World Cup: Tourists give Cup thumbs up

Despite the high prices, World Cup tourists have given a big thumbs-up to the just-ended event in Brazil, according to a study released Tuesday.
The Datafolha Institute poll showed 83 per cent of respondents felt the month-long tournament had been well organised to just three per cent who rated organisation as poor.
Delivery of several stadiums was delayed almost to the eve of the competition, but 92 per cent of those questioned across six of the 12 venues gave high marks for comfort and security.
Brazil scrapped a swath of initially planned urban mobility schemes but 72 per cent of respondents said they had a positive experience getting around the continent-sized host nation.
Prior to the event, there had been concerns as to whether Brazil’s ageing airport infrastructure could cope with more than 600,000 foreign fans and some three million domestic travellers.
But 76 per cent found they had been able to fly around the country without difficulty.
Tourist attractions in general enjoyed an 84 per cent positive rating and 82 per cent praised tourist security.
Expensive accommodation was a major complaint with just 32 per cent rating them affordable.
And stadium food received low marks, with just 42 per cent finding catering options appetising while 17 per cent rated them poor.
Telephone and internet communications also failed to impress - only 39 per cent found them very good to 22 who rated them as lacking.
Most observers, in and beyond Brazil, see the Cup as having been in the main a resounding success.
“Tourists leave with a positive image even if they were sensitive to the high prices of services and to social inequality,” Folha de Sao Paulo quoted Datafolha director general Mauro Paulino as saying.
Topping the poll were the Brazilian people themselves, their friendliness earning good reviews from 95 per cent of 2,209 foreign visitors from 60 countries interviewed between July 1 and 11 in six host cities.

A BBC Reporter says, "I’ll hold my hand up, and so should quite a few others, for perhaps underestimating Brazil’s ability to hold what turned out to be an overwhelmingly successful World Cup. All of those delayed, costly and accident-prone stadiums came good in the end - at least in terms of crowd control, ticketing and the overall match experience. Remember - so far behind schedule were some venues, like the Corinthians Stadium in Sao Paulo, that no full-scale test event had taken place there before the World Cup kicked off on June 12th."

A shabby embarrassment

While the main entry airport for football fans to Brazil, Rio’s Galeao, is still a shabby embarrassment of a transport hub, most other regional airports coped well with the vast numbers of flights and fans that came and went.

Some had predicted, or feared, that an early exit from the tournament for Brazil would precipitate civil disturbances and a sudden lack of interest in the tournament.

Brazil were humiliated in that semi-final and also by Holland in the (meaningless) third-place play-off and for days the nation has scratched its collective head, searched deep into its soul and written volumes of analysis.

But nothing can take away from the fact this was, from a footballing perspective, a wonderful World Cup.

Fifa officials are flying back to Switzerland, delighted in having presided over what can arguably be called the “best world cup ever”. But the legacy to Brazil is still questionable. Several stadiums will struggle to survive financially now that the tournament is over, the club game in Brazil is underfunded and most of the best players are based overseas. It’s a brutal fact that Brazil hasn’t produced a truly fantastic team for many years.