Work is continuing on the Sao Paulo stadium where the opening match on June 12 is scheduled to take place, but Embratur, the tourist board, insists it will open in time.
Construction of the city's Arena Corinthians stadium was delayed after an accident in which two workers were killed when a crane fell on top of them.
But the first "test" match was played on the pitch last Saturday, after the goalposts were delivered earlier in the week. Work still being carried out is limited to the "landscaping, overlay and all the little things that need to be done around the stadium," Orlando de Souza, of the Sao Paulo tourism office, told journalists in London. "But I can tell you that on April 15 it will be officially delivered to FIFA."
The overpricing of hotel rooms has also been an issue for fans travelling to the tournament, and for Embratur itself, which lodged a complaint with FIFA about the inflated rates that were being offered through the governing body's appointed accommodation agency.
Room rates in venue cities have been selling at double the usual price on match days, according to research by TripAdvisor, the hotel booking website. In Salvador, the average increase in room rate on match days was even sharper, rising by 212 per cent compared to average rates for the rest of June and July.
Brazil's tourist chiefs told Telegraph Travel they were keeping an eye on pricing and are promoting a raft of b&bs, small "pousadas" and private apartments, for those tourists who cannot afford a hotel.
It has produced a website, although in Portuguese only, which has links to the websites of a selection of B&Bs in different host cities.
Source: Read the full story at The London Telegraph
