South Africa and the World Cup challenge

South Africa is expecting thousands of visitors this summer as 64 FIFA World Cup football matches take place in ten venues around the country.

Is the lodging industry up to the challenge? What about the level of service-mindedness the country will need to demonstrate, if such an intense hospitality-oriented event is to truly succeed?

We asked these questions to three people who are definitely "in the know":

• Mmatšatši Marobe, CEO of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA)
• Ewan Cameron, Managing Director of the African Sun hotel group

and

• Michèle de Witt, of Horwath HTL's Cape Town office

Their comments make for some very interesting reading!

Dubai: Is the party over?

Philippe Doizelet of Horwath HTL examines the likelihood that Dubai can keep up the frenetic pace of hotel construction that it was known for during the past few years.