South Africa says World Cup tourists will come back

The 2010 World Cup introduced South Africa to mostly first-time visitors, and 90 percent of them said they would believe returning, the country's tourism minister said Monday.

Tourists spent a total of 3.6 billion rand ($521 million), typically on shopping, and stayed for an average of 10 nights.

September tourism figures already raised 12.9 percent compared to the same month last year, Marthinus van Schalkwyk said. But experts say it is premature to say that the raise is sustainable.

"To say it's creating a sustainable base may be stretch because the point in numbers has already faded quickly," said Andrea Saayman, a tourism economics professor at South Africa's North-West University.

More tourists were from the U.S. than any other country, followed by neighboring Mozambique and Britain. Van Schalkwyk said 92 % of North American attendees were first-time visitors to South Africa.