The world of football is already focusing its attention on the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Excitement is increasing in those nations which have qualified - among them, Switzerland. And Interhome of Switzerland, one of Europe's leading providers of holiday homes, has already booked its ticket for Africa's leading travel and tourism destination. The company is expanding its international portfolio of properties by entering the market in South Africa, where carefully selected homes and apartments can already be booked via the Interhome website.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa may be months away - but Interhome is already on the ball. The Switzerland-based provider of holiday homes and apartments has added South Africa to its expanding international portfolio of destinations. More than 40 properties in that country are already bookable online. By the end of November 2009 the figure will be 70. The homes and apartments can be booked via the easy-to-use website www.interhome.com.

Says Interhome CEO Simon Lehmann: «South Africa is proving an increasingly popular destination - and not only because of next year's Football World Cup. This country has become one of the world's most attractive countries for travel and tourism. Interhome has been closely monitoring developments in South Africa for years, and in particular the situation in the holiday homes sector. We see this as the ideal time to enter this promising market.» According to Roger Müller, Interhome Head of Purchasing: «We are always striving to satisfy the increasing requests of our international clientele and stay ahead of the competition. This means expanding our portfolio, in terms of both quantity and quality. Opening up South Africa as a new destination is a logical consequence of this strategy.»

Interhome supports young South African players - sponsors football team

But Interhome's interest in South Africa is not restricted to the holiday homes market. The company is also supporting financially a project (Bafang Kids) aimed at opening up the sport of football to underprivileged young players. In this way the company is, in effect, sponsoring its own team, which plays in Interhome shirts and is able to afford its own football equipment.

When the world's top soccer super-stars take to the pitch next year, Interhome will be ready for the big occasion. With its expanding range of attractive holiday homes and apartments in South Africa, the company looks forward to welcoming football fans from throughout the world.

Interhome specializes in the letting of selected holiday homes, apartments and chalets. It offers a total of 46,000 top quality properties in 21 countries. In 2008 the group rented properties to a record 525,117 guests and registered turnover of CHF 211.9 million (+1,4%). Interhome publishes annual catalogues in 11 languages, totalling some 1.5 million copies. Easy and efficient booking is assured by an international reservations network, informative multi-lingual websites and the most modern communications technology. Interhome is based in Zurich/Glattbrugg and is a 100% subsidiary of the Hotelplan Travel Group. Hotelplan in turn is a 100% subsidiary of the Zurich-based Migros Cooperative, the largest Swiss consumer retailer chain in Switzerland.