economic News,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA7SQFPNI194M6O5BA7EGZAO263
  • Story Text: Cape Town, one of the most beautiful spots in South Africa, is hoping that the benefits of being one of the cities hosting the World Cup will continue after the soccer fans have left.
    The city is hosting eight matches, the last of which is the first semi-final on July 6 and, according to Cape Town's Department of Tourism, the influx of visitors and the spending by locals during the World Cup has produced a very successful winter season.
    Mansoor Mohamed, Economic, Social Development and Tourism chief for Cape Town, said that restaurants are packed and retailers are experiencing greater foot traffic into their businesses.
    "We have to look at it within the context of winter, which is normally off-season and what we're experiencing overall is a bumper season in accommodation, but a bit lower than expected," said Mohamed.
    Mohamed says that it is not only foreigners who have created economic advantages, but South Africans have also been spending more, especially in the retail sphere.
    He added that most of the economic impact is concentrated around Green Point Stadium, downtown and at nearby Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. But he said that suburban business is also booming, where locals, not foreigners, are spending more.
    "Bottom-line businesses have been experiencing significant increases in revenue and turnover and that's concentrated largely around the stadium, especially for the foreign and outside local tourist trade. But, there's also deep into the suburbs, the locals are spending a lot more," said Mohamed.
    The positive effects of the 2010 World Cup, though, have not been felt as much in the townships around Cape Town.
    Most residents in the township of Khayelitsha that Reuters spoke to, said that they have not experienced economic benefits and do not believe that there will be an improvement following the tournament.
    "I can't say 'yes' because on my side I haven't seen anything and I've got no hope that something will be better. I see things being the same," said street vendor, Irene Mekana.
    Another Khayelitsha resident, Nwabisa, said that nothing has improved for her.
    "We are still living in the squatter shacks, the government doesn't do anything. We are still living as squatters, so nothing changed," said Nwabisa.
    Mandla Tomose a newspaper seller at Khayelitsha's Site C taxi rank, however, thought that the World Cup had made a positive difference in his life and in the lives of all South Africans.
    "The spirit of the people of the whole of South Africa is up and I think also, after the World Cup, we'll be talking a lot about the World Cup," said Tomose.
    According to the City of Cape Town, every visitor spends R4,000 (ZAR) or about $515 (USD) in the city per visit.
    While it is still too early to accurately predict, much of Cape Town is optimistic that the positive economic and tourism benefits from the first World Cup finals to be held in Africa will endure in the city throughout the upcoming summer season.
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