The FIFA World Cup has come and gone and it now lives only in memory, except perhaps for the many World Cup-related installations and advertising material that remain in place and continue to serve as a reminder of the event that was. Questions are being asked about the economic impact of this football spectacle and slowly answers are beginning to emerge. Recently, STATS-SA released tourist accommodation figures for the period ending June 2010.
According to STATS-SA,"total income for the accommodation industry for the second quarter of 2010 increased by 17,8% compared with the second quarter of 2009. Total income for the accommodation industry in June 2010 increased by 55,3% compared with June 2009." Interestingly, income from accommodation alone in June 2010 increased by 81,7% compared with June 2009. This was largely due to an increase of 21.8% in the average room night stay, which means that rates were higher in June of 2010 compared to June of 2009. In the period leading up to the World Cup, there was a general perception that the hospitality industry had hiked its accommodation prices in order to take advantage of the expected influx of international visitors and the above figures confirm that the price hikes were in fact a reality. The accommodation industry certainly drew benefits from the FIFA World Cup and perhaps in time figures from STATS-SA may indicate the extent to which other sectors of the SA economy have benefited from the World Cup.
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