South Africa neighbor Zimbabwe is another country that expects a tourism windfall from the 2010 World Cup. As such, a delegation of FIFA officials has been sent to the African nation to assess its capacity to host visitors and national team training camps before the tournament. In a statement, Karikoga Kaseke, CEO of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), said “FIFA have specifically requested to see hotels in Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls as well as other service facilities in the tourism sector.” The expected expenditures for new hotels, a new stadium, training facilities and entertainment parks is expected to be in the neighborhood of $20 million.
Zimbabwe, which is undergoing a massive economic crisis due rapid inflation, is badly in need of an economic boost. Understandably, the depression has led to a severe drop in foreign tourism. Victoria Falls, which contains the world’s largest waterfall, is one of Africa’s biggest tourist attractions. Rather than assessing the country’s economic fitness to host World Cup visitors, the FIFA delegation will look at issues like ports of entry, customs and immigration, transportation, as well as tourist possibilities and activities, the BBC report says.