Those of us living in the major centers around South Africa are expecting the World Cup to impact on our daily lives in some way, but many may not be aware of the extent. The following points were recently highlighted by former World Cup Ambassador, Gary Bailey, at an FNB Business Dinner, where he presented some interesting stats on World Cup expectations.
The following alerts may affect employees as well as families, so please take note and plan accordingly:
- Schools will be closed for almost 4 weeks over the world cup – start making arrangements for your children now.
- Air fares will rise steeply over this period, with tickets between the cities costing up to R8000 per seat. Some flights will also be departing directly after matches due to accommodation problems in some of the centers.
- As flights will be operating 24 hours a day, expect noise and expect traffic around the airport at all hours.
- There will also be no parking available at airports – arrange drop-offs and allow for plenty of time to get to the airport.
- Fresh vegetables and fruit WILL be scare, if not unavailable at times. During the German World Cup, fresh produce had to be imported.
- Expect traffic to increase by at least 30% when games are on and fans travel to stadiums and fan parks. Games start at 13h30, 16h00 and 20h30, so the best times to fly will be whilst matches are on!
- “Fan Parks” will be a huge attraction and traffic to and from these areas will be extremely congested. At one Fan Park in Germany, 500 000 people arrived and proceeded to consume 3 million sausages and 1 million liters of beer! Logistically somewhat daunting!
- Roads around stadiums will be closed off.
- It is expected that at least 100 000 people will be traveling to and from matches on match days, so expect considerable delays.
- A staggering 4800 buses will be operational during this period and there will also be restrictions on truckers, haulers etc. Plan ahead with clients, especially regarding containers that need haulage.
- Be aware that petrol could also be scarce at times – keep your tank full!
Travel tips for this period
- Try to avoid travel unless it’s critical.
- Plan your trip well in advance and bear in mind that any ticket changes will be extremely difficult and very expensive.
- Plan your appointments carefully and, where possible, schedule meetings at locations in the opposite direction of a stadium or Fan Park.
- Take flights during the times when matches are being played, bearing in mind that games start at 13h30 and continue into the evening.
- Allow for a minimum of 2 hours to get to the airport in Cape Town and up to 3 hours in Johannesburg. The congestion could be chaotic, so plan for delays.
- Parking at the airport will be virtually impossible and taxis and transfer shuttles will be very expensive, so it will be best to get someone to drop and collect you.
