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Sports tourism boost for SA

2009-07-03

Since January this year, South Africa has hosted the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Fifa Confederations Cup and the British and Irish Lions rugby tour.

(Image: Fifa: Fifa president Sepp Blatter, South African cabinet minister Tokyo Sexwale and
statesman Nelson Mandela with the
Confederations Cup trophy.)

The IPL tournament, comprising 59 matches, was relocated to South Africa in April due to the Indian national election, which was taking place at the same time as the tournament.

The Indian government announced that it could not guarantee the safety of players due to political unrest.

The decision was finalised after the Sri Lankan cricket team were attacked by terrorists in Pakistan

On its website, the City of Cape Town reports that hosting the first leg of the IPL tournament was a valuable boost for the City.

“[The IPL] has not only given the City valuable global exposure, but has also cemented its reputation as a sporting and events destination,” it reads.

Cape Town Tourism chief executive officer Mariette du Toit-Helmbold says it’s been a bounty season for the City.

“This has been an exciting moment and opportunity for Cape Town. The event extends our season significantly and is a welcome boost to our local tourism economy.”

During the opening ceremony of the IPL, the world’s attention was on Cape Town as Bollywood stars, musicians and dancers pulled out all the stops to set the global stage for the sporting event.

The tournament has injected between R1-billion (US$129-million) and R2-billion ($258-million) into the South African economy.

The City says the cash injection has not only boosted the local economy, but, it will have long term benefits, as there are bound to be repeat visitors to the City.

Cape Town was not the only city to have benefited from the cricket tournament. Up to 40 000 hotel rooms and 10 000 domestic flights were booked for the tournament. In addition, the IPL has also provided R10-million ($129 000) in scholarship funds to 300 students and 32 schools across the country.

Read on below: Rugby tradition returns to SA