Cape Town has been selected as the world’s second-best city in 2009, outranking Bangkok and Buenos Aires, in a survey conducted by US travel magazine, Travel & Leisure.
The city is a powerful tourist magnet and the Table Bay Hotel, as one of the ‘Leading Hotels of the World’, remains a destination of choice.
This 329-room, five-star luxury hotel is ideally located on the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront and just minutes from the Cape Town stadium, making it an ideal venue for guests and spectators for the FIFA World cup 2010.
Newly appointed general manager Phillip Couvaras said: “These are really exciting times for us at Cape Town with everyone busy setting up and preparing for the teams and sponsors. Our profile of guests will range from clients, spectators, players and support staff.”
While most of the hotel bookings have been made through Match, the professional services company appointed by FIFA to manage accommodations for the World Cup, Couvaras strongly recommends that visitors ensure they use reputable agents to ensure the best flight, transfers and stadium seats.
He added: “The Middle East has been an amazing market for South Africa with impressive growth every year for the last three years. We have a product that suits Arab travellers, with pleasant weather, since it’s winter in South Africa during the peak summer months in the Middle East, amazing shopping and fine dining facilities with halal menus and, for the adventurous, a wide range of adrenalin sports like shark diving and cycling around the peninsula.”
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Couvaras…exciting times |
Couvaras, who is also chairman of the Hotels Association in the private sector, has been working together with other hotel managers and associations with regular meetings to ensure visitors attending the World Cup get a seamless experience. There is also a constant effort to integrate ground-level staff and residents to participate in various activities leading up to the World cup.
Looking ahead, Couvaras believes the biggest challenge in the days to come will be putting into force the public transport system in South Africa. “The historical lack of public transport has been the biggest challenge for us,” he said. “While a large amount of investment has been put in to develop this, it will be a virgin experience as they roll out these services in the next two months.”