World Cup logistics – now is the time to make money

Logistics companies will be making their money out of moving materials and equipment for the new stadiums in South Africa, broadcasters setting up studios, new hotels, and bringing in the many thousands of litres of Budweiser beer that thirsty fans will consume. Judging by the experiences of Germany (Fifa Soccer World Cup 2006), Korea (Seoul Olympics 2008), in Germany overall hotel occupancy dropped due to “crowding out” and displacement of normal tourism, according to Wolfgang Maenning of the University of Hamburg. Retail sales in Germany were also down, as locals stayed away from the shops or watched the games at home, he told a Fifa World Cup in South Africa 2010: Economic Scope and Limits conference in Cape Town recently. The experience in Seoul was similar, with retailers reporting a 50% drop in sales ahead of the Olympic Games. According to the New York Times, hotels were also forced to cut prices as spectators stayed away from the long-haul destination. Analysis of the effects of the French (1998) and US Soccer (1994) World Cups show similar patterns. While beds in the host cities were mostly sold out, hotels, restaurants and tourism destinations outside of the games mostly lost out – leading to an overall drop in tourism numbers during the events. First to go is incentive and group tourism – who wants to travel to a country where prices are expected to be inflated, transport crowded and restaurants and sites expected to be full of fans? The truth is that the 2010 Fifa World Cup is probably the best time to find tourism bargains outside of the main centres – if not now, then closer to the time if South Africa follows the same pattern as other countries which have hosted either the Soccer World Cup or Olympics. For logistics companies, the challenges will be working around the expected traffic jams, no-go zones that will be closed before, during and after games, and even covering up their own signage – none but official sponsor logos may be displayed in a one kilometre radius around stadiums and on the official routes. Seems there will be time to watch the games, after all.