Johannesburg - While it is too early for hard data proving the 2010 FIFA World Cup was an economic success, business leaders agree that South Africa scored on several points.

"This event demonstrated that Afro-pessimism had been misplaced," said Adrian Saville of Cannon Asset Managers last week while addressing a meeting at the Gordon Institute of Business Science.

Saville, a leading investment manager and business academic, was part of a panel alongside Gillian Saunders, a director of Grant Thornton Strategic Solutions, and Colleen Magner, a partner at consulting firm Reos Partners.

The panel downplayed the short-term cost of the event and argued that South Africa would enjoy its spin-offs for many years to come.

"We have permanently improved the infrastructure of the country," said Saville. He said a spin-off from the global financial crisis was that a number of skilled people had begun returning to South Africa with international experience and knowledge. This would benefit the country in the long run.

Saunders estimated that the World Cup had brought in as much as R8bn in foreign revenue. "It is still too early and there is not yet any hard data," she said.

Tourvest had indicated it had a successful World Cup campaign, she said. The company was expecting business growth in the next financial year even compared to trade in this year's soccer tournament.

However, she said the country should continue to seek out event tourism opportunities, and there should be a coordinated effort between private stakeholders and government to attract further international events to South Africa.

'Golden child of the world'

Apart from the Olympics, which has been bandied about and a Formula One grand prix, other potential events include extreme sports such as skateboarding, international medical conferences and international company conferences.
 
"This year, our own company is hosting its annual conference in South Africa, simply because of the success of the World Cup," she said.

Another correlation her company had seen was that the successful completion of major international events encouraged international companies to up their presence in South Africa.

She pointed out that following the cricket World Cup and Indian Premier League tournament, there had been an increase in the number of Indian firms who invested in South Africa, including pharmaceutical firm Ranbaxy and industrial giant Tata.

Magner was equally upbeat, pointing out that the event united South Africans on a number of levels. This included messages of support from much-maligned trade federation Cosatu, which on Wednesday had issued a press statement praising the successful conclusion of the tournament.

"We have an opportunity where we are the golden child of the world," she said.

 - Fin24.com