fans
12 January 2007
"Imagine the unparalleled luxury of attending a morning soccer match
followed by a sunset game drive," said Marthinus van Schalkwyk, Minister of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism in Zurich, Switzerland on Friday. The
Minister was attending a workshop on accommodation requirements for the 2010
World Cup, where he witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding
between South African National Parks (SANParks) and MATCH, the FIFA mandated
company that deals with ticketing, accommodation and information technology for
the event.
The Minister said: "I am pleased to be witnessing the signing of a
memorandum of understanding later this morning, which will consolidate
co-operation between MATCH and South African National Parks. This will result
in the contracting of approximately 2 500 more rooms, bringing MATCH
substantially closer to their target of 55 000 rooms by 2010.
"This collaboration brings benefits to the country at large, providing us
with the opportunity to showcase a wider variety of our tourism offerings, in
this particular case, our natural heritage which is world-renowned. South
Africa is home to no fewer than seven World Heritage sites, all of which are
located either in national parks or in places of astonishing natural
beauty."
Media enquiries:
Riaan Aucamp
Cell: 083 708 9600
Issued by: Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
12 January 2007
