World Cup boosts South African tourism

The economy of South Africa was boosted by the Fifa World Cup, claims a new government report.According to the study, the football event attracted in excess of 309,000 visitors, with 59 per cent never having visited the country before.

South African tourism minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk also announced that the world-famous sporting event helped to generate more than $520 million in revenue for the country’s tourism industry.

He added that the decision to host the World Cup would have a positive long-term impact.

“I can today say without a doubt that the success of the event will reverberate for many years to come,” said Mr van Schalkwyk.

“The World Cup also attracted a large number of first-time visitors to South Africa, particularly from the Americas.”

Nearly a quarter of the people taking flights to South Africa for the event came from Europe, with 13 per cent from Central and South America and ten per cent from North America.

Fifa recently announced that Russia will host the 2018 World Cup.

Written by Ruth Norris.