Millions invested in SA tourism marketing

Johannesburg - South Africa invested about $100m (about R769.8m) in tourism marketing in the build-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the tourism ministry said on Monday.
  
"The total investment in these campaigns was approximately $100m over the four years running up to the World Cup," Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said in a statement.
  
"It is estimated to have reached 1.9 billion people every month in our key target markets."
  
However, Van Schalkwyk said this was a "mere drop in the ocean" compared to the benefits to tourism of positive reporting on South Africa during the World Cup.
  
"The overwhelming positive international coverage has surpassed even our most optimistic expectations. The goodwill that has been unlocked cannot be measured in monetary terms."
 
Van Schalkwyk also said in general tourism growth in 2010 had "exceeded... expectations".
  
"More than 1.9 million... tourists arrived in South Africa from January to March 2010," he said.
  
In the same period last year, just under 1.6 million tourists entered the country. "This represents growth of 20.9% for the comparable period and outpaces many of our competitors."
  
Tourist arrivals from Central and South America went up 28.5% in this period, from within the continent by 25.6% and from Asia by 21.9%.
  
"The championship will be recorded in the history books as one of the best showcases ever for South Africa and Africa."  Tourism statistics for the period over the World Cup would be available later this year.

- Sapa