Batswana spend P30m over W/Cup

MBONGENI MGUNI
Staff Writer | Wednesday July 7, 2010 00:00

 

Statistics rank Botswana among the top ten spenders in South Africa between June 1 and 20, 2010, a list that also includes some of the world's richest nations.

Expenditure by Batswana was 22 percent higher than levels recorded over the same period last year, second only to Mozambique, whose citizens spent US$4.9 million (P34.3 million).

Statistics unveiled by Visa Inc, a leading global payments technology firm, indicate that the World Cup drove spending by Batswana in South Africa, while Mozambican spending actually declined by 23 percent year-on-year.

Prior to the historic event, which ends on Sunday, Batswana were among the leading African ticket holders for the World Cup, with 2, 519 by February, coming ahead of Mozambique with 1, 795.

According to Statistics South Africa, more than 830, 000 Batswana arrived in South Africa last year, with 484, 258 of these classified as tourists. Between June and July 2009, 74, 554 tourists from Botswana arrived in South Africa, with Visa cardholders spending a total of P23.5 million between June 01 and June 20 of that year.

Although statistics of Batswana arrivals in South Africa for June 2010 are currently unavailable, the Visa Inc report points to an increase fuelled by World Cup fans.

Visa officials said spending by visa cardholders leveraged off the global payment company's extensive network and infiltration in the South African and regional market.

'You can see it for yourself on the streets and in the shopping malls of the nine host cities and now we're seeing the real-time data. The international visitors have come and they are spending with their Visa cards. The spending is spread right across the 159,000 merchants that accept Visa in South Africa,' said Michael Lynch, Global Head of Sponsorship Management at Visa Inc.

'The sponsorship of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa is working extremely well for Visa with promotional activities occurring in close to 100 countries, involving 500 financial institutions and merchants.

'We also have approximately 4,000 competition prize winners coming to South Africa for the tournament and the first waves of those have had a great experience.' Statistics for spending as measured on visa-branded payment cards between June 1 and 20, 2010, indicate that visitors from the United States were ahead of the pack paying out US$34.5 million (P241.5 million) in the World Cup host. Visitors from the United Kingdom were ranked second with total spending of US$33.8 million (P236.6 million), followed by the citizens of Australia, Brazil, France, Germany and Mexico.

The statistics clearly reflect the World Cup's impact on tourism, with spending by Mexican citizens in South Africa for the period under review, jumping 880 percent year-on-year.

Brazilians also spent 468 percent more than they did over the same period last year, indicating that generally South Africa receives a low level of tourists from the South American nations. Year-on-year percentage changes in spending also indicate that Australians, the French, Germans and Americans were among the most extravagant supporters of their respective teams.

Overall, spending by international visitors in South Africa in the period under review, exceeded US$176 million (P1.2 billion), up 65 percent over the same period last year. Between June 1 and June 25, Visa recorded 51, 000 transactions on average per day, up from 29, 000 a day over the same period in 2009.

Aggregation of the statistics indicates that over 90 percent spending was in typical leisure and business travel categories such as accommodation, restaurants, retail, auto rental and air travel.

Visa is the world's most widely accepted payment card and a FIFA global partner with rights extending to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Through Visa's sponsorship of the football event, Visa has exclusive rights to the payment cards accepted at all FIFA stadiums and onsite stadium merchandise booths.