'Duty Free' ripoff at Jo'burg airport

Just to add to Simon's article, I went back to the UK via Jo'burg airport on Friday night 20 August 2010. I had been in Cape Town earlier in the day and bought a bottle of Delheim Pinotage Rose in Checkers Stellenbosch for R35.99. The exact same wine in Big Five Duty Free at Jo'burg was R50.

The only reason I bought it there was because - thanks to the liquid restrictions - I couldn't take anything bought outside through security.

Trust me I won't be doing this ever again, and if I do decide to get SA wines directly to the UK I'll ask the vineyard to send them for me.

At least at Heathrow you get a comparison with High Street prices and can also go onto their websites and check prices before you fly.

RIPOFF SA??!!!

Though I would've loved it

Though I would've loved it much more if you added a relevant video or at least pictures to back up the explanation, I still thought that your write-up quite helpful.
It's usually hard to make a complicated matter seem very easy.
I enjoy your weblog and will sign up to your feed so I will not miss anything. Fantastic content.
Addicting Games

It's worth a read here.

It's worth a read here. Thanks to you post, we can know so much. And it's worth a visit there. mattresses

Ripp Off

This total rip off must be addressed by SA Government. This makes me sick to my stomach due to these filthy greedy people to make a quick buck. Some increases in excess of 300% hikes. I hope warning goes out to our visitors to the 2010 event. R20 for 2l coke, R100 for a hamburger and this list goes on.

Zimbabwe's Vic Falls Park joining the rip off of tourists

As a pleasant surprise entry fees to the Zimbabwe side of the Victoria Falls will be increased from US$ 20 to $30 as of 1 May 2010. Ready to cash in on soccer fans! This is the mindset of broke National Park officials who are unable to estimate the damage caused to the re-building of the tourism sector of this once prosperous nation. Vic Falls is a world Heritage site that belongs to all humans. In addition nationals of countries that have contributed millions in development aid to countries like Zimbabwe and Zambia for the past twenty years still have to pay for visa fees, US$ 30 and more should be reason enough for all straight thinking travellers to boycott Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Quote from CIRE

You have blown it South Africa, your chance to shine as a great value for money destination. You have the audience of the world and what do you do? You show to the world is that you have over cooked the golden goose.

There is a sense of entitlement in SA, get over it no one owes you anything or cares remotely about you. We all want value for money and not to be ripped off. I and 95 of my football club are staying in Europe this year and will watch the 2010 on TV.

Good luck RSA RIP.

Reply to CIRE'S POST

Quote from CIRE:

What have you been smoking? What planet have you been living on? Did you really expect nobody to take advantage of the SWC and the "pounds, dollars and peso" that will be wandering around SA? Once the orgy is over, it will be back to normal prices - personally, I hope we make as much money as we can since we will, in any case, be paying for the SWC through taxes for long time to come.

Cire, it's bcause of people with your mindset that South Africans will pay dearly for the WC and extra infrastructure, SA would have had many many return visitors to pay for these Stadia, rail, roads but because of your lets rip them off now while we can attitude no one will come and yes you will all pay for your greed.
It's just a shame that ordinary SA people are going to have to pay for the greed of the few.

Dislexia does not mean educationally challenged

YOU KILL ME WITH THIS ONE!!!!!!!
"Au$12.50 for one egg, one rasher of bacon and one piece of toast at
Merimbula waterfront." Whahahahahaha and you call me educationally challenged. May you should have asked me which resturants are the best to eat at. Whahaha I live in Oz [removed by editor], and with my degree I beg to differ with your educationally challenged theory. Or did the Ozzies NOT want you. Whahahaha $12.50 for an appetizer how stupid can you be, well at least no one tried to rob you at gun point while you enjoyed your lavish brekkie. Ignorant. No Saffa is ignorant. Those that are just don't want to know. O and if the Rand was worth more, you wouldn't be complaining about the prices in Oz. Sounds like you are trying to move to Oz. If you are one of those greedy types, please stay in SA.

