A survey released on Friday by market research company African Response found that 96% of World Cup visitors to South Africa said that they would possibly return to the country, while 92% would recommend the country to friends and family as a holiday destination.

The survey included 722 tourists, interviewed in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria and investigated perceptions of the different elements of the South African experience, including roads, accommodation, stadiums, policing and safety, among others.

African Response MD Beatrice Kubheka said that the survey confirmed positive post-World Cup press regarding the success of the tournament and its implications for tourism and foreign investment.

Respondents rated the country's stadiums the highest in terms of elements contributing to the overall South African experience, with 87% rating their perception and experience at the stadiums as ‘excellent' or ‘very good'.

Kubheka noted that tourists interviewed in Johannesburg gave the highest rating at 91%, possibly owing to the impressive Soccer City stadium, followed by Durban and Cape Town.

The guests identified public transport and the conditions of roads as the areas in most need of improvement. Public transport was rated ‘excellent' or ‘good' by only 54% of tourist and the conditions of roads by only 57%.

Kubheka pointed out that tourists interviewed in Johannesburg gave the highest ratings across almost all the different elements, whereas Cape Town impressed tourists on the perception of safety and Durban on their policing and security at the games. "This may be due to the fact that about 75% of the World Cup activity happened in and around Johannesburg, meaning visitors were more familiar with this city."

Meanwhile, the country's airports also rated high at 84%, accommodation rated 78%, as did policing and security at the games, and even with a lot of negative pre-World Cup press, respondents still rated their perception of safety at a fairly high 67%.

Overall, 79% of respondents agreed with the statement that South Africa was well equipped to host the World Cup, with only 1% stating that it was not, the remainder rating the country somewhere in-between.

"African Response has been tracking the perceptions of readiness leading up to the 2010 World Cup since 2006 and witnessed doubt slowly becoming confidence the closer we got. But having 92% of visitors saying that they would recommend South Africa as a destination is more than we bargained for and is great news for the country's future," concluded Kubheka.