Cape Town Beats Rival Cities for World Cup Value
Cape Town has cited a fresh survey as proof that it is committed to offering visitors great value South Africa holidays during the exciting World Cup period.
With the FIFA tournament just 72 days away, the city pointed to a study commissioned by the country’s tourism minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk, who was concerned at reports that some hotel owners were jacking up prices during the time of the World Cup.
The survey of hotel prices took place over a month, involved 2,479 different hotels, guest houses, B&Bs, lodges, hostels, camping grounds and self-catering accommodation, and was carried out by analysts Grant Thornton across the whole of South Africa.
The results were not so good for World Cup hosts Durban and Johannesburg, where pollsters found that accommodation rates were being increased by more than 50 per cent over the normal peak season prices by 53 per cent and 65 per cent of owners respectively.
However, when the pollsters turned their attention to Cape Town – where England plays Algeria on 18 June – they discovered that under 20 per cent of the city’s accommodation was disproportionately pricey.
Grant Thornton said that the greater value stemmed from the fact that there was a greater supply of accommodation, which meant that there were more cheap hotels available. Another factor could be found in the code of conduct for ethical pricing, which tourism chiefs in the area recently signed up to.
Cape Town Tourism chief executive Mariette Du-Toit Helmbold urged owners to offer as many cheap hotel rooms as possible for the long-term future of the city’s tourism sector. She argued: “If we can deliver excellent value for money experiences, the long term benefits of hosting the World Cup will far outweigh the short term.”
Hotels News posted by 
on 30 March 2010
South Africa holidays, cheap hotels, World Cup
http://www.travelmole.com/stories/1141611.php
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