Cape Town voted top city in Africa

07 July 2016 - 15:46 By Deneesha Pillay
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A view of the cablecar, Lion's Head, Signal Hill and Cape Town from Table Mountain with Robben Island in the distance. File photo
A view of the cablecar, Lion's Head, Signal Hill and Cape Town from Table Mountain with Robben Island in the distance. File photo
Image: Sharief Jaffer

Cape Town has been named number one in the ‘Top Cities in Africa and the Middle East’ category in the Travel and Leisure 2016 World’s Best Awards.

The announcement‚ made at a ceremony in New York on Wednesday‚ is an indication that the city “continues to pull out all the stops to attract domestic and international visitors‚ gathering awards around the globe for her magnificent beauty and tourist offerings”‚ according to the City of Cape Town website.

Mayoral Committee member for Tourism‚ Events and Economic Development‚ councillor Garreth Bloor said he felt “deeply honoured and extremely proud”‚ and thanked those who had voted for the Mother City.

“Those of us who live in Cape Town tend to take the natural beauty of our city for granted. “Such accolades make us appreciate our awesome surroundings once again. It is indeed humbling for all residents.

“While we pride ourselves in being a well-run city‚ we still have work to do. Cape Town has been one of the fastest growing cities in South Africa in terms of urbanisation and I think it is quite clear why everyone wants to live‚ work‚ and play in Cape Town‚” he said.

The City of Cape Town website added that the 2015/2016 Telegraph Travel Awards also chose Cape Town as the Best City in the World for the fourth year running‚ knocking-out Vancouver and Venice‚ which took second and third place respectively in the Best City category.

“In Condé Nast’s highly acclaimed Reader’s Choice Awards‚ the Mother City also took the top honours as the number one food city in the world!

“This is two places up to top spot from last year’s 3rd place in the Condé Nast World’s Best Food Cities list‚” it stated.

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