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FM AMCONSUL DURBAN
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INFO RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHDU/AMCONSUL DURBAN 0842
RUCNSAD/SADC COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DURBAN 000065 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR AF/S, INR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SF
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA IS READY FOR THE 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP 
 
DURBAN 00000065  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary.  Tourism leaders from around the world made 
their way to the Tourism Indaba, Africa's biggest annual travel 
trade show, hosted in Durban from May 7 - 12.   The theme of 
this year's Indaba was `South Africa is ready for 2010'.  The 
public-private tourism promotion agency, South African Tourism 
(SAT) Board launched a multi-million dollar 2010 FIFA World Cup 
campaign at the Indaba that will reach 600 million people 
between now and kick-off.  Industry leaders are taking the 
global recession seriously, but they are confident that 2010 
will attract billions to South Africa's economy.  The South 
Africa government has invested millions of dollars not only in 
infrastructural readiness but also in ensuring the safety of the 
fans that plan to visit South Africa for 2010.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
Indaba Overview 
 
 
 
¶2. (U) Tourism leaders and exhibitors from around the world made 
their way to the Tourism Indaba, Africa's biggest annual travel 
trade show, which was hosted in Durban from May 7 - May 12. 
The theme of this year's Indaba was `South Africa is ready for 
2010'.  Organizers had hoped to surpass last year's 
participation level, but attendance at the Indaba was down this 
year by 2.35 percent to 12,002 people.  There were 1.3 percent 
fewer exhibitors at the Indaba this year but 10.24 percent more 
journalists, 673 in total.  The drop in attendance was expected 
by some in light of the global economic crisis and an industry 
whose growth has slowed significantly in the last nine months 
with many tourism businesses closing down. 
 
Ready for 2010 
 
 
 
¶3. (U) The message at the Indaba was loud and clear: South 
Africa is ready to welcome the world for 2010.  `Forget about 
Plan B,' Tourism KwaZulu-Natal (TKZN) Chairwoman Tholakele 
Dlamini told the TKZN chief executive's business breakfast, 
which provided details of the province's state of readiness. 
While Dlamini was talking about KZN's state of readiness, it was 
the same story across the country, said SAT Acting CEO Didi 
Moyle. `We are now standing on the brink of the biggest sports 
event in the world, in our lifetime and our country,' she said 
at the opening ceremony. `It is time for us as South Africans to 
start to celebrate.' 
 
 
 
¶4. (U) South Africa is ready to host the world, and it wants the 
world to know that 2010 is going to be a `spectacular display of 
passion, of celebration, of excitement, of rhythm and of 
efficiency,' declared SAT Board Chairman Jabu Mabuza at the 
official opening of the Indaba.  South Africa accepts the 
responsibility to ensure that visitors to the tournament return 
home as enthusiastic ambassadors for the country,' assured 
Mabuza.  FIFA's first phase for ticket applications drew more 
than 1.6 million applications, and the second phase that opened 
on May 4th drew 11,000 online applications in the first two 
hours of opening, according to Mabuza.  Fans in the U.S. are 
leading the way in foreign ticket sales, having already 
purchased 93,000 tickets, and the U.S. paid the most for 2010 
FIFA World Cup broadcast rights.  U.S. Major League Soccer 
Commissioner Don Garber said ABC/ESPN and Univision would be 
paying FIFA a combined $325 million for English and Spanish U.S. 
television rights to the 2010 and 2014 tournaments.  `Clearly 
the world is excited and wants to come.  The tournament is going 
to have a massive turnout and be a huge success,' declared 
Mabuza. 
 
 
 
¶5. (U) The focus of this year's Indaba was on 2010 and other 
global events coming to South Africa.  According to Moyle, `Our 
focus for Indaba 2009 is all about creating the urgency of now. 
Our campaign is to get all South Africans on their feet to 
promote what a welcoming and fantastic destination South Africa 
is.  We need to stop seeing the glass half full when it comes to 
¶2010.  After the Indaba there are almost 400 more days of 
marketing opportunities and the challenge is to get out there 
and do it!  History is being made!' 
 
 
 
¶6. (U) Mabuza told a packed Chief Albert Luthuli Convention 
Centre Auditorium that 2010 brought great opportunity to the 
 
DURBAN 00000065  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
South African travel industry. `The eyes of the world are 
already on us. We confidently expect 300,000 visitors in South 
Africa for the World Cup and we remain cautiously optimistic of 
attaining our ambition to welcome 10 million visitors in 2010. 
This is the biggest showcase of capability and hospitality in 
the history of the country,' noted Mabuza. 
 
 
 
Marketing Campaign 
 
 
 
¶7. (U) SAT launched its multi-million dollar 2010 FIFA World Cup 
campaign at the Indaba Opening Ceremony.  Moyle called it a 
`big, bold, exciting campaign' that will reach 600 million 
people between now and kick-off and will be broadcast on the 
world's premier global television channels: CNN International, 
BBC World, EuroSport, Sky News, and Fox.  The campaign comprises 
a 60-second television commercial, a 2010 website, social media 
components and a strong public relations drive.  It celebrates 
the spirit of South Africa and proclaims to the world that the 
nation is ready, excited, and celebrating its opportunity to 
host 2010. 
 
