As South Africa passes the 500-day landmark to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the governing body has said that it will start shifting its focus from the development of stadiums to attracting tourists to the event.

In a report on Engineering News, FIFA secretary-general Jérôme Valcke said the organisation was satisfied with the progress in the construction of the stadiums, saying it would now focus on bringing tourists to South Africa and other aspects "to give life to the World Cup".

Local Organising Committee (LOC) CEO Dr Danny Jordaan said he was confident that an integrated public transport system would be operational by the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, enabling people to comfortably move around South Africa.

Valcke also noted that while the current difficult economic climate may have affected the value of some commercial sponsors, none of them have pulled out of sponsoring the tournaments.