Cape Town will benefit from poor performance of England in World Cup

According to Martin Jansen van Vuuren, director of Grant Thornton Strategic Solutions, World Cup spectators whose teams are knocked out in the early rounds of the tournament could be a captive market for local tour operators.

Few fans plan on their team being knocked out in the early stages, but if it is, some tour packages will allow them either to follow other teams or use the opportunity to travel around the country.

A premium to go home early

“Flights around that time are likely to be expensive and fans will have to pay a premium to go home early. So it is more likely that they will utilise their option to stay in South Africa, providing a huge opportunity for local tour operators.”

According to Thornton, Cape Town will benefit from this arrangement as it has been chosen as one of the holiday destinations for these fans. The tourism injection of the fans would be welcome in Cape Town as it is unlikely to benefit as much as some cities from the actual World Cup.

The majority of games are scheduled for Gauteng and Durban, with only eight being played in the new Cape Town stadium. There are also no teams based in the city itself, with most preferring to stay in the upper escarpment or highveld area to adjust to the altitude.

Best if England and Holland go

Cape Town will benefit most if certain European teams, such as England and Holland, are knocked out early on. These teams tend to bring along a large number of fans familiar with Cape Town as a holiday and partying destination.

“How much Cape Town will benefit from increased tourism depends on which teams are knocked out and when,” said Jansen van Vuuren.

“At this stage it is very difficult to predict how many World Cup tourists will come to Cape Town on these types of packages. But these fans will be a different type of visitor to the usual target audience.”

Day trips unlikely

Football fans are likely to do various day trips for sightseeing, but would want to be close to a TV during match time. This means they probably won't be taking two- or three-day trips into the rural areas, preferring to stay close to the restaurants and nightlife in Cape Town itself.

“Tour operators should be aware of these dynamics to capitalise on this market,” says Jansen van Vuuren. “Trips would be most suited from say 9am to 4pm, allowing fans to get up later after a night out and get back early enough to watch the game.

“They are also more likely to be travelling in small groups without children and/or spouses so the activities they will be interested in will probably be more male- and sports orientated than family orientated.

The hospitality industry will need to be flexible enough to adapt to the requirements of a very broad fan base.”