By Barbara Hollands

As Fifa World Cup excitement heightens with less than a year to go before the June 11, 2010 kick-off, Eastern and Southern Cape township B&Bs say they are yet to secure any bookings from the tens of thousands of fans who are expected to pour into the province.

Many guesthouse owners are sceptical that they will enjoy any spin-off at all from the soccer extravaganza, while other township establishments said they were holding thumbs that their reservations books would still fill up.

This, despite Match‘s announcement that “non-hotel accommodation” is being contracted, for the first time in Fifa World Cup history, to supplement official hotel room stays. Match is the services company providing accommodation and ticketing solutions for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

Motherwell B&B owner Nandi Ngopo, who owns Ekhayeni B&B in the Port Elizabeth township and has registered with Match, said she did not benefit from the IPL cricket and that she was not going to take the risk of turning away regular guests in the hopes of big World Cup-related bookings.

“By now I should have had (World Cup) bookings – it‘s not too early but I have had no inquiries. Last week we had a tourism forum meeting and a man from Match said we would benefit, but the only guesthouse bookings so far are for white- owned B&Bs in town. Bookings will come as a nice surprise.”

In the Southern Cape, Geraldine Damons, who owns Tsalanang B&B in Storms River Village, said although she had not had any World Cup bookings, she was hopeful she would “get lucky”.

“I am ready, but I am not going to go overboard with making changes to my B&B – what if I lose my money?”

Damons said a recent Tsitsikamma Tourism Association meeting had established that only the Protea Hotel in Storms River had received secured bookings from soccer fans.

At Grahamstown‘s Jozi township, Umso B&B owner Thabisa Xonxa said although she had not had any World Cup bookings, she was “trying to be positive”.

Pumla Silimandlela, who owns Kwindla B&B in Mdantsane, East London, was “very sceptical” about gaining from the World Cup, since she had not benefited from the IPL.

“I am not holding my breath. Mdantsane is the second biggest township in South Africa after Soweto, but when you speak to people, they say: ‘Where‘s that?‘ We are not even on the East London map. And our roads are a shame.”

Tumie Shupinyaneng, who opened Tumie‘s B&B in 1998 and was the first person in Mdantsane to do so, said she was “ready” to receive World Cup guests”.

Nyamy Mbane, who runs the immaculate @ The Joy B&B alongside her Highgate home on the outskirts of East London, said she was not very positive about benefiting from the World Cup.

“To be honest with you, I‘m not sure if I will get guests, even though people say that soccer teams playing in Port Elizabeth will stay in East London. If it happens it happens, but even though I am registered with Match I do not feel positive.”

Mandisa Solani, who owns Solitaire guesthouses in both King Williams Town and Bhisho, expressed her reservations.

“I have just added six bedrooms to extend my Bhisho guesthouse, but I don‘t think they will come because we are 60km from East London. Still, I am prepared.”

Match was not available for comment, but Fifa media liaison officer Delia Fisher said it was the aim of the tourism industry to include many “diverse accommodations” for the World Cup.

“It is then up to the visitors to take it up or not.”

Source: The Herald