Johannesburg - More than 2.2m additional foreign tourists will visit South Africa between 2008 and 2015, thanks to next year's World Cup soccer tournament.
This is according to Gillian Saunders, a tourism expert at Grant Thornton, which on Friday announced the latest forecasts about the economic impact of the tournament.
If one considers that 2.19m overseas tourists visited the country last year, the World Cup soccer tournament effectively gives the industry an extra year of foreign tourism.
She expects the tournament to contribute R55.7bn to South Africa's gross domestic product (GDP), and 415 400 jobs to be created.
The contribution to GDP includes government's expenditure on stadiums and infrastructure, as well as the money for sponsorships and commercial rights.
Foreign visitors' spending is alone expected to contribute R14.3bn.
The average soccer tourist spends a quarter of his money on accommodation, 18% on transport, 15% each on food and shopping, 12% on entertainment and 15% on other items.
- Sake24.com
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