South African mega-events and their impact on tourism
Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP03/2010Publication date: 2010
Author(s):
[protected email address] (Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch)
The 2010 FIFA World Cup, one of the largest mega-sport events, has stirred renewed interest in the benefits that a host country can derive from these events. While most predict a large increase in the number of tourist arrivals, the recent international literature suggest that ex ante studies are often too optimistic. South Africa has played host to numerous mega-events since 1994. Using a time-series auto-regressive model, we identify increases in tourism numbers for most of these events, controlling for a number of variables standard in predicting tourism flows. However, smaller events, especially those held during summer months, show little increase in tourist arrivals. We disaggregate tourism arrivals to show that, as expected, tourists from participating countries increase the most. Contrary to the international literature, we find little evidence of displacement. This could be as a result of off-season scheduling or because the relative size of these events does not reflect that of the FIFA World Cup or Olympic Games.
JEL Classification:L83, F19
Keywords:sport, tourist arrivals, World Cup, developing countries
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Monday 28 July 202512:00-13:00
Dr Neil Rankin: Ceo Of Predictive Insights & Stellenbosch University
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Prof Willem Boshoff: Stellenbosch University
Topic: "Two competing approaches in South African competition policy: merger control and anti-cartel enforcement over the past 30 years"
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Professor Johan Fourie: Stellenbosch University
Topic: "Economic History: TBC"
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25 Jul 2025 Budget hurdle cleared, but US tariff implementation remains a riskIt was another big week on the local political front, but with some constructive momentum. On the trade front, ahead of next week’s 1 August deadline, Trump announced another “massive” trade deal with Japan. The upcoming week is busy, with a slew of global and domestic data releases and several monetary policy decisions, including the SARB....
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