( CNN ) -- South Africa 's tourist industry happily blew its own vuvuzuela Monday , reporting a half-billion dollars in receipts from hosting this year 's FIFA World Cup matches . The tournament brought more than 309,000 visitors to South Africa and generated more than $ 520 million dollars in added revenue to the tourism industry , South African Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk announced . `` I can today say without a doubt that the success of the event will reverberate for many years to come , '' van Schalkwyk said in a statement announcing the final tally . Speaking days after FIFA officials awarded Qatar the 2022 World Cup -- a controversial move many say will scare off fans -- van Schalkwyk said that pre-tournament fears that the long travel distances , high airline ticket costs and fear of crime would deter travelers from coming to South Africa turned out to be unfounded . `` The World Cup also attracted a large number of first-time visitors to South Africa , particularly from the Americas , '' he said . The ministry 's survey found that 59 % of people making the trip to South Africa for the World Cup were first-time visitors . Fans from other African nations made up the biggest share of visitors , at 38 % , while nearly a quarter were from Europe . Another 13 % were from Central and South America , and just over 10 % came from North America , the survey showed . And despite complaints about the buzz of the vuvuzelas and the occasional official 's call , most fans said they were happy with the hosts . Of those surveyed , 90 % said they thought the South African venues were nicer than expected . CNN 's Brian Walker contributed to this report .
The tournament brought 309,000 visitors to South Africa , the government reports . Hide Caption