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Durban – With three days to go to the World Cup, Durban’s hotels and guesthouses are only 15% full and the hospitality industry has now launched a last-minute drive to lure more tourists to the city.

“We believe this campaign is going to help the hotel industry as it really battling for bookings at the moment,” said Warren Ozard of the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (Fedhasa).

The campaign follows an outcry from hoteliers who were struggling to get bookings for June, when the coastal city usually enjoys an occupancy rate of 60-65%.

Ozard said there was a perception that Durban was fully booked ahead of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup, which kicks off on Friday, and Fedhasa was trying to debunk that perception.

“A lot of people in the industry invested a lot of money for the World Cup and were struggling to make up for it. We are hoping this campaign will make a difference,” said Ozard.

“Parents have five weeks with their children since school will be closed this is an opportunity for them to bring their children to Durban because it’s quiet and not fully booked.”

Not launched earlier

Ozard regretted that the campaign was not launched a month earlier.

The organisers have encouraged hotels and guest houses to register their establishments on the website that will go online on Tuesday.

The website launch was attended by deputy mayor Logie Naidoo, president of the Durban Chamber of Commerce Clive Manci and CEO of Tourism KwaZulu-Natal Ndabo Khoza.

Khoza welcomed the initiative.

"Instead of complaining, the chamber did something about the low occupancy rate in Durban by coming up with this campaign,” said Khoza.

The campaign will also feature billboard and television advertisements – some showing bikini-clad girls – to promote Durban as a seaside holiday destination.