Still, whatever images spring to mind, it’s likely they are different from a year ago, when the 2010 FIFA World Cup changed the world’s perception of South Africa forever. Thousands of visitors took home unique South African experiences – from abseiling down Cape Town’s iconic Table Mountain and learning about the country’s storied history at Johannesburg’s Apartheid Museum (apartheidmuseum.org), to sampling fine Shiraz in Franschhoek’s 300-year-old Cape Dutch-style wineries – while millions of others learnt about the country at home through the media.
A FIFA survey of World Cup visitors revealed that 94 per cent would happily recommend a visit to South Africa to their friends and family. As Clive Bennett, general manager of the One and Only Cape Town hotel, says, there was an “unprecedented revision in people’s perceptions”.
That the Cup played a major role in increasing foreign tourism over the past year, there is no doubt. Despite the global economic downturn, South African Tourism (southafrica.net) recorded an upsurge in visitor numbers in December last year (traditionally the country’s peak season) compared with the same month the year before. A 33 per cent increase was recorded from Asia, 21 per cent from Central and South America, 18 per cent from Australasia, 14 per cent from the Middle East and 13 from the rest of Africa. Figures for Europe and North America were more modest, at 1.1 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively. Overall, tourism growth stood at 10.3 per cent, against the United Nations World Tourism Organisation’s report of a worldwide growth of 7 per cent for 2010.
And because the event took place in ten venues around the country, it also increased awareness of what South Africa has to offer beyond the more well-known tourist draws of Cape Town and safari parks, particularly in Johannesburg and Durban. Two of the stadiums were in Johannesburg – Soccer City (which hosted the final) and Ellis Park.
“The camaraderie in the World Cup venues in Johannesburg and towns nearby such as Rustenburg was fantastic,” says George Cohen, managing director of boutique hotel the Saxon, which nestles in the greenery of Johannesburg’s exclusive northern suburb of Sandhurst. “There were high-calibre VIPs in the boxes and such a buzz. The whole event put South Africa firmly on the map, and gave Johannesburg more exposure as a safe and interesting destination for tourism and business.”
There were other knock-on effects, too. US singer Neil Diamond said on South African radio station 702 that he watched the World Cup on TV and was so impressed with Soccer City, as the FNB stadium in Soweto was known during the event, that he made plans to perform there – the concert took place in April this year. FNB also hosted U2 in February, while Kings of Leon and Coldplay are due to perform there in October. Built in 1989 as Africa’s biggest stadium (seating 94,700 people), it underwent a major facelift for the Cup, while Ellis Park expanded its capacity to 62,000.
The total cost of staging the event was in the region of R33 billion (£3 billion), which included infrastructural projects such as Johannesburg’s high-speed Gautrain (see panel above). This ferries passengers from the expanded international airport, OR Tambo, to the city centre, Sandton – an upmarket suburb north of the city that has developed into a major business district – and Pretoria, with the airport-Sandton route now taking only 15 minutes.
Questions about the value of such huge spending for world events invariably get raised, especially considering that it is estimated some 40 per cent of the South African population lives on under US$2 a day. But as Greg Truen, director at SAOTA, an architectural firm involved in public projects across the country (see panel, next page), points out, most of the facilities have been of great benefit to South Africans and continue to stimulate development.
“The airport and the new roads are a valuable addition. The airport is fantastic and is spurring development in an area of the city that would otherwise be in decline,” he says. “The Gautrain carried its millionth passenger about 100 days after the first phase opened. I think it’s going to be an enormous success. Property values have increased around the stations and there is substantial redevelopment under way around Sandton and Rosebank stations. There is already talk of extending the systems to other parts of Gauteng province and there is a proposal to link Johannesburg to Durban with a high-speed train.”
The renovation of Johannesburg’s stadiums, meanwhile, “allows the city to host almost any kind of event, while the images that were beamed around the world clearly have marketing value and are being used on a fairly regular basis,” Truen says.
Andrew Cook, general manager of luxury Johannesburg hotel the Westcliff, which was upgraded in preparation for the World Cup boom, points out that the success of the event has boosted South Africans’ confidence. It has also left behind a FIFA legacy that has enlivened the football scene in the country, he says, particularly in disadvantaged areas of the city such as Soweto, which were noticed by foreign organisations and individuals during the Cup and have since benefited from funding.
But while global support for South Africa’s sports development is greatly needed, one Johannesburg resident, Sipho Njokweni, points out that only limited areas of the city have come to the international community’s attention. “There are budding soccer stars from many other places, not just Soweto, who can’t afford the taxi fare into the city centre to attend training,” he says. “Johannesburg has more than 50 townships, but most foreigners know only of Soweto and the press always focuses on this area. Other parts of the city also need support.” Njokweni is trying to set up an organisation to nurture young footballers from his own district, Ekurhuleni, previously known as the East Rand.
The infrastructural developments have been nothing but a boon to visitors – apart from the improved airport access, the plethora of good hotels, restaurants, shopping and communications infrastructure also make Johannesburg a good tourist and business destination.
More travellers do seem to be visiting for both work and pleasure, Truen says, and equally important, staying for longer. “The World Cup improved Johannesburg’s brand as a travel destination and people do seem to want to spend some time in the city instead of using it solely as a gateway to other tourist sites in the country,” he says.
Johannesburg has always been the country’s top business centre and is increasingly becoming the pre-eminent African business centre. It is home to a developed and sophisticated financial sector, and most South African business in Africa is run out of here.
