Our South African Hosts continue to tell us that it is
extremely important that they show off the “Best of South Africa”. There is a
huge amount of goodwill being shown by our Hosts to international visitors that
will be arriving for the World Cup.
South Africa is going to be a very exciting location in June
and July 2010 and many of our iStopOver members are invested in guaranteeing that
everyone that will be attending has a great experience.
The iStopOver Ambassador program lets Hosts offer many extra
services to their Guests aimed at ensuring a successful stay.
With the vast number of visitors to South Africa in such a
short period of time, the infrastructure will be stretched to its maximum. iStopOver’s
Ambassador program essentially relieves pressure on three areas that many of
our Hosts and Guests have identified as “pressure points”: Accommodations, infrastructure and
security.
Accommodations: iStopOver for World Cup 2010 lists thousands
of listings of accommodations close to the soccer games and all across South
Africa. As an alternative to high priced (and full) hotel rooms, iStopOver
Hosts have stepped forward to offer well priced accommodations in their homes –
either entire homes or bedrooms in their homes.
Infrastructure: Even though great efforts have been made to
provide transportation, open new restaurants, as well as other services, there
is still expected to be a strain on the system. With soccer games taking places
in nine cities across South Africa, it is proving very difficult to provide
extensive infrastructure in all locations. Here again, iStopOver Hosts have
stepped forward to offer additional amenities as part of their listings. Many
of our Hosts are offering services such as airport pick-up and drop-off, meals
and laundry services. Hosts are going that extra mile to help overseas
visitors.
Security: Some parts of South Africa contain areas that are less
safe. Enormous efforts are being made to ensure the safety of visitors, but it
is extremely difficult to ensure the safety of visitors everywhere. This is
especially true in the larger cities. iStopOver Hosts are telling us that they are
very familiar with their local environment–they know where it is safe, and
where (and when) it is less safe. As iStopOver Ambassadors, they are able to
help their Guests appreciate and understand local conditions and advise them on
local security. South Africa is a beautiful country with wonderfully warm
people, but it is a developing country that can be dangerous if Guests are
uninformed. Our Hosts are best equipped to inform Guests where and when to go
out.
iStopOver’s Ambassador program is the perfect facility to
ensure that Guests have a fantastic experience in South Africa. Our South
African Hosts have stepped forward to help ensure that their Guests will
experience the best of World Cup 2010 and South Africa.
Sounds like a great service and one that is needed. If you are still looking for tickets to these games or you want to book your activities in South Africa, try this site.
Posted by Gary at 3:05 AM on Monday, January 11, 2010