@ Steph

Well, every time I've been to Oz I have been thoroughly ripped off through incredibly high prices without even the excuse of the SWC - like Au$12.50 for one egg, one rasher of bacon and one piece of toast at Merimbula waterfront. Other than that, I would get more offended at your ignorant abuse if you were not so obviously educationally challenged yourself - tie chek yur speling nitwit!

SWC

Well i think the saffas have been smoking a little more than there socks. From the blogs in Oz many have cancelled there tickets, as they bought them with the clause that enables cancellation. I know of 162 people so far that have cancelled there trips to SWC and the number is growing. Good luck with the big prices people you are Scr23w4ng yourselves, because these people won't visit SA ever because of this greed. And between me and you, most of the Ozzies going will be staying with the families of there Saffa mates who they met in Oz for only them buying there own food and putting in the feul for there trips. Cheap as. Just go look on the Aussie blogs, Ozzie saffas are reaching out to Ozzies soccer fans and helping them out so they can afford to go and enjoy the soccer world cup without being ripped off by a bunch of greedy bastards.

SWC vs. RWC

That is so typical of the South African tourism industry. To compare: I asked around somewhat in advance for accommodation prices as well as transport prices in New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup next year. I specifically asked if they plan to inflate their prices during that time. All service providers returned with the same answer: their prices will increase by the normal 3-5% depending on inflation in January 2011, but will not be elevated during the World Cup.

2010 SWC

no doubt the sharks are out--we own a backpackers lodge down in port edward but have decided to NOT rip anyone off--it serves no purpose and we want word or mouth return business--a double on suite with own entrance and air conditioning is R500 pp per night DINNER,BED AND BREAKFAST.???we want to be full for a month rather than pick up the pieces--family suites also en suite and sleeping max 3 are 325.00 pp.
good rates i think and would also be okay for the local market??

agree!!

I fully agree or will agree to agree later if you guys sort me some cheap tickets out to Cape Town in June..cheers

SWC Costs

What have you been smoking? What planet have you been living on? Did you really expect nobody to take advantage of the SWC and the "pounds, dollars and peso" that will be wandering around SA? Once the orgy is over, it will be back to normal prices - personally, I hope we make as much money as we can since we will, in any case, be paying for the SWC through taxes for long time to come. Do you suggest we discount everything for the poor foreigners? What a lot of childish twaddle!!! But I do agree with the extortionate level of "airpost tax" - we were just scammed over R2 000 each in "airport taxes" for a trip to OZ.

Once again no research done!

Please contact ACSA Cape Town, Deidre Hendricks (Airports Spokesperson) and get your facts straight prior to publishing crap about ACSA and the tariff increase. “Airports tax” is a very loose term used by the airline industry. Please Contact ACSA for the correct amounts but I know it is below R100 per domestic passenger even with the increase asked for. Cape Town wants the best well it costs money... Infrastructure, capacity planning, runways, parking, space, IT, automated baggage systems, security, safety etc etc etc. NOTHING is free99, it is a business after all and as an employer I am PROUD to be working there!

This mentality is not confined to SAers only living in SA

Well written article! This mentality of SAers trying to make as much money as they can off others (fellow Saffers incl) - even if it's wrong on so many levels - is something we have seen and experienced many a time over the years we worked and lived in London. Even if the government is not setting a great example, it is not stopping anyone from using their brains and seeing the bigger picture and what is best for our country in the long run.

The world is in recession!!

And let's not forget that the rest of the world has been much harder hit by the financial crisis than SA. They simply don't have the money to fork out on lavish expensive holidays. Apparently the ticket sales in Germany and Holland have been dismal.

