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Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) president Mr Tich Hwingwiri said this was based on past experience when that country hosted the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament.

“If we did not get any benefits out of the 2010 World Cup, to us the upcoming event is happening in South Africa and we forsee a lot of benefits coming to South Africa” he said.

The Africa soccer extravaganza starts from 19 January to 10 February.

Mr Hwingwiri said the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations was a good event for the continent at large with a lot of participation in South Africa.

“It is a good event for Africa,” he said.

Turning to recent concerns by the Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Engineer Walter Mzembi that there was a down spiral of standards by some players in the sector, he said:

“We work very closely with the Minister (Eng Mzembi). At the moment we have not received the specific issues of the concerns he raised. If one person in the sector does well that does not necessarily mean that all are doing well.

“The bottom line is we need to work together as a sector to improve the overall perception of the destination.”

Eng Mzembi bemoaned the low service standards in some hospitality facilities in Victoria Falls.

He said the decline of standards if unresolved would impact negatively on the successful hosting of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) general assembly in August.

Eng Mzembi said he would request a team from his ministry to investigate the reasons for the down spiral of standards.