Abstract

The 2010 FIFA World Cup™ tournament provided an opportunity for South Africa to showcase its unique beauty and attractiveness as an international tourist destination. However, the trepidation over crime emerged as a key concern in relation to South Africa’s ability to host a successful 2010 FIFA World Cup™. This study investigates 398 foreign tourists’ perceptions of South Africa during the soccer tournament, especially regarding crime and safety concerns. A questionnaire was distributed among tourists in Cape Town and Johannesburg; two of the major host cities and semi-final and final venues respectively. Findings reveal that most respondents had positive perceptions of South Africa as a holiday destination. Two-thirds of those interviewed agreed that South Africa was a safe place to visit. Over half of respondents were not concerned about their safety while in South Africa. Several individual factors were found to affect their crime-risk perceptions of which the most significant was nationality. Most notably, soccer tourists from the Middle East felt the safest, whereas those from South America and Western Europe felt the least safe. Crime-safety issues did not appear to affect respondents’ future travel intentions, as the majority of study respondents said crime-safety concerns would not deter them from returning to South Africa. The findings of the study are useful to practitioners and contribute to the development of staging major sporting events in Africa, specifically, and globally more generally, in the future.

Highlights

  • IntroductionAs a niche of the tourism sector in South Africa, has been rapidly evolving (Department of Sport and Recreation, 2009)

  • Sport tourism, as a niche of the tourism sector in South Africa, has been rapidly evolving (Department of Sport and Recreation, 2009)

  • This study investigated the perceptions of international tourists attending the 2010 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World CupTM tournament in South Africa

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Summary

Introduction

As a niche of the tourism sector in South Africa, has been rapidly evolving (Department of Sport and Recreation, 2009). It is reported that 10 per cent of all international tourists visiting South Africa fall in the category of sports tourists, with 60 to 80% of these being classified as spectators (SouthAfrica.info, 2010). The hosting of numerous high profile sporting events in South Africa such as the 1995 Rugby World Cup and the 2003 Cricket World Cup , as well as the 2009 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Confederations Cup , has further led to the growth and development of this sector (Oosthuizen, 2010). As South Africa moves to an event-driven economy, the strategy by the national government is to use the hosting of mega-events to signal international recognition in relation to its economic, social and political capacity (Swart, Bob & Turco, 2010).

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