The Great SA Rip-off

Hi Simon, I couldn't agree more with what you've said. I own a B&B and everytime someone has said to me 'you're going to make so much money in 2010', my response has been, 'no more than I usually make in-season at Christmas time'. I have not pushed my rates through the roof because I think that a) it's iniquitous and b) it's not doing the country any favours. I have set my rates at the same rates I will have in December. Guests from abroad already say that SA is NOT such a cheap destination. I can't believe how stupid SA businesses have been, including the wretched airlines. (By the way, last week I did search flights on Kulula and I actually booked a flight on 15th June for R299 and there were flights of R1200, so not quite as bad as some, but admittedly, it was a sale.) We want to showcase the country, we want people to come back!! We don't want them going away saying it was an extremely expensive holiday. South Africans must remember that the cost of just getting here is huge and they must also get over this idea that foreigners have foreign currency and the exchange rate makes it cheap for them. That is not the case! Having been to London recently, which let's face it, has a reputation for being extremely expensive, I have to say, I didn't find it THAT much more expensive than SA. Yes, it was, but not SO much more. I can see a repeat of the Lion's Tour fiasco when the tickets were R1900 each or something like that and the day of the match they were suddenly half that price because they hadn't sold. It will be a disaster if SA is ready and prepared and the stadiums are half-empty. Lesley

2010 Rip Off !!

I travel to SA 3 times a year to see family and my kids. I usually pay $1650 - $2000 for my flights in high season. I have no choice but to visit again during the 2010 World Cup. My ticket purchases 8 months in advance was $3615 thanks to SAA domesatic pricing of JNB to PLZ flights.

I rent from Dollar Thrifty every time I visit. I thought it fortuatous to make a booking while I was in PE at Christmas in advance of the mass influx for the World Cup. They said they had "blacked out" that June period as they are waiting to see what other rental car companies were pricing at !! Madness. I have some contacts at Budget who were able to let an economy class turb box go for R700 a day!!! Sorry, but when I am in NYC and when I was at the rugby world cup in Paris in 2007 I did not pay anywhere near $100 (R700) a day for a car rental.

Paris made their money not by price gouging. They made it off sheer volumes of people. Basically they sold more and rented more. If ripping off soccer fans is the way SA wants to go, its once again an example of their short sightedness. Fans and guests will quickly find out that they are being ripped off. It will leave a sour taste and they will not encourage others to travel to SA.
They will leave with "its a beautiful country but best to spend 89 pounds and fly to the coast of Spain and have a holiday, SA is too expensive"

I am not looking forward to my visit in June and have already asked my father to get the "help - my - trap" moped out the garage for my next trip as I flatly refuse to get ripped off.

Last but not least, what measures are being put into place to advise tourists on crime prevention. I think a leaflet on arrival that includes: Dont put your wallet in your back pocket, dont count cash as you walk away from the counter, dont prop name brand sunglasses on the top of your head, dont even bother to sheath your cell phone onto your belt, dont wear expensive jewelry even if its fake, dont leave a damn thing in your rental car, not even a half eaten sandwich, its all too much of a temptation.........."Toto, we aint in Kansas no more".....

If one person is beaten up for their belongings, not to mention the loss of a life, because we failed to warn those not used to living "our" way we would have done the tourist a serious injustice.

Devilfish, get real!

Were you ever in those countries that hosted major events? Of course, the prices increased, but NOT to the degree that we are doing. And for supply and demand, if you can sell one room out of 10 for 4X what you would normally get, it may be a short-term strategy to "eat now and starve later". But what about later? People will come here, feel they have been cheated and not return. Word of mouth is perhaps the greatest advertisement for any tourism destination. If I can go to Greece for a week for less than R10000, including airfare, why woud I want to go to Cape Town and stay in a nice guest house for R4000 PER NIGHT? Thanks to Kulula for dropping prices for us that have to travel during June, but have you seen how freaked out the poor sukers are who bought tickets at the crazy rates offered a few weeeks ago? Shame on you all who have conspired to destroy the magic of our first African games!

This has possibly been one

This has possibly been one of the best columns on what the ripoff is going to be like. I have let my place in J/Bay for 9 nights at R700 per night.(This is not per person but for the whole place) Like the rugby and cricket world cups the spectators move around, so unless 1 country plays all their games in 1 city, then the massess will move, hence the cartel wanting to cash in,

Greed doesn't pay

Well said!! Bravo for the expose. Imgaine what we have to put up with as small travel agents with these greedy airlines and hotels!

