With the latest tourism figures showing that the country had its best tourism season on record last year, it would seem that hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup has been a boost for South Africa.
Now a major study, led by CPUT, analyzing the socio-economic impact of the event has drawn to a close. The research undertaken by Prof Kamilla Swart and her MTech and DTech students was celebrated at a function at the Granger Bay campus recently, where it was confirmed that the World Cup has undoubtedly shone a positive light on both Cape Town and South Africa.
Swart is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Business and heads the Centre for Tourism Research in Africa. She was the Project Manager of the massive undertaking, which saw over seven thousand surveys being conducted over the period of the World Cup, in partnership with the City of Cape Town and the Cape Higher Education Consortium.
Swart praised the hard work of the collaborators, including the City’s Carol Wright, and spoke of the sleepless nights, anxiety and fun that the huge project entailed.
She also spoke of the need for a critical understanding of event impacts on the city. Results indicate that Cape Town and the country were positively profiled, with latest tourism figures backing this up.
With tourism in many other countries on the decline owing to the troubled Euro-zone, Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk announced in Parliament in April that South Africa recorded 3.3% more tourists than in 2010, when growth of 15.1% was achieved.
By Jan Weintrob
Written by CPUT News
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