RIP OFF SOUTH AFRICA

Garrick

People are always caught and made to look like suckers. The prices that the chap that you aretalking about paid, were extortionate and totally out of order. If I were to go to SA for the WC then I would fly to Zimbabwe or Namiia and take a bus into SA. As I have friends there (well I would like to think so) then fortunately for me I would be put up. But if not then I would find a boarding house/back packers/camp site to stay. Only a small percentage of people who will travel to SA or other massive sporting events around the world will stay in 4 or 5 star accomodation. 50 per cent will find middle of the road and the other 40 per cent will find the cheapest of cheap. I went to the 1994 WC in the US and hired a camper van and travelled aound the US choosing my matches. We slept in the van and twice a week we would splurge out and stay over in a motel ($25.00 fo the night). Same for the 2003 Rugby world cup in Australia. If I recall I paid £340 for a return ticket from London to Sydney. I tavelled two months prior to the world cup found myself a job in a restaurant for two months and stayed in a back packers in St Kilda. By the time the tourney stated I had had enough money to purchase a little camper van and did my travelling and sleeping in it. It can be done on a low budget. I have already planned for 2011 in New Zealand and it will be the cheapest way possible again. So anybody on a lowish budget who wants to go and experiance the WC in SA should not be "taken" by the greed of the hoteliers and travel agents.

C&C wake up to the real world pal. Nobody in S.A. will be able to pay for tickets for the WC, let alone hire a camper van for the duration of the WC by working in a restaurant...Unless you female and you "waiteressing" at Teasers...

Bashful

I only talk from my own experiance and I do live in the real world pal. If you read my post correctly pal then you would have come to the conclusion that I was talking about foreigners coming into the country, pal.

Who sets the prices?
Isn't that FIFA controlled?
If you want to blame, put it where it belongs.

I was in Durban today and passed our magnificent stadium with its faulty arch car. I cannot believe the amount of infrastructural development that is going on in and around the stadium and beach front. It is mind blowing. I happened to be on the beach front, M4 south (back to the coast) and M4 north Umhlanga.

This country is investing so much into this and deserves to earn a little back.

Go South Africa - Fifa World Cup 2010

You all who have replied still do not get the point. Its not the prices of the matches that people are complaing about its the extortionate air prices and hotels prices. Off course SA must get the maoney back but not by means of day light scullduggery

CnC consider this - Air portugal leaves Europe with a plane full of fans. Cannot park at the airport and returns to europe empty. What do they do, increase prices to cover the cost of the return flight. Do we blame SA for this or the individual flight operators.

Travel operators abroad block book venues, pay the deposit then cancel and demand refunds on deposits due to economic downturn. Who suffers - very same SA Hoteliers. I am sure the hotel groups in SA structured pricing under advisement of FIFA. I would also hazard a guess that they would have had to register with some or other FIFA website / organisation in order to be placed on a suppliers list. Why should the Hoteliers pay the cost of this. It will be passed on to the consumer as with anything else in life just like the bucks back bonuses with direct insurers. Budgets are set and yes there will be a certain increased rates but without concrete proof, they cannot be accused of price fixing. The competitions board would have their proverbial asses.

When I was leaving on a cheap flight travel agent says they are starting to drop original prices as flights did not reach anticipated levels

alcoponne

Air Portugal would be stupid to send a full plane to SA and return empty in the first place. FIFA have no jurisdiction over the pricing of hotels and air fares. They have a say in the matter regarding TV costs and tickets prices. The hoteliers dont understand how much free advertising SA will be getting during the month of the WC. The whole wide world will be watching unlike when SA hosted the Rugby and Cricket WCs when only small sections of the worlds population viewed it on TV. WC football is just as big as the Olympics if not bigger. Whats going to happen is that the normal bloke will not be able to take a loan from the bank or stick it on the CC as the banks are not lending and if they do get the loan it wont cover the cost of the trip so in essence you will be having the rich going over and spending their money in the 5 star hotels restuarants and not at the one off street cafes and pubs. I hope you get my drift.

Who will they be taking back? Stands to reason that incoming flights will be full and not so full on return. Not saying that FIFA controls this.

Hotels will have to be registered with Fifas accomodation provider Match www.fifa.com/worldcup/organisation/matchag/index.html . Perhaps you want to rethink your position on your statements. In the words of Barney Curley Fifa are "take out merchants"

Do not under estimate the attraction of the world cup - people will find a way to pay. Also dont under estimate the value of TV coverage or the ability of South Africans to achieve at the highest level. SA will be show cased to the world, one way or the other.

Sing it with me.....

Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika
Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo,
Yizwa imithandazo yethu,
Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo.

Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso,
O fedise dintwa la matshwenyeho,
O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso,
Setjhaba sa South Afrika - South Afrika.

Uit die blou van onse hemel,
Uit die diepte van ons see,
Oor ons ewige gebergtes,
Waar die kranse antwoord gee,

Sounds the call to come together,
And united we shall stand,
Let us live and strive for freedom,
In South Africa our land.

As things stand match tickets, hotels and flights have not met the projections made by the World Cup organisers.

Whatever the reasons eventually prices for travel and accommodation will have to come down at some point, when they do I anticipate a shift in the demand with a last minute rush.

It was always going to be a big ask for South Africa to sell out the whole event on the back of the economic climate. The thing is as much as it would be great for locals to fill up the stadiums its the tourist cash that's needed to provide a shot in the arm for the local economy..

Just a quick note in respect of Match, Fifa's official accommodation and hospitality providers for the World Cup. What is interesting is that Match is owned by a sports marketing/media company called Infront whose the president and CEO coincidently happens to be Phillipe Blatter, son of the head of the Fifa mafiosi Sebb Blatter.

This is Fifa's chance to milk the World Cup, at the same time why not keep it in the Blatter family as well!