Government Ministers, Tourism MECs from various provinces, business people and tourism bosses are in Germany to promote this year's FIFA Soccer World Cup at Europe's largest travel convention - ITB Berlin.  Latest figures show that South Africa received an improved 9.9 million foreign tourists in 2009 against the backdrop of a global economic recession.  Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk says they expect to break into the elusive ten million mark of foreign visitors coming to our shores this year, with a boost from the FIFA Soccer World Cup, which kicks off in June 11.

Van Schalkwyk says the ITB Berlin travel show is the last huge opportunity to market the event in Europe. "We have two objectives. The first one is obviously the FIFA World Cup. So a lot of our marketing will focus on that. This is our last final push, we're in the final straight now." He added. Meanwhile as from the 15th of next month, South Africans will be able to buy World Cup tickets over the counter. Match, the company responsible for marketing and selling tickets for the tournament, says all nine host cities will have sales centres.

FIFA has confirmed that a Chinese factory has stopped producing World Cup 2010 Zakumi mascot toys. FIFA says manufacturing approval was withdrawn after an audit of the factory showed standards had been flouted. A probe was launched after reports that the factory producing figures of the event's dreadlocked leopard mascot employed teenage workers. The factory, Shanghai Fashion Plastic Products, was also reported to have run 13-hour shifts and underpaid employees. The trade union federation, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, is outraged. It says the South African licensee should never have outsourced the work to China in the first place.