World Cup: Tourist spending boosts South African economy

PRETORIA - South African economy has received a boost from international tourists flocking the country to watch the 2010 soccer World Cup.

During the period between the kick-off of the World Cup and the first week of the event, spending by visitors exceeded $128 million (R974 million), up 54 percent from $83 million during the same period in 2009.

The number of money transactions June 1-20 was 900,000, which meant 45,000 transactions per day that is up 60 percent as compared to last year’s first 20 days of June, BuaNews reported.

The money spent by visitors through their credit, debit and prepaid cards on the first ten days of the FIFA World Cup showed an increase of 81 percent over the same period in 2009.

The data also shows that British tourists are the largest contributors, followed by the visitors from the US, Australia, France and Brazil.