Raining tourists

Johannesburg - Stand by for a "deluge of tourists over the next five years", enthuses Siva Pillay, chief executive of the Tourism Enterprise Partnership, a Business Trust initiative which facilitates the development of small tourism businesses.

"The marketing campaigns, allied with word-of-mouth as visitors send positive messages home, will  have a multiplier effect. South Africa became the second-most searched word on Google. The social media went ballistic. During the Spain-Portugal match there were 3 000 tweets a second."

At one level, hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a sampling exercise. Hundreds of thousands of visitors came, saw and were conquered. They will take back fond memories and become repeat visitors and, more importantly, advocates.

"Our aim was to create an experience that captures the hearts of visitors," says Pillay. "Every step had to be rich, exciting and fulfilling."

Pillay cites the example of a tour group of 100 Europeans who came to cheer their team. When it stopped winning, all but four voted to continue the holiday.

"We now see this as a fabulous holiday that has been interrupted by football," said one.

Tourist numbers are well up on the projections. "I would not be surprised if the final figure was 650 000," says Pillay.

Hopes are high for Asia, South America and the US, huge markets where we've made little headway in attracting tourists.

"We have been trying for 20 years in Asian markets," says Pillay. "The American market was woken up by their success in reaching the final of the Confederations Cup. They bought more tickets than any nation, and 100 000 came to watch Cup games."

 - Fin24.com