The Saxon’s Cohen says the city offers “first-world facilities on the tip of Africa”, including a largely accessible air network, which means it works as a meeting point for international partners with interests in Africa. “If a European company and South African firm do a deal in the Democratic Republic of Congo, you’ll find it’s very likely they will hold their follow-up meeting in Johannesburg,” he says.
The city is also becoming popular for MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and events). Evelyn Mahlaba, regional director for Asia, Australasia and the Americas at South African Tourism, says: “Johannesburg is the country’s biggest business and MICE destination, although Cape Town and Durban are also important. Guests in town for incentives usually add on some leisure activities such as safaris, and this is a big market for us.”
The Westcliff’s Cook concludes: “The World Cup made people realise Johannesburg has its own history and culture, in addition to being an important business hub. I foresee huge tourism growth over the next few years.”GETTING AROUND
It used to be notoriously difficult to get about in Johannesburg, and while the World Cup has led to improved transport links, it still has a long way to go to reach international public transport standards.
The Gautrain from the airport is fast, clean and safe, although slightly expensive at R105 (£10) per journey to reach the commercial and business region of Sandton. Avoid the Gautrain’s Marlboro stop as it is located in an impoverished township with high crime rates. Feeder buses connect to each Gautrain station – it is advisable to use these buses or hire a private taxi through your hotel or one of the local operators rather than use the public minivan taxis, as these require hand signals and a sense of the layout of the city’s streets.
If you can drive, it makes good sense to hire a car, making sure you have GPS or a good map. Note that many parts of the city are congested between 6.30am and 9am, and 3.30pm to 6.30pm. Park in well-lit, secure areas, preferably with a security guard and do not leave valuables in your car.
As a general rule, don’t walk alone at night (distances in Johannesburg are usually too vast to walk about, anyway). The city’s crime rate seems to be improving, although statistics to prove this are hard to come by. Most of the crime has always targeted local residents rather than tourists, and as long as you remain vigilant and don’t try to adventure too far from the usual tourist trail, you should be safe.
While it remains advisable to sign up for organised township trips, tourists can make use of the “hop on, hop off” buses that run through the revitalised city centre.THE CITY’S NEW FACE
Johannesburg’s city centre is now seeing large-scale revitalisation courtesy of the South African government. Business Traveller asks Greg Truen, director at SAOTA (Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects), which is involved in numerous public and private developments in the city, about the project and its benefits for locals and visitors.
BT: Why is the inner city being revitalised?
GT: The city started losing direction in the 1980s. Access was congested and after a difficult drive in, you couldn’t find parking. As companies were allowed to develop outside the central business district (CBD), they started leaving. When political change came in the early 1990s, the security situation worsened and many of the remaining businesses left, including many retailers, although some of the large banks and mining houses remained, and have subsequently been a catalyst for change. Street hawkers took over the pavements and minibus taxis the streets. In Hillbrow, many buildings became overcrowded slums and were abandoned by their owners.
BT: What is being done about it?
GT: A number of initiatives have been important in turning the city around. The public sector and parastatals [a company owned or controlled wholly or partly by the government] started buying or renting much of the office space that had been left empty. Provincial government has consolidated all of its departments in the city and created a government precinct, becoming major landowners. They have started a process to redevelop and modernise these buildings.
Security cameras were introduced on the streets and allowed police to react to incidents quickly, dramatically reducing crime levels. Street hawkers were removed, allowing retailers to return, and a new suspension bridge, the Nelson Mandela Bridge, was built over the railway lines, creating a new access point to the bottom of the city at Newtown.
Newtown has been developed as a cultural hub with theatres, dance schools, museums, restaurants and apartments, and a series of taxi ranks were built around the edges of the city. Johannesburg also started clearing buildings that had become slums or been hijacked, and many of these have now been rehabilitated, providing quality accommodation.
BT: What about historic and artistic sites in the area?
GT: The Constitutional Court of South Africa is now housed at a historic prison, the Old Fort Prison Complex, that once held Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, among others. The building houses a great art collection and has become a major tourist attraction. A programme to rehabilitate city parks and create new public spaces and introduce art into the streets has been successful and has given the city a very particular identity. A large section of Main Street, which runs from Gandhi Square and the Carlton Centre down to the Law Courts, has been pedestrianised and landscaped.
An effort has also been made to market the CBD’s districts – the 26-block fashion district has been a success with retailers, designers and students, as well as manufacturers and suppliers living and working there. The financial district has gone from strength to strength, and companies such as Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Absa have all invested in the area. Jewel City consists of about four blocks and contains many of the city’s diamond dealers. The nearby Arts on Main development houses restaurants, artists’ studios (including one for major local artist William Kentridge), lofts, retail space and hotels, and has become a big tourist attraction.
Communications networks have also been rebuilt throughout the city, and a bus system, conceptualised as a tube system above ground (see picture below), now links various parts of Jo’burg and most of the inner districts. Many buildings have been converted into private apartment blocks, hotels and student accommodation to service the nearby universities and colleges. Many of the larger retail and food chains have returned. The turnaround has been significant. There are, of course, parts of the city that still require a lot of work, but the corner has been turned.
BT: What is planned for the years to come?
GT: The key is to consolidate the progress that has been made. Areas around Sandton and Rosebank [another upmarket northern suburb] will continue to develop rapidly on the back of continued economic growth in South Africa and the continent. It is the natural entry point to the continent for international business, and will continue its rehabilitation, becoming a world-class city centre.
