Mixed findings for tourism industry poll

The survey set out to measure both attitude and physical preparations of the industry before the June and July global football spectacular. Three-hundred-and-fifty travel and tourism businesses (representing the broad spectrum of services and facilities in tourism) were polled during the first two months of this year.

The survey specifically measured the extent to which hospitability and a welcoming attitude applied only to 2010 FIFA World Cup arrivals, or if these were general traits of the tourism industry.

Mixed reactions

It also has revealed a number of interesting findings. The majority of respondents (70 percent) believed the World Cup would be excellent for business. They were excited about the event and saw it as an opportunity not only to profit from the World Cup, but also to recruit for more business into the future. The remaining respondents (30 percent) were cynical about the event. It was nothing but a “load of hype” they said. They did not think South Africa was ready to host the event and they were eager to “see the back of it”.

Already hospitable

Importantly, the majority of respondents (63 percent) felt the industry was already hospitable and welcoming enough and nothing further needed to be done to be more welcoming for the World Cup. Others polled (37 percent of respondents) said they would make a special effort to be more welcoming for the June/July influx of World Cup visitors. They would, for example, give guests special gifts (vuvuzelas was a popular choice), hire translators, learn the diski dance or change their menus to be more reflective of South African cuisine.

Safaris would be the biggest

Other than the football, the industry believed that safaris would be the biggest South African attraction for 2010 fans. Almost two-thirds of the respondents (59 percent) said most FIFA World Cup visitors would want to spend some time viewing wildlife in one of the game reserves. Twenty-one percent of respondents thought South African food and wine was an important attraction for World Cup guests, whilst only two percent of industry respondents believed that 2010 football fans would try adventure activities such as white-water rafting, bungee jumping and abseiling.