Hurray!

At last someone's SAYING something, and giving us actual cost comparisons. It's short-sighted beyond belief. What are they going to do - stockpile thier short-term profits to last them through the ensuing famine?

I think we should pressurise that h*ll out of anyone doing this, starting with tourism boards and anything that is funded by us taxpayers.

What happens to those South

What happens to those South Africans who are not going to a soccer match, but elsewhere? Now we have to suffer these higher prices as well? Totally ridiculous.

Relax

Now relax everybody.

According to governmental sources, there are some 485.000 "tourists" to be expected for the SWC 2010.

Looking at the current predictions form Europe, we can count ourselves lucky to have even a quater of this number, or do we really count the "tourists" travelling southwards across our borders?

In any case, Match will drop all the unsold accomodation in their portfolio in April 2010 and subsequnet to this happening, the prices for accommodation will tumble. Same happened in Korea/ Japan and Germany.
Compared witht the two previous hosts, we already lag way behind in ticket sales, so the awakening will be a rude one but certainly not for the consumer.

Do you for one moment think

Do you for one moment think that this didn't happen in other countries who also hosted the world cup. Get with the program. It's all about supply and demand. If there is a buck to made, why not.

Culture

Just like everything else in this country - we can blame it on our "culture" - I mean hey if JZ can get away with it, then so can we. I own a few of those tourism shares and I stand to make a fortune, so yes it is in my culture as a good citizen of Mzantsi, led by a criminal, taught by a criminal, do like a criminal - monkey see, monley do !!!

Lack of ticket sales

This was a very well written artical and to the point as what is really happening.I have only applied for 2 sets of tickets to the SWC.Reason being that the games that I want to watch and support my prefered teams are all playing a long the coast.Mostly in CT and PE.Now for 4 of us to fly to CT from JHB at R 4400 each return per game ,one must very wealthy.No wonder there are still 900 000 tickets still left.We cannot afford to go and support the far games.Stop ripping us off. The resturants have increased their prices already.Will there still be more increases to come? I am sure there will be.Boycott these places before and after the SWC.

holidays

I agree with this article wholeheartedly! As a middelclass South African it has become completely unaffordable for me to even spend a weekend away from home! All accomadation has become way too expensive. The alternative is camping, but the state of the ablution facilities leaves much to be desired as all sellable metal pipes and fittings are stolen off. So, spend your money on your own home and stay home!

New Benckmark

This excessive pricing has merely set the new benchmark, do you really think the prices will come down after the WC – I think not. There might be a slight reduction in costs but is time we faced the fact that doing the tourism thing in SA from now on is going to be beyond the reach of the lower and middle class person from SA and only affordable to the higher income groups and international tourism – not that they would want to risk our crime levels.

What

They will board the planes with their relatives.

Ripping off everyone

I get so annoyed already when walking through our world class duty free with its rip-off pricing. Game lodges have been ripping off tourists both overseas and local (if you are fortunate enough to be in that earning bracket maybe you dont care) for years. We should be a continuous watch for these things - same as fighting crime. Why only for 2010 SWC? Im glad its putting focus on the problem areas - lets put permanant fixes into place please starting now.

business as usual...

I see nothing wrong here?

The common operation for South African businesses is to milk consumers as much as possible, often with govt support.

So now we're also milking the tourists too. Its business as usual...

The Great South Africa Rip off

I could not agree more with this article from Simon. I am also sick and tired of getting screwed over. Unfortunately, as South Africans, we are used to been raped for everything we have. We have become complacent and conditioned into what we are today. What a pity. Before this sick "cult" of thought, riddles our minds to the point of no return, let us stand together and sort this place out, once and for all. Are we proudly South African?

Reply to What would you do?

