The 2010 FIFA World Cup has led to an increase in visitors to South Africa. According to the South African Department of Home Affairs, 682,317 foreigners entered into the country between 1 June and 21 June 2010 – compared to the arrival of 541,065 during the same period last year. Apart from visitors from neighbouring countries, the largest number of foreign arrivals is from the UK, USA, Germany, Australia, France, Netherlands and Argentina. The 2010 FIFA World Cup has seen an increase in visitors from new countries, namely the Latin American nations such as Mexico and Brazil. Occupancy rates of South African hotels have increased, with 65 to 70 % occupancy rates in Johannesburg and almost 85 % in Cape Town and Durban. The event is expected to generate more than US$4 billion for the South African economy.
In 2009, global tourism decreased by 4% decrease but South Africa managed a 3.7 per cent increase. Foreign arrivals to South Africa grew annually by an average rate of 5.3% from 6 million in 2000 to 10 million in 2009. Over 70% of tourist arrivals were from Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. Residents from overseas countries constituted 26.9% of tourist arrivals.
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