Pretoria - For certain sectors of the local tourism industry, the Fifa World Cup Soccer tournament is bad news.
High prices for airline tickets and other services, as well as large numbers of other visitors, have scared off prospective clients, several business people told Sake24 last week.
Corporate travel, moreover, is expected to come to a standstill for about 12 weeks around the tournament.
Various tourism businesses will find the 2010 winter a dismal season.
Paul Stones of Paul Stones Safaris Africa says he usually receives nine to 11 Safari groups during the winter season. Only two are coming this year.
Stones says hunters make their bookings as much as a year or two ahead. The markets from which they are sourced include the US, Britain, Germany, Russia and Spain.
Prospective visitors are restricted in their choice of airlines because only some permit travellers to bring their firearms along. The South African regulatory system makes it almost impossible to hire a firearm here.
Stones says when hunters wanted to make their reservations, they found that airline tickets and accommodation had become very expensive.
Although cheaper flights have been available since January, these people have already decided on other destinations.
Another factor weighing with hunters is that on arrival at the airport they have to get a temporary gun licence.
The prospect of going through this process at an airport overrun by soccer fans has scared off many prospective clients.
For Americans, in particular, hunting safaris are a way to celebrate one's graduation. This happens once in a lifetime and, if that client is lost, the opportunity has gone forever. What is more, these clients come hunting during their summer vacation and at no other time of the year.
Stones says an average hunting package lasts 10 days. A couple - with the man coming to hunt and his wife accompanying him - might spend $27 000 to $30 000.
Adri Kitshoff, CEO of the Professional Hunters' Association of South Africa (Phasa), says that only after the hunting season will it be possible to assess the full impact on the industry.
The 2007/08 income from game hunting and day fees was almost R1bn. This excluded taxidermy, transport and a wealth of other expenditure.
The industry provides work for some 70 000 people, and there are almost 10 000 registered game-hunting farms in the country.
Peter Lawson of Lawson Birding & Wildlife Tours says his industry is suffering just as much.
Lawson's clients, which come to view birds, butterflies, dragonflies or other wildlife, mostly come from the US, the UK and Europe. He generally manages up to six tours during June and July, but this year there has been only one booking. Groups - generally eight to 10 people - are now also smaller with only four or five. But things look better for later in the year.
He also blames higher prices for the decline in reservations and says people must realise that tourists are not obliged to come here. They can choose to go anywhere in the world.
According to a recent Department of Trade and Industry report on bird-watching tourism, foreign birdwatchers spend considerably more than other tourist types. Their average expenditure per visit is R38 652.
Another segment that has practically ground to a halt for the tournament weeks is business travel, says Natalia Thomson, editor of Travel News Weekly.
Various large companies have placed a moratorium on travel while the matches are being played.
Tourvest Travel Services CEO, Morné du Preez. told Travel News Weekly that corporate travel is expected to come to a standstill for 10 to 12 weeks around the tournament, which means that 2010 will itself probably not be a good year.
- Sake24.com
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