Tue 15 Jan 2013
SA Tourism strikes AFCON 2013 soccer fans via Shopping Tourism!
Posted by Chris von Ulmenstein under Cape Town, Chris von Ulmenstein, Tourism news, Whale Cottage Portfolio, World Cup 2010, soccer
On Saturday The Guardian Nigeria published an article ‘Shopping Experience for South African Orange AFCON Visitors’, focusing on the work SA Tourism has done to get shopping malls in Confederation of Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2013 Host Cities to offer sales to make their tenants’ products attractive to the flood of African visitors expected in the country for the AFCON 2013 kick-off on Saturday. It wrote: ‘South African Tourism has formed a partnership with VISA and hundreds of malls across the length and breadth of the country to bring fantastic special offers to all visiting AFCON fans’. The pay-off line for AFCON 2013, developed by SA Tourism, is the ‘Beat at Africa’s Feet’!
Using quotation marks (at the beginning but not at the end!), one can assume that the bulk of the content of the article came from a SA Tourism media release sent to the Nigerian newspaper. It is amusing to read what SA Tourism believes the soccer fans will be attracted to, including clothing retailers, Woolworths and Clicks, as well as international fashion brand stores such as Zara, Louis Vuitton and Gucci, and ‘IT brands like Apple and Vodacom (sic)’! Street vendors selling vegetables also receive an honourable mention, but they hardly would see any increase in business during AFCON! Ladies fashion stores would be unlikely to attract much male soccer fan custom, if the soccer World Cup 2010 is anything to go by, which was largely attended by male soccer fans.
This is how SA Tourism romanticised the retail treats for the visiting soccer fans: “… from big, bright air-conditioned shopping malls to street vendors selling home-grown vegetables, visitors can buy anything and everything in our cities and towns, which each have landmark shopping hubs where all the major retail chains, and many others, are trading. Goods range from imported furniture, designer clothes, kitchenware, computers, techno gadgets, audiovisual equipment, jewellery and more. Edgars, Clicks, Mr Price, Foschini, Stuttafords, Truworths and Woolworths are some of the popular retail chains in the rainbow country including top-end international stores like Zara, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and The Body Shop, and IT brands like Apple and Vodacom. There are also smaller businesses that are big on choice, personalised service and variety in everything from designer baby gear to bathroom accessories, footwear, books, kitchen gadgets, high-end computers and smart phones; including hand-crafted chocolates, diamond, gold and other precious trinkets to adorn the body with”.
Cape Town and the Western Cape will be missing out on the soccer shopping as well as tourism 
extravaganza, given the bungling of the bid for Cape Town as Host City by City of Cape Town Councillor Grant Pascoe, Mayoral Committee member for Tourism, Events and Marketing! Ticket sales for the three week AFCON 2013 soccer schedule have been slow, due to a lack of marketing, constrained by ‘limited resources’, said the CEO of the Local Organising Committee Mvuzo Mbebe, quoted on SouthAfrica.info. Currently only two-thirds of the 500000 tickets for the tournament, to be played in Johannesburg, Rustenburg, Nelspruit, Durban, and Port Elizabeth, have been sold. The opening match between Bafana Bafana and Cape Verde in Johannesburg on Saturday appears to be close to fully booked. Television coverage over the three week period is expected to reach 2,3 billion viewers.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage
January 15th, 2013 at 3:13 pm
Yes it is indeed a great sadness that the soccer fans of Cape Town are being robbed of the chance to experience the AFCON. It seems ridiculous to say the least that the “Mother City” is out in the cold, while smaller cities ( or towns) like Nelspruit and Port Elizabeth get in on the action.
However, I feel that ‘ romanticized’ sales and marketing ‘ is better than none at al Romanticizing - it is after all the global name of the game when it comes to advertising. It is done all the time, with SA Tourism certainly not being an exception to the rule.
In terms of the focusing on the shopping experiences that are to be had in SA - I think that they have managed to hit the nail on the head when it comes to the African tourist profile. We who live in Cape Town are a bit ignorant when it comes to realizing that Johannesburg is a shopping destination for the shoppers of Africa, just as Singapore and Hong Kong are to Asia.That was brought home to me a few years ago when I was at OR Tambo Airport. I was gobsmacked at the number of African visitors standing in the VAT Refund queue - all with trolleys piled high with shopping goods.
Besides for which, even male soccer fans have to go home bearing gifts for wife, children, family and maybe even friends. If I were living on the Continent of Africa, knew of someone going to SA, I would consider asking them to get that something special for me in SA? Wouldn’t you? When travelling to Dubai where the price of electronic goods are so reasonable, we have
had some such requests from friends.
But, despite the fact that Cape Town is a ‘ loser’ in this case, I wish all the traders, formal and informal successful AFCON trading.
January 15th, 2013 at 8:29 pm
@Chris .. On the way hand, I feel that you want to say that the AFCON wont hany impact on tourism (but dont as you want to be politically correct)and on the other hand you moan about CT getting no games. Lets not fool ourselves, the AFCON is no money spinner for retailers and hoteliers. Most of the tickets have been sold to lcals who, at most, will have a drink and meal. The media in SA love to hype up big events only to have businesses spend like crazy and see no return!
January 15th, 2013 at 10:11 pm
Thanks for your question and challenge Nigey.
Any event has the potential to attract tourists. Not being a Host City for AFCON 2013, I cannot judge what Cape Town is losing out in terms of business. I will be watching media reports from other Host Cities, to check on this.
I can only speculate that there will be no AFCON 2013 tourism benefit for Cape Town. The 2010 World Cup taught us that soccer fans are loyal to their teams, and will follow them to cities in which they play. That leaves a big zero for Cape Town!
The City of Cape Town said that the Cape Town Stadium was heavily booked over the AFCON 2013 period anyway, so it would not have been available for the soccer matches had we made Host City. However, I am not aware of any events to be held at the stadium from Saturday onwards, for the next three weeks!
Chris
January 15th, 2013 at 10:14 pm
Thank you for your detailed comment Rose, and it’s nice to hear from you again.
If AFCON 2013 boosts the economy up north, and in Durban and PE, then we in the Cape may benefit from this longer term, if they spend that money to come on holiday in the Cape!
Chris