After billions spent on stadiums now lying empty and fewer tourists than hoped South Africa marks six months from the kick-off of the 2010 World Cup, asking whether it was worth it.

The tournament, Africa’s first World Cup, delivered an undoubted boost to national pride, but many are ruing the fact that it fell in the midst of the worst global economic recession in generations, which made the return on the country’s investment fall short of its potential.

The government spent 33 billion rands (€3.6 billion) on the football extravaganza, an event officials say attracted almost 310,000 tourists and $521 million in foreign spending to the economy.

But that was one-third short of the 450,000 visitors that had been forecast. And while their average spending of $1,700 helped the economy continue its tepid recovery from a 2008-2009 recession, that money added up to about one-tenth of what the government spent on the tournament.

“The country made a bit of money but less than expected,” Mike Schussler, director of consulting firm Economists.co.za, said.

“We got a small part of the ticket sales and the foreign visitors’ spending, but it’s not as much as we expected.”

Businesses reported the impact of the month-long tournament was less than hoped.

Consulting firm KPMG surveyed 100 of its top clients and found that just 22 per cent felt they had benefited from the World Cup. The year before, 45 per cent thought the tournament would have a positive impact.

South Africa’s economic growth slowed from 4.6 percent in the first quarter of 2010 to 3.2 per cent in the second and 2.6 percent in the third, the periods covering the June-to-July World Cup.

But without the spending boost from the tournament, the country’s flagging growth would likely have been slower still, analysts say. ”