Hiccups & Forecasts of Business Traveler Nightmares: the 2010 World Cup South Africa

FIFA will be here in Cape Town on 4 December 2009 for the draw that will determine who will play whom in the 2010 South Africa World Cup and where. But FIFA does not come to Cape Town without stirring up a bit of trouble.

The FIFA draw for the 2010 World Cup has already caused the Obz Fest, which normally occurs in the first week of December, to be cancelled due to bylaws that were put in place to prevent other events from stealing the 2010 South Africa Football World Cup's thunder. This has even put a damper on a planned march by school children in Salt River to raise awareness of AIDS and HIV, as they can not hold placards during their march, also due to the World Cup bylaws.

Yes, and there's more... and thank you to Paterson House for providing these interesting tidbits! All this relates to business travel. I suppose businesses, besides those who provide accommodation, food, etc. for 2010 World Cup fans, will lay low.

Volume of Travellers expected

The 2010 Soccer World Cup will be approximately 15 times bigger than the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The media contingent that will attend is estimated at 30 000. Business travel is disrupted purely due to the volume of supporters.

All indications are that approximately 220 000 long haul visitors will attend, 180 000 visitors from Africa and an average of 150 000 local supporters. On any match day it is envisaged that 100 000 travellers will need to use a travel commodity i.e. flight or road / rail transportation.

An additional 2 000 buses have been imported (overload on road transport) to carry these supporters. It is predicted that supporters will watch their team play every 3 or 4 days. When their teams are not playing, supporters will frequent the Fan Parks or embark on tours within the city of their choice.

So... I suppose it will be even more crowded in Cape Town than it is during the usual holiday season... a good thing for accommodation providers here.

Fan Parks

Fan Parks are situated in central areas so that general public can watch all the games. Entrance to the Fan Parks is free and it is expected that these Fan Parks will attract a lot of visitors. In Germany 2006 one Fan Park attracted 500 000 spectators to watch one game. To avoid large transport infrastructure expense, training venues will also double as public viewing sites.

Fan Parks in the Western Cape

The Grand Parade Somerset West Road

Stellenbosch Bellville Velodrome

Swartklip Atlantis

Khayelitsha Nomzamo Yethu (Hout Bay)

Training Facilities in the Western Cape

Newlands Rugby Ground UCT Rugby Ground

UWC Soccer Field Bellville Rugby Ground

Stellenbosch Rugby Ground Athlone Stadium

Now, I find this interesting. Does that mean that Newlands Rugby Ground will also double as a fan park? Also, in conjuction with this, there was an article in the Cape Times about the informal traders on the Grande Parade and elsewhere that will be affected by Cape Town's World Cup bylaws. I hope they figure out a way to compensate these traders. Really, why not let them trade? Informal trading is a part of what Africa is all about!

Flights

To date no airline has released any prices or strategies for the World Cup period.

On pre- and post- match-days flights into and out of the venue cities will be overbooked. Due to the sheer volume of travellers, huge delays can be expected.

World Cup teams will use charter aircrafts and plan to use 2nd tier airports however their supporters will use the general airports. These airports will focus on scheduled international and domestic flights.

This is going to be hairy... hope I don't have to go to the airport in June or July next year!

Accommodation

All the major hotel brands within South Africa have contracted with MATCH at a pre-defined room rate and therefore the normal Corporate rates will not be available during this period.

According to FIFA there is an approximate shortfall of 18 000 rooms for the World Cup. This supply and demand scenario allows B&B’s / Guesthouses to offer rooms at a premium.

Yes... accommodation is what this blog is all about... and the winter of 2010 should prove to be a good winter for all accommodation providers here in Cape Town.

Rental Cars

It is most likely that all car rental companies will go on “stop-sale” for the period of the World Cup and rental cars will be scarce.

Road Closures
It is indicated that there will be limited access and in some instances complete road closures in the areas surrounding the stadium and fan parks. This will make it difficult for travellers to move freely between offsite meetings.

Critical Date

The next critical date for the WC2010 is the 4^th December 2009 when the Pool draw is completed. This draw will indicate where the teams will be based and where their supporters will be spending most of their time.

And this critical date is coming up soon here in Cape Town.

Fixtures

The match schedule will be updated after the draw on the 4^th December 2009. Games will be played at: 13h30, 16h00 and 20h30. Travellers need to allow for traffic congestion both at the stadium and the Fan Parks. It is advisable to allow 2hrs lead time if travelling to / from these areas.

Here are some recommendations for business travelers during this period:

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TRAVEL DURING THIS PERIOD:

• Do not travel during these periods unless it is critical to travel.
• Plan your trip well in advance, changes to a ticket over this period will be extremely difficult and very expensive.
• Try to make appointments at a location that is in the opposite direction of a stadium / fan park.
• Take flights during the times when the games are being played. Games start at 13h30.
• Allow for a minimum of 2 hours to get to the airport in Cape Town and possibly 3 hours for Johannesburg. The congestion on the roads both to and from the airports is going to be chaotic. Plan for delays.
• Parking at the airport will be virtually impossible and it is advisable to get someone to drop / collect you from the airports. Transfer companies will be busy with tourists and will also be very expensive.