South Africa bids for Sporting and Future Tourism Glory

South Africa has hosted the Rugby World Cup, the Cricket World Cup and this summer will welcome the FIFA World Cup finals. In its bid to become a sports tourism powerhouse, football’s biggest event can be the springboard to fulfil the country’s massive ambitions.

World Sport Destination Expo (WSDE) - the first global exhibition to provide a business platform for the key buyers and suppliers involved in $600 billion a year sport tourism industry - spoke exclusively to two of the travel industry’s leading and most respected global figureheads: Jean-Claude Baumgarten, President and CEO of the WTTC and the UNWTO Secretary General, Taleb Rifai.

WSDE is uniquely co-located alongside the final week of the 2010 FIFA World Cup at the SCC Johannesburg with a remit to help Africa capitalise on the World Cup’s potential to create long lasting travel and tourism growth beyond 2010.

When asked what South Africa has to do in order to make sure the World Cup leaves a lasting legacy for the tourism industry, Jean-Claude Baumgarten,  President and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council, said: “The fundamental advice I would give from my experience is that during a major event a country should not rest on its laurels and must actively and promote itself and demonstrate its future aptitudes to the world in order to create momentum.

“The hospitality businesses, the tour operators, the tourism offices, the airlines must create a campaign during and immediately after the event so that you don’t have that ‘grey’ period.

“There is a lot of energy in hosting a major sport event and you should not lose that energy and not have, what I call, an ‘Olympic hangover’. That happens very often.

“This is something I will advise strongly for South Africa - they have a great opportunity with the World Cup. But it must be a springboard and they must they have done everything possible to put themselves in a position to take advantage of this event.”

Speaking ahead of its summit on tourism, sport and mega-events held recently in Johannesburg, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) secretary-general Taleb Rifai agreed that the World Cup has the potential to be a historic landmark for Africa and that the opportunity to secure future business prosperity must be grasped with both hands.

Rifai said: “There is already a change of image about Africa – and this will be a great opportunity to showcase the continent.

“South Africa is doing a great job in that sense and the positioning of making the World Cup finals an African event rather than just a South African event will help the continent raise its profile.

“The question is how to make the moment stay? It is really important to take advantage of the World Cup and pass on the message of the really good things in Africa.”

WORLD SPORT DESTINATION EXPO – THE GLOBAL MARKET PLACE FOR SPORT TOURISM

Held alongside the climatic final week of the 2010 FIFA World Cup from 5-9 July at the SCC, Johannesburg, WSDE is the first global exhibition offering travel companies the chance to meet with the key buyers of tourism products from 22 geographical regions as well as accessing the world’s media.

WSDE is a must attend event for those African companies eager to secure a share of the travel and tourism industry’s most dynamic and fastest growing sector.  The opportunities around the 2010 FIFA World Cup cannot be missed.