'Vuvuzela set to replace 'wooden giraffe' as South Africa's new tourist symbol'

Johannesburg, July 1(ANI): A South African trend analyst has said that after the success of the vuvuzela in the World Cup, it is set to replace the wooden giraffe as the tourist symbol of the country.

"One thing is for sure and that is that the vuvuzela has replaced the wooden giraffe as the tourist symbol of the country," Sport24 quoted Dion Chang, the founder of the Flux Trends, as saying.

Chang however warned that the bright yellow mood in the country, epitomised by the Bafana shirts, might not last forever.

"Every host nation or country goes into major depression after events like this. South Africa was in a very ugly place politically and socially before the tournament," Chang said.

"A lot of it was swept under the carpet. Hopefully we can draw on the positive mood to circumnavigate that," he added.

Meanwhile, a local designer believes that through the World Cup and through the use of yellow and bright colours, South Africa is basking in its international reputation as "a sunshine country".

"The one thing that stands out about this World Cup is the predominant use of colour," Gavin Rajah said. Colour is everywhere. I think that in the coming year the yellow inspired by Bafana Bafana will be a big trend for fashion collections," he added.

He further said that though the World Cup is being hosted over winter, the event has shown that Africans were "irreverent" to seasons in their approach to colour.

"It's very nice to see the use of colour and people embracing that. In sunny countries people tend to be happier. There is a sense of celebration and festivity in the use of colour," Rajah said.

"People will remember the bright colours and the mood of celebration when they think of South Africa. That will be a big attraction in the future," he added. (ANI)