The 2010 FIFA World Cup high-frequency data economics: Effects on international tourism and awareness for South Africa

The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa was undoubtedly a great experience for both soccer fans and their South African hosts, and focused unprecedented and favourable media attention on South Africa. Despite the tournament's manifest success, however, its short-term impact on international tourism to South Africa, in the form of immediate positive effects on the economy, has turned out to be much smaller than expected or even as reported during the tournament - as this paper shows, using high-frequency daily data on tourism. This sobering outcome may be attributable to self-defeating expectation effects and this paper is a warning against overly optimistic economic impact studies which could undermine the short-term benefits of major sporting events. The paper also investigates the awareness effects of sport mega-events, and potential long-term development effects, by using data from electronic social networks.