Cape Town - With less than two months to go before the Netball World Cup is hosted in Cape Town, SA Tourism has predicted the event will inject R68 million into the economy.
“We are expecting around 56 000 people to attend the world cup at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC),” said acting SA Tourism marketing officer, Bronwen Auret.
“The actual event will turnover R68m from the revenue of ticket sales, that excludes anything that gets spent on food, beverages, transport to and from the accommodation and some of the tourism activities on either side of the Netball World Cup.
“From a tourism perspective, there are a lot of opportunities to engage in Cape Town, it's one of our most prominent tourism brands.
“It's so important that we make sure that the teams come here and have all their supporters fill the CTICC because that ensures that everyone has enjoyed the beauty of Cape Town.
“We would like to wish the Proteas team all the best and we really hope they have a fantastic World Cup and let them know that we are behind them 100%.”
The Singapore team arrived at OR Tambo International Airport on Saturday, on a short tour to get a taste of South African conditions ahead of the tournament.
Coached by Annette Bishop and co-captained by Kai Wei Toh and Ting Fang Khor, the team will play a number of training matches against two of South Africa’s Telkom Netball League sides – the Gauteng Jaguars and Gauteng Golden Fireballs.
They will depart for Singapore on June 24 before returning to South Africa again next month.
As part of the build-up to the World Cup, a trophy tour will take place across the Western Cape from July 3-7.
The tour will see the trophy travelling to communities from the Garden Route, Central Karoo, Overberg, Cape Winelands and the West Coast, until the trophy makes its final stop in Cape Town.
Cultural Affairs and Sport MEC, Anroux Marais, said: “In (less than) 50 days’ time we will see the start of the first match in Cape Town and we are so proud to be hosting this prestigious tournament.
“I want to call on everyone in the Western Cape to help us build excitement and to show our Proteas team that we are all backing them to keep the trophy in South Africa.
“We are expecting large numbers of travelling fans but we would like the people of the Western Cape to bring the unique gees that we have seen in the past.
“Whether you are attending matches in person, watching at a fan zone or viewing centre or supporting from home, let us bring the energy to help our team across the line.”
The first match will be played on Friday, July 28, where South Africa will take on Wales.
Cape Times