Foreign visitors to World Cup set to be half predicted

April 15 – Danny Jordaan (pictured), the chief executive of South Africa 2010, admitted that the number of fans currently planning to attend the World Cup stands at between 100,000 and 200,000 – less than half of the original forecast of 450,000.

“We are way over 100,000 fans here, maybe 200,000 now,” Jordaan told reporters at a World Cup ticketing centre in Johannesburg, as tickets went on sale over the counter around the country.

With under two months to go to kick-off in Johannesburg on June 11, tour operators say they do not expect many more foreign fans to sign up for the trip to South Africa.

“Reality in the world has changed,” Jordaan said.

The global economic crisis had affected Britain and Germany, two of the biggest habitual sources of World Cup tourists, “in a major way,” he pointed out.

“For the first time banks were collapsing,” he said.

But Jordaan remains upbeat.

“I still think we can get to 300,000 [foreign fans],” he said.

“If England gets into the knock-out stages and the quarter-final, you will see a second flood of fans arriving in this country.”

FIFA has admitted that ticket sales to European fans particularly has been disappointing.

Of the 2.2 million tickets sold to date before the latest ticket phase began today, Germans, who are normally among the most enthusiastic supporters, have bought only 32,269 tickets.

British fans have bought 67,654 tickets, while South Africans have bought nearly one million.