PORT Elizabeth has missed out on the opportunity of hosting two luxury liners that were to have docked in its harbour during the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

Some tour operators have been left licking their wounds after the trip was cancelled due to a lack of cabin bookings.

The two cruise ships, the Noordam and the Westerdam, among the most luxurious in the world, were to have docked in Port Elizabeth, Durban and Cape Town and been used as bases for fans.

Africa 4 Real Tours owner Mark Heck said the cancellation was a real blow to the industry, and especially to his company, which had been contracted to provide local transport operations for the tourists. He had not spared any costs in preparation for this, but the projected income from the business had been lost.

“We have not done any calculations in terms of how much we have lost, but it’s a lot. Even worse, small tour operators would have benefited from this if we were not managing to meet the demand,” Heck said.

Had the cancellation not taken place, Heck’s company would have transported between 3000 and 4000 people during the tournament. “The local economy would have benefited enormously because the visitors would have spent a lot of money buying local items.”

However, this was disputed by Paul Miedema, director of Calabash Tours, who said the two cruise ships would not have contributed much to business in the city. He said most of the hotels in the city were not fully booked and the liners would not have contributed much. “If the hotels were bursting at the seams, the liners would have been a great help to ease the burden, but in this case, tourism would not have benefited much,” he said.

Countrywide Golf Holidays director Linda Gough was also not convinced of the economic benefits for the local tourism industry, especially tour operators.

“Some tour operators’ activities are not linked to the World Cup and we will continue to focus on our core clientele,” she said.

The news is a further blow to the tourism industry, following news that air ticket and accommodation bookings for the tournament period have been much lower than expected.

This week, the disappointing figures were raised in Parliament, where the Department of Sports and Recreation came under fire for poor marketing of the event.

The liners, each of which has 950 cabins, were among the most sought-after “hotels” for the World Cup.

The Westerdam will call at South African ports, but only to drop off tourists. It will pick up passengers at the end of the tournament.

According to the cruise website, accommodation on the ship would have cost up to $9425 (R71000) per person sharing a five-night package.

Each liner can carry 1918 passengers and 800 crew.