I AM a shareholder in one of these companies, and you are totally misguided in saying that tourism in this country benefits a select few! It creates millions of jobs, directly and indirectly, and without it, we would be in a significantly worse position than we are now.
As a shareholder, I am concerned that the short-term greed of these companies will do our industry irreparable harm. An event such as this has the potential to make a huge impat on building our country as a prime destination. Just look at the impact on Barcelona and Atlanta! Barcelona has become the cruise capital of Europe, and a favourite getaway for Europeans.
It's good to see that Kulula has responded by lowering its fares during June/July - but think of the sour taste in the mouths of thousands of visitors who have already booked and paid for flights and accommodation at the outrageous rates? And just try and book a hotel online in Cape Town, Pretoria and Durban during the SWC - you'll get a big shock. I was in China during the Beijing Olympics, and there was no rip-off on this scale.

What would you do?

What makes you take the moral high ground with this article. According to me if you are seriously perfect and not greedy, you are actually 0% of the SA Population. Whould you have done differently, I think not. Will it benefit the bigger SA? Absolutely NOT, why because tourism is SA does only benefit a select few. So climb of that morality issue, if you have shares in any of the companies, do you actually care? How are these greedies different to what we have been experiencing from our Motor Industry, Retail Industry and Banking and off course the Tourism industry. Honestly is a t-shirt with a Zebra worth R250,00? So honestly I do not see what your problem is, if you are without greed, by all means cast the first stone

Just great!!

Great Advert for our country...Way to go!!

The great South African ripoff

The SWC is a total ripoff A to Z why can't SA just enjoy hosting the event and give ordinary South african citizens a chance to enjoy it as well?

How can we expect anything

How can we expect anything less from a country where greed, corruption and exploitation of the poorest are rife? I am not shocked, I'm just saddened by this absolute misuse of power. The first thing these people think of are themselves. The question I would like answered is: will these people (B'nB ownners, hotel moguls, airlines) plough this money back into our country for the upliftment of the poor, or are they only going to do what most of us expect them to do, i.e. put the money in their own pockets and to heck with the rest?

More greed

You can be sure that all of this will be taken into account when future major events such as the olympics are considered.
Contrary to what has been said in the article, SA is rapidly gaining the reputation of being "expensive and bad".

STUPIDITY

How can so called intelligent airline bosses deny that there is something going on regarding fixing the prices over this season. DID ALL AIRLINES JUST HAPPEN TO HIKE PRICES AT THE SAME TIME, BY THE SAME AMOUNT ??

They all know what they are doing, but should remember they stil want South Africans to fly with them after the WC.

I say to South Africans - after the world cup, rather drive to JHB, CT etc, (or take a train) and enjoy he lovely country scenery on the way. Lets see what the Airlines do then.

It is a market - supply/demand imbalances

The market most likely can dictate high prices because of the supply side being short but you have to factor two considerations before making any final judgment - the standards expected by visitors and who believes the current opinion.
On the first point, South Africa's developed infrastructure might simply be too small. So those of you arguing that it is all about price fixing, think again. Price fixing might actually be required to keep prices low and prevent you all from feeling ripped off if in fact supply is short. ( I understand that any FIFA affiliated hotel businesses were expected to subscribe to price limits?) You must remember that SA is a country with a few million middle class to well off people and forty million poor to poverty stricken people. Its service infrastructure was originally developed for the few million middle class (originally white immigrants) and even allowing for some growth since the end of apartheid still remains relatively small compared to other countries that have hosted world cups. Imagine this - you could well have 500,000 or more supporters from developed countries expecting well developed sevice infrastructure. That is equivalent to increasing the population of a developed country hosting a world cup by 10% w.r.t the "western world standard" infrastructure that currently exists - overnight! Now, if you all accept accommodation in the poorer communities, you will find the prices are much lower but you won't because you want the same services as you get at home. Do you think that poorer Africans arriving by land across the borders from neighboring countries will pay "Western" hotel rates? I don't think so.
Bottom line is that the demand visitors create will dictate prices and those prices are likely to be high if supply can't keep up. Currently, prices are being set based on expected supply issues so visitors have a choice. You either believe that prices are higher than supply dictates or lower which is my second point. Based on what you believe you can decide whether to book accommodation and flights now or leave it until the last minute. If for example you believe that the prices currently being quoted are "rip off prices" then just wait. If they are, they will be lower by the time the world cup arrives. In other words the current "rip off" factor might simply be a premium for guaranteeing a room or a flight today.

