Many hotels not overpriced

Pretoria - The prices of lodgings during the World Cup soccer tournament are not exorbitant.

This is the finding of an independent survey among owners of accommodation by capeinfo.com, which was supported by Cape Town Tourism.

According to the survey, in January 31% of the respondents charged prices for the duration of the tournament equal to their pricing during the peak season.

The respondents were from across the country, with the majority in Cape Town and Durban.

In February this percentage rose to 57%, while more than three-quarters of the respondents' prices were not more than 20% above those during the high season.

It appears that more realistic prices are attracting more bookings, because the number of respondents receiving bookings rose from about 35% in January to 46% in February.

Cape Town Tourism spokesperson Lianne Burton says that during the World Travel Market in November in London ridiculously high prices appeared to be a bigger problem among British travellers than fears of safety.

Research shows, she says, that this is perception rather than reality.

The survey will be repeated each month until May. The first whistle will be blown on June 11.

Cape Town Tourism has meanwhile announced a code of fair prices for the tourism industry, which will also be applicable to other tourism services like transport.

Sake24 has earlier reported that a bus that a tour operator could normally hire for between R5 000 and R6 000 a night could cost him R10 000 to R15 000 during the tournament.

President Jacob Zuma has been reported to have asked the Competition Commission to investigate sky-high pricing of air tickets during the tournament.

- Sake24.com

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