In the wake of considerable international skepticism about safety at this year’s World Cup, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office has released a report that may put the negative press in perspective. The report indicates that British tourists are statistically safer visiting South Africa than they are visiting Thailand, Spain or Germany.

The report examined the behaviour of British tourists over a year and gauged the safety of different destinations. From April 2008 to March 2009, it measured how much help Brits needed from their various consulates abroad.

According to Gary Benham, Head of Communications at the British High Commission in Pretoria, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office carries out such research when they know that there will be a significant visitor turnout to certain events.

With the World Cup just over two months away, the report makes for interesting reading, especially given that Germany, hosts of the 2006 World Cup, fared far-worse than South Africa in the safety rankings.

Statistical evidence

Statistically, Brits were nearly twice as likely to die in Germany than in South Africa during the same year-long period.

Of the 451 580 Britons who visited South Africa in the 12-month period – and a further 212 000 living in the country – there were 23 arrests, 23 hospital admissions and 48 deaths, due to either accidents, natural causes or murder. No rape or sexual assault cases were reported.
Meanwhile, about 115 000 Britons were living in Germany at the time of the study, with the former World Cup host attracting an extra 3 million British tourists. A total of 438 deaths were reported – nearly 10 times more than in South Africa.

With its reported 761 000 British residents and an extra 17 million British tourists each year, Spain registered 2 290 arrests, 1 825 deaths, 22 rapes and 35 sexual assaults.

Most countries had very low numbers of rape and sexual assault of Britons abroad. However, there were 28 reported rapes in Greece, 10 in Cyprus and eight in Turkey, with a further 28 sexual assault cases for the latter.

Statistically, Thailand was the least safe destination. British tourists are most likely to be arrested for drug offences, most likely to be admitted to hospital and most likely to die – all in Thailand. According to the report, a quarter of the arrests of Britons in Thailand were for drug offences.

Where South Africa did fall short was in passport theft. A total of 871 British passports were reported as lost or stolen in the country during the 12-month period.

Fewer visitors than expected

Commentary in the international press about South Africa’s crime problem has been extensive.

Articles have ranged from the bizarre to the ridiculous, including the British firm, Protektorvest, who felt the need to market “stab-proof vests” to tourists planning on attending the world Cup. One British newspaper reported that some travel operators would offer armed bodyguards as part of their World Cup tour packages.

There was also the much publicized “kill a tourist day” when UK actress, Victoria Smurfit, who starred in the BBC drama Ballykissangel, said she was “nearly a victim of kill-a-tourist-day” in Cape Town on New Year’s Eve. In the much talked about article for the Irish Mail in January, Smurfit claimed that “it was kill a tourist day and we were in the way.”

These reports and others have done little to help sell South Africa as a desirable location for the World Cup this July.

Hopes that South Africa’s hospitality industry will have a bumper off-season this year due to the World Cup were dealt a blow when Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke said that only 2.1 of the 2.9 million match tickets had been sold by the first week of March.

“We had expected 400,000 – 500,000. It will be less. How much less? I have no idea,” Valcke said in Zurich before travelling to South Africa.

“A combination of the world recession, a fear of crime and steep ticket prices has been blamed for the lack of interest shown by fans of the 32 countries competing in the tournament, being held for the first time on the African continent.”

In response, Fifa has decided to make some of the match tickets previously earmarked for the international market available locally.

Sticking up for SA

Richard Condo, spokesperson for South Africa’s 2010 Organising Committee, welcomed the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office report. He said, “We’ve been telling everyone for years that South Africa is safe, they should first look at their own countries before throwing stones at South Africa.”

According to journalist Oliver Roberts in The Times, “the biggest threat to security during the World Cup is a bunch of drunk English soccer fans with skinny white legs, flip-flops and bad teeth stumbling through Newtown, or the Waterfront or Marine Parade, vomiting and singing rude songs.

“They’ll need stab-proof vests to protect themselves from themselves. And heaven help them if they urinate anywhere near a statue of Nelson Mandela,” he says.

Eyewitness News responded to the report by saying: “National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele has repeatedly said that tourists will be safe, and now there is a report showing that British tourists actually are safer in South Africa.”

“They can say what they want, but we know we are coming to play the World Cup in a safe country,” said Argentina coach Diego Maradona to CNN. “I have seen that with my own eyes.”