Again, the reason this dilemma exists is simply because of the high expectation that SA has too little service infrastructure to support the needs of the visitors of a World Cup. It is why the problem didn't exist for small tournaments like the Rugby or Cricket events in the same way as a conference in London doesn't generally push up all hotel prices exponentially but a large conference in say, Harrogate, might! Supply/Demand expectations dictate prices before an event but the market decides who was wrong or right on the day.
Game Theory 101 might help you make your decision!

Scaring the tourists away

I'm a professional VIP Protection officer and expected to be booked solid for the World Cup with clients from Australia and the UK. But due to the outragous costs both of my clients have decided not to come.
I know nothing about football and won't be watching but it looks like FIFA and the LOC have shot themselves in the feet. As for the tourist industry I think a lot of people will find they are losing money because of greed.

Amazing

Sure I heard Marthinus Van Schalkwyk say on the news (e-TV I think) that he knew of no ridiculous prices being charged but that the difference was that prices over the WC period would be equivalent to the in-season prices charged during the summer end of year months. Balls man, not from what I can tell.

true african spirit - how to be a rip off

as someone whom works in the hotel/cruise indusrty, i feel that what the local south african market is doing is not only wrong but also insane. if tourism south africa and fifas aim was to create history then congratulations. after the world cup has gone there will be no more tourists left to come to south africa as the world would have been treated to a true african ripoff. i wish to congratulate you and the local co-conspiriters on creating a wrath of future unemployment within our tourism industry, Hotels will close and people will loose there jobs due to nothing more than greed

That's just great, let the

That's just great, let the greedy bastards get what is coming to them. No tourists = free WC soccer tickets to the underserving lot. I guess we will be paying the price once the visitor's has left.

Other side of the prices

While the local prices have risen has anyone paid attention to the merchandise prices. Beanie R150.00+, little mascot R135.00, small soccer ball (75mm diameter) R95.00, the list is endless.
FIFA sets the tone with these prices so the local traders are only following the trend.
What about the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of bed nights that were booked by FIFA and returned with a "sorry we don't need them" YOU find occupants attitude.
If the hotel or B+B cannot fill these rooms THEY take the loss which needs to factored into the prices they charge.
The establishments are also expected to have a soccer feel about them, to achieve this with the prices of the merchandise costs THOUSANDS which must be taken into account and will influence the prices charged.
Finally, i challenge anyone to find an establishment/airline that does not have increased rates over Easter, Christmas, Schoolholidays ETC.
So what has changed?

I totally agree

I live in Boston, and I could not believe the price hikes, tourists came back to SA after the 1995 Rugby World Cup because we were fair with our prices , tourists came back to SA after the 2003 Cricket World Cup because we were fair with our prices, but now?

The highest price for a plane ticket was $1800,00 and I paid almost $3000,00 for one person to come home for the World Cup. The jump in accommodation went from R400,00 per night to R1200,00 per night.

I had invited my friends to Cape Town with me, and they were very excited to come, but they could simply not afford the ridiculous prices.

I could have not said it better myself. Thank you for voicing this grave injustice.

Incorrect information

I have just checked flights from Johannesburg to Cape Town (23-30 June) on Kulula.com website and the information above is incorrect. The cheapest flights range from R769 - R2519. I am not sure where you got a price of R4038 from??? I think you should get your facts straight before you mislead and discourage South African and International tourism.

Your greed will be your undoing

South Africans, all you see is $$$ £££ €€€ signs, are you too stupid as some have already said, to see the bigger picture? you may make say, an extra 2000 rand on your b&b now, but people will not return, it is false economy.
I travel to England games but I won't go to SA because it is too expensive, I am looking ahead to the 2012 Euros instead of SA.
The chances of me visiting your country is nil, and it is because of the rip off mentality that I make that choice for the future.