Visa Spending Up 70% in South Africa during W.C.
Spending on Visa cards was up 70 percent in South Africa during the World Cup over 2009 levels, averaging 55,000 Visa transactions a day from the start of June until the end of the day of the final. Spending by international visitors in South Africa on Visa-branded payment cards exceeded $312 million between June 1st and July 11th, compared to $184 million last year.
According to Visa's spending data, the number of transactions from June 1 through July 11, 2010 was 2.2 million (55,000 per day on average), up 79 percent from approximately 1.2 million (30,000 a day on average) during the same 41 days in 2009.
"The World Cup has been an outstanding success for football and for South Africa," said Antonio Lucio, Chief Marketing Officer at Visa. Inc. "It has definitely been a spectacular success for the local economy and businesses. The foreign visitors came in force and spent in force with their Visa cards.
"The direct economic benefit to date in 2010 has been significant and the spending on Visa cards by foreigners confirms the immediate economic benefits of hosting major international events" Lucio said.
