World Cup 2010 Blog

By Gcina Ntsaluba

Nelspruit - With less than 700 days to go before the 2010 Soccer World Cup kicks-off, South Africa still needs about 25 000 guestrooms to cater for the influx of tourists.

South Africans who own bed and breakfast establishments, guest houses and lodges are being urged to register as 2010 accommodation service providers with MATCH, the company appointed to provide ticketing and accommodation services during the event.

“There are no financial costs to enter a contract with us,” said senior operations manager at MATCH, Mahandra Naidoo.

He said available accommodation would be listed on the www.FIFA.com website as well as in the official accommodation brochure for the world cup.

The official website is used by football fans from around the world to plan their trips, buy tickets and book transport and accommodation. It is one of the world’s most visited websites, with 4.2 billion page views in 2006.

Mr Naidoo said MATCH had set a target of 55 000 rooms nationally.

Establishments wishing to register with MATCH must be graded by the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa (TGCSA).

“If they are not graded at the time of contracting, then they would have a year after signing the MATCH contract within which to become graded by the TGCSA,” he said.

Source: BuaNews