An urgent investigation is to be mounted into allegations that local hospitality businesses are planning to overcharge tourists who want to visit the country during the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup.
Overseas-based people in the tourism industry have expressed their "serious concern" about this, speaking of their worries to Ndabo Khoza, the chief executive of Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, at the World Travel Market in London.
"We don't want to leave a sour taste about such pricing," Khoza said yesterday.
Circles
After explaining the allegations to Mike Mabuyakhulu, the KZN MEC for economic development and tourism, at a briefing session, Mabuyakhulu said that it appeared that service providers in "certain circles" had not only doubled and tripled their prices, but were believed to be quadrupling them.
"If this is proved to be correct, it will be disastrous for the tourism industry," Mabuyakhulu said
If true, his department would be engaging the industry and organisations like Fedhasa (the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa) to do something about the issue.
If necessary, he would take up the problem with the national ministers and the MEC's, as a national approach might be needed to reach an amicable solution. "I will be attending to this the moment I get back home," he promised.
- This article was originally published on page 3 of The Daily News on November 11, 2009
