Although a drop-off in domestic tourism can be expected in some parts of the country during the World Cup, kwaZulu-Natal will still be able to attract local holidaymakers.
Gerhard Patzer, chairman of the regional Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (Fedhasa), said there would still be plenty of rooms available in hotels and B&B's.
Patzer was commenting on Monday on a report by Grant Thornton, an audit and specialist advisory services firm, which predicted that domestic tourism was heading for a slump during the tournament.
Gillian Saunders, director of Grant Thornton Strategic Solutions, pointed out that although the World Cup would damp South Africans' domestic travel plans and that many families were likely to stay at home during the school holidays, there was no reason for tourism providers to panic.
The drop-off in domestic tourism demand was needed to accommodate the influx of visitors from abroad, she said.
Some 300 000 to 480 000 people - 150 000 from Africa - would be arriving and would spend R8.5 billion across the country.
Traditional holiday destinations might experience a slower season than usual and would need to conduct some strong marketing to let people know they were open for business as usual.
Patzer said there would be some drop-off in domestic tourism in Gauteng, where most of the World Cup soccer teams would be based.
Most soccer fans wanted to stay near the stadiums where their teams were playing and there were five stadiums in Gauteng, he said.
Match, Fifa's official accommodation agency, had already handed back rooms to hotels and B&B's and was due to hand back others next month.
These were rooms that were not needed by soccer fans who were staying elsewhere and many were in outlying areas.
"So there will definitely be rooms available for domestic tourists wanting to go on holiday in kwaZulu-Natal during the World Cup. Business travel is generally down anyway during the holidays," Patzer said.
Saunders said the drop in business tourism was a welcome development as hotel rooms and car rental pool that businessmen generally used could be used by soccer fans.