WHAT
CAN LOCALS EXPECT DURING THE WORLD CUP
In today’s dog eat dog world,
everyone is in it for what they can get out of it.
No one is interested in any bigger picture.
It is simply ‘what’s in it for me?’
right now.
At the World Travel Market in London
recently, overseas-based people in the travel industry
expressed serious concern that local hospitality
businesses are planning to overcharge tourists during
next years Soccer World Cup.
What do they expect, if the main players in the
World Cup are leading by example? |
|
It appears that certain service providers
have doubled, tripled and even quadrupled their prices.
Mike Mabutakhulu, KZN MEC for economic
development and tourism, states that this would be disastrous
for South Africa’s tourism industry.
The bigger picture. The long-term
I agree, but how do we ask local service
providers to refrain from doing this, when the big players
in the World Cup are leading by example.
Quite a while back, local hotels made
it clear that would be adding an additional 10% on peak
rates during the World Cup.
This is not excessive, but then Fifa slapped an additional
surcharge of 30% on this higher rate, with the 30% going
to them.
Domestic flights have also
skyrocketed.
From June 11 to July 11 2010, an SAA return flight between
Johannesburg and Cape Town will cost R3 800., and on BA
it will cost R5 300.
Fifa has also made a big hoo haa about
cheap game tickets exclusively available to South Africans,
but those tickets at R140 are only for the preliminary
games. The ones no one else is interested in watching.
The cheapest ticket for the opening game
costs R490, and tickets become progressively more expensive
for South Africans, with the cheapest for games 49-56
carrying a price tag of R350, quarter-final games come
at a cost of R525 and the semi-finals, R700. The cheapest
for the final for a South African will be R1 050.
In the other categories also open for
sale to South Africans, tickets for the final will cost
between R2 800 and R6 300.
So what else can we expect?
Big Macs at R100? Spur Hero Rolls at R200? Nando’s
Full Meals at R450? Cans of beer at R60?
Kader Khan
Editor
info@yummie.co.za
