South Africa faces hotel shortage for World Cup fans
Pretoria, 21 June-(ANA)-A shortage of hotel rooms for British and Irish rugby fans has raised new fears that South Africa will be unable to accommodate the half million visitors expected for next year's football World Cup.
Hotels in Durban, which hosted this month’s first Test between South Africa and the British and Irish Lions, sold out weeks ago, forcing some supporters to take rooms two hours away or more.
Many have opted for shortened weekend breaks during the Test series and one enterprising fan has even booked a one-day round trip.
More than 30,000 fans have travelled to South Africa for the Lions tour, but that figure will be dwarfed by the influx of football fans next summer.
Lack of accommodation remains one of the chief concerns for World Cup organisers, who have been forced to reserve hotel rooms in neighbouring countries.
Next year will be the first time that Africa has hosted a World Cup or Olympics, and the 2010 tournament is likely to attract a higher percentage of last-minute travellers.
Anyone hoping to camp outside and bask in African sunshine faces a nasty surprise: the matches will be played during the South African winter, when temperatures can plunge below freezing at night.
Fifa, world football's governing body, estimates that 55,000 hotel rooms will be required, some 15,000 more than are currently available.
Last year it was forced to accredit guest houses, private lodges and backpacker hostels to help make up the numbers.
There are plans to bus fans into smaller host cities, such as Polokwane, from nearby game reserves.
Fifa's accommodation agency has reserved thousands of rooms in neighbouring countries, including 4,000 on Mauritius, a holiday island that takes four-and-a-half hours to reach by air.
Fifa claims this reflects a desire to integrate the entire southern African region.
Four British rugby fans have been carjacked at gunpoint within hours of arriving in South Africa.
Two sets of brothers - Michael and Peter Harriott, aged 57 and 58 respectively, and Simon and John Murphy, 57 and 52 - were followed by a gang after arriving at the airport in Johannesburg.
The friends, all from Kent, had hired a car and were on their way to their hotel when four robbers jumped out of a black Mercedes brandishing guns.
Michael Harriott said the group were then beaten up before being forced to surrender their cash, wallets, watches and hire car to the bandits.
Foreign Office travel advice warns UK citizens about the possibility of being followed on arrival from Johnannesburg's OR Tambo airport.
The violence comes despite assurances from South African police that travelling sports fans would not have to worry about lawlessness.
South Africa has tightened security during the Lions tour and the Fifa Confederations Cup tournament, also being played at the moment.
Even so one of the international teams playing in the Confederations Cup has also been robbed.
The Egyptian team's hotel was broken into during their match against Italy on Thursday evening and several thousand dollars were stolen.(ANA)
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