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ZIWAPHI • VOL 4 NO 15 • 9-22 July 2010 

NELSPRUIT

While businesses in major cities in South Africa have reported excellent earnings because of the Fifa World Cup, those in small tourist towns in Mpumalanga are not "feeling it” as expected.

The owner of Hazyview-based Panorama Travel, Maureen Malan, said the World Cup had done little for tourism on the Panorama route, which covers Graskop, Sabie, Hazyview, Pilgrim's Rest, Waterval Boven and Dullstroom.

“The Panorama Route is known as the tourist attraction in Mpumalanga and we expected a lot of business from tourists who where coming to the World Cup, but to our surprise it's the same as before the games,” she said.

“What we've noticed is that most of the people who are visiting Mpumalanga for the World Cup are from neighbouring countries like Swaziland and Mozambique, and they don't spend as much as Europeans or Americans. They don't travel through the province but leave after they've attended games. We are still left with plenty of accommodation to offer.”  

But spokesperson of the Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism Linda Grimbeek said host city Nelspruit had definitely received an economic boost because of the matches in Mbombela Stadium.

“We were panicking weeks before the games started because accommodation bookings were scarce. But to tell you the truth, at the moment we are struggling to find accommodation for the people who keep on pouring into Nelspruit. Informal traders and restaurants are also making a killing,” said Grimbeek.

“All the restaurants and accommodation in Nelspruit and White River are full compared to the weeks before the kickoff, and South African flags and T-shirts have also been selling like hot cakes in the streets.”

Grimbeek said foreign visitors often underestimated travelling distances in South Africa.

“There are some Europeans and Asians who think it takes only 45 minutes to get to Nelspruit from Johannesburg. That is why you see some empty seats when there is a game in Mbombela Stadium,” she said.

Amos Mdluli of the Nelspruit-based Glowing Tourism Company said the World Cup had been great for his business.

"Our guesthouses have been fully booked, especially on match days, so we've been doing great on the hospitality side. Our challenge is that most of the tourists have booked their own coaches from Johannesburg and Pretoria to transport them around, which means the emerging transport operators from Nelspruit have lost out," said Mdluli.

An informal trader from Zimbabwe, Stephen Mwaruwaru, confirmed doing excellent trade in Nelspruit's busy streets.

“I was able to sell flags that normally go for R25 for double the price. Normally, I would make between R350 and R500 a day selling flags and crafts, but now I take home about R1 000 a day because of the number of tourists here,” he said.

Mbombela Stadium hosted its final World Cup match between Korea DPR and Cote d'Ivoire on the 25th June.