Projects engineered to turn football fans into ambassadors of a destination that oozes texture, charm, excitement
Johannesburg – AS EXCITEMENT reaches fever pitch in South Africa ahead of Friday’s opening ceremony and 2010 FIFA World CupTM kick off, South African Tourism is hard at work making sure that visitor arrivals after the World Cup do justice to all the hard work that’s gone into making this global sports event the tremendous success it’s bound to be.
“We expect hundreds of thousands of fans in the next few days and over the coming month,” says Thandiwe January-McLean, ceo at South African Tourism. “It’s a hive of activity in our offices in South Africa and around the world to make sure that as many people on this planet as possible know that South Africa is more than just a great host nation… that we’re the most exciting and accessible leisure destination on earth, too.”
Each of the key and core South African Tourism markets are rolling out World Cup marketing plans.
For example, there will be extensive hosting activities for the duration of World Cup at Stade Charléty in Paris, France where South African cuisine will be served and matches will be screened on big TV screens.
South African Tourism personnel from the Netherlands are hosting that country’s foremost editorial journalists in South Africa from June 3 to July 1. The Dutch journalists will attend World Cup football matches on June 14, 19 and 24 to get first-hand experience of how South Africans celebrate the beautiful game.
Big screen football parties are planned for cities across Japan. On June 19, when Japan plays the Netherlands, one of these parties will host more than 15 000 Japanese football fans.
Special information sessions on football in South Africa will take place for the duration of the World Cup at Spazio Astoria in Milan, Italy. Visitors will be able to find out there all about unique South African element such as the vuvuzela, makarabas, the Diski Dance and each of our ten World Cup stadiums.
In London, there will be a special South African live broadcast party for the opening ceremony and first match on Friday that will be attended by more than 150 influential news journalists and travel trade partners.
Booklets jam packed with information on what to do in South Africa will be handed out at all land border posts and each of the South African embassies in Kenya, Nigeria and Angola have football parties planned to celebrate the first 2010 FIFA World CupTM in Africa.
SA Tourism will also play host to 88 people from all over the world to a South African party and football fiesta par excellence. These people won the Join the World Party that South African Tourism ran online and they are in South Africa for the two weeks immedediately prior to the World Cup. “We want to send them home to spread the message that South Africa is one of those places that everybody has to visit at one or other time during their lives,” says January-McLean. “Experience has shown us time and time again that once someone visits South Africa, that person becomes a vocal, passionate and enthusiastic ambassador of our destination for the rest of his or her life.”
