Number of Visitors to World Cup in South Africa Are Down

[Ed Wetschler]

Not only are they down, but according to eTurboNews, they're about 50% of some estimates. Obviously, this will hurt all sorts of people. Most of you know the country well--some of you live there--so please chime in: To what extent might this disappointment hurt the effort to keep modernizing and integrating South Africa into the global economy?  

[Martin Hatchuel]

The World Cup was a milestone, and not a destination. The real issue facing South Africa are governance, education, employment, and health and welfare. Solving those will take a lot longer, and it's a much slower process, than presenting the tournament was. The World Cup was a chance to show that South Africa can do first world - but it does do it in its own way. With the wisdom of hindsight, the disappointment - if there was any - won't have hurt the country's chances of modernising itself, or of integrating itself into the global economy at all.

[Ed Wetschler]

"The World Cup was a milestone, and not a destination."
A smart distinction.