Johannesburg - South Africa's energy crisis raises serious questions about its ability to successfully host the 2010 World Cup, the head of the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA) said Wednesday, following days of crippling power outages. South Africa is suffering acute energy shortages, resulting in countrywide power cuts lasting several hours at a time as state electricity provider Eskom tries to cover demand.
"Stadia may have all the most wonderful generators in the world to broadcast the games, but will people come to South Africa to see them if they know that they will be going back to hotels and guest houses with no power?" SATSA CEO Michael Tatalias asked. No power meant "no hot meals, no clean laundry, no lights," Tatalias said.
Even if football fans were prepared to brave the threat of blackouts, which state electricity supplier Eskom has warned could continue for another five years, they face difficulties getting to games on time if street lights are out, SATSA warned. "We have to ask ourselves honestly if we can still do this," Tatalias urged.
Loadshedding - Eskom's term for cutting power to some areas when demand is too tight - is estimated to have set businesses back tens of millions of dollars since the beginning of the year.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/177273,forget-the-world-cup-tourism-chief-tells-south-africa.html