Canadian company grabs World Cup business/headlines - Adrian Brijbassi in SA
Toronto Star
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Canadians are making news in the South African newspapers. Sunday’s edition of the Cape Times included a story about the Toronto-based travel website iStopOver.com, which has succeeded where many South African agents have failed. Run by Mark Skapinker, iStopOver.com has matched World Cup ticketholders from across the globe with homeowners in South Africa who are offering low-priced alternatives to hotels and resorts for the June 11-July 11 tournament.
Skapinker’s company is keen on the term “hometel” to describe the accommodations listed on its website. A room rate in most of those homes runs about 500-700 rand ($67-$94 Canadian) and iStopOver.com has matched 1,500 of its 3,000 clients with South African homeowners, the Times reports. The ticketholders are from South America, Mexico and the Far East, and Skapinker cited the company’s Facebook site as one reason for its success.
“Our soccer visitors are telling us that hotels still have space, but it’s expensive space – so well-priced accommodation is the key,” he said.
Meanwhile, two days in Johannesburg and I’ve met a range of people who live here. Several of them are now friends. Johannesburg (or Joburg for short) is full of gracious, hospitable people who are unabashedly proud of where they live. They want to change the perception that South Africa and its largest city are lawless and frightening. The South Africans I met do so by telling their stories.
You’ll read about them more in the next month or so as Star Travel previews the 2010 World Cup. Here’s a quick snapshot of some of these kind people.
Brian Green and Carla Pienaar – Brian is from New Brunswick and works for McCain Foods here. Carla is his girlfriend from South Africa and a former restaurant owner. They toured me around the city and to the fascinating Cradle of Humankind, located in the historic Sterkfontein Caves about an hour outside of town. The museum announced another monumental archeological find earlier this year and will be a major attraction for tourists, regardless of the World Cup.
Maria Sekwane and Gloria Pikitsha – Both are women who grew up in the black townships and they give tours of Soweto. The most famous of South Africa’s townships, Soweto was central to the anti-apartheid movement. Maria and Gloria showed me several important buildings and places where history was made, and where the world was changed. Nelson Mandela’s footprints are all over Soweto, including the house he lived in prior to his arrest more than 50 years ago. Visiting Soweto for three hours will impact my life forever.
Wayne Cutting and Eugene Williams – I relied on Wayne and Eugene to show me Johannesburg’s hot spots for nightlife and bars. They did their job very well. Wayne, a former police officer, works for ABSA bank and investigates financial crimes while Eugene is a businessman.
Chris and Jane van Melle Kamp – Chris is a former diplomat who worked under Nelson Mandela while stationed in Paris and elsewhere. Jane, his wife, is a former television producer. They provided marvelous insight into what the World Cup will mean for the country.
More about them and others soon.
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