Fans deflect big hopes of World Cup tour operators

With the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa just around the corner, tours to South Africa have got cold shoulders from Chinese tourists who believe the prices are too high.

Chinese travel agencies report they are seeing far fewer tourists than they had expected, compared with past World Cup tours.

Most of those companies began preparing one year ago for the launch of the South Africa World Cup special tour, expecting the huge profits such tours have generated in the past. Tourism boomed in France, Japan and South Korea, the previous host countries, during their World Cup games.