 
 
¶8. (U) The central campaign theme is that this is Africa's World 
Cup, hosted on its behalf by South Africa. `From the onset, we 
have said that this World Cup does not belong to South Africa 
alone, but to all of Africa,' said Moyle.  At the heart of the 
Africa campaign is an invitation for Africa to unite and rally 
behind 2010, while the domestic focus is on celebrating ordinary 
South Africans as champions who will make the 2010 event a 
reality and a stunning success.  It also calls on South Africans 
to prepare themselves to welcome the world and be warm, 
hospitable, and generous hosts.  Both campaigns celebrate 
Africa's passion for football.  This celebration drives 
excitement for a soccer championship that is going to be 
`colorful, vibrant, intoxicating and alive with a fusion of 
cultures, dance, song, and music,' according to International 
Marketing Council of South Africa Acting CEO Paul Bannister. 
There will also be an extensive online campaign component that 
includes a web site, and social media to complement the 
television commercials.  An extensive global editorial and 
public relations campaign is also in place.   All adverts are 
uniquely South African, and they are `warm, inspirational and 
make you feel proud. They are about celebration, solidarity and 
they encapsulate the African spirit of Ubuntu [or human 
kindness],' said Bannister.  The commercials began airing 
throughout Africa on May 11 on numerous television channels. 
 
 
 
Global Recession's Impact on 2010 and Tourism 
 
 
 
¶9. (U) A highlight of the Indaba was the Indaba Global Media 
Face-off hosted by CNN and moderated by Richard Quest.  The 
media event was attended by more than 200 journalists who came 
from all over world to hear about the nation's state of 
readiness; to investigate the impact of the global recession on 
the industry; and to learn about the opportunities that big 
events such as 2010 offer the South African tourism industry. 
The Global Media face-off also examined safety and security 
measures in place for 2010, the state of airport readiness, and 
the challenges facing the host broadcaster, the South African 
Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). 
 
 
 
¶10.  (U) The financial meltdown is testing the industry 
globally;  however, the South African economy and industry felt 
the effects less keenly than giant economies that had recorded 
double digit growth in recent times, said  Pan African Advisory 
Services CEO Iraj Abedian.  `When their economies fall, our 
economy enjoys relative improvement' - a theory which will now 
be tested given that South Africa's economy is officially in 
recession.  The World Cup will attract billions to South 
Africa's economy, but its real and long-term value lies in the 
exposure it will give the country and in the view that it will 
offer the world of South Africa's capability, efficiency, and 
attractiveness as a world-class investment and leisure 
destination, explained Abedian.  South Africa is on track to 
prove itself to the world, said FIFA 2010 consultant Horst R. 
Schmidt. `The arenas and airports are ready, or will be ready in 
good time.'  At least seven times the number of people would 
 
DURBAN 00000065  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
watch matches at the fan parks as opposed to the soccer stadia, 
said Schmidt.  This would be where the vast majority of fans in 
South Africa will have their best World Cup experiences. The 
responsibilities of the host broadcaster are enormous, and the 
SABC is well-equipped to meet them in so far as technology, 
human capacity and experience were concerned, confirmed Schmidt. 
 Schmidt and 2010 Local Organizing Committee CEO Danny Jordaan 
are confident that South African will be ready with 13 months to 
go to kick-off. 
 
 
 
¶11. (U) Mabuza cautioned the industry, too. `Times are tough out 
there, and our industry is feeling the effects.  It's time to be 
sober, sensible and cautious.'  Mabuza added, however, that the 
industry and SAT are working hard to market the destination and 
to make the most of the opportunities the 2009 Confederations 
Cup and 2010 World Cup present.   The tourism industry perhaps 
took things for granted, before the credit crunch kicked in, 
believing that tourists would flock to the soccer extravaganza. 
`But we cannot take things for granted now.  We've got to engage 
every possible tour operator and agent who comes to the Indaba 
trade travel show to bring in as many people as possible,' said 
TKZN CEO Ndabo Khoza. 
 
South African National Parks (SANParks) 
 
 
 
¶12. (U) SANParks could earn up to $6 million during the 
month-long soccer spectacular, said SANParks Managing Executive 
of Tourism and Marketing Glenn Phillips.  The World Cup will 
take place during extended school holidays in South Africa and 
as SANParks wants to retain its normal client base, it has 
decided to reserve just 30 percent of its beds for visiting 
soccer fans.  Most soccer fans opting for park lodging will end 
up going to Kruger National Park, which has dedicated three of 
its camps to the event: Skukuza, Berg en Dal and Pretoriuskop. 
A total of 2,256 beds will be filled at the camps every day.  An 
additional 420 beds have been added and new mobile tents can 
also be used to provide additional inventory to parks in other 
locations that lack sufficient accommodation during the high 
season.  It is estimated that 15,000 people would be introduced 
to the national parks for the first time. 
 
 
 
Security 
 
 
 
¶13. (U) The South Africa government has invested millions of 
dollars not only in infrastructural readiness but also in 
ensuring the safety of the hundreds of thousands of fans who 
plan to visit South Africa for 2010, said South African Police 
Services Senior Superintendent Vish Naidoo.  `South Africa has 
learned from other host nations, from Japan and Korea, from 
Germany, and from Beijing on best practice security and safety 
measures for big crowd events.  South Africa's very own security 
practices, such as the one implemented for the World Summit on 
Sustainable Development in 2002, for example, have been adopted 
as international safety and security best-practice by the United 
Nations.'  Naidoo said the government had invested more than 
$168 million in the last five years to boost policing, and South 
Africa would use the services of more than 52,000 overall and 
about 700 police officers on patrol in stadiums for each of the 
tournament's matches.  Danny Jordaan noted during a New York 
news conference on May 30 that the South African government has 
a $163 million budget for policing during 2010. 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
 
 
¶14. (SBU) The tone of the Indaba was upbeat and hopeful, but 
some industry leaders are anxious about the potential impact of 
the global recession (and of South Africa's own recently 
declared economic downturn) on 2010.  However, the South African 
government has invested millions in preparation efforts and 
seems confident that 2010 will lure a world eager for diversion 
in a time of turmoil.  Ticket sales for the World Cup have been 
strong thus far and are expected to pick-up once the final 
qualifying teams are announced at the end of this year. 
SZSYKES