SA 'most attractive' tourist destination in Africa

18 December 2014 - 12:52 By Times LIVE Reporter
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South Africa has overthrown the previously undefeated Egypt to take the title of most attractive tourist destination in Africa, according to a recent survey.

According to the Bloom Consulting's Country Brand Ranking Tourism Edition 2014/2015, South Africa also featured for the first time in the global top 25 tourism destinations, the only African country to make the list this year.

The survey each year ranks 193 countries based partially on the economic performance of their tourism industries, their brand strategy, online searches for tourism-related activities and the country's online presence.

Africa

Egypt, feeling the effects of political instability and a lack of security on its tourism industry, dropped to second position. Kenya, Tanzania and Morocco remained in the top five, with Zimbabwe and Sudan experiencing an impressive jump in the ranking. While Ethiopia, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Seychelles have climbed significantly due to their positions as new ‘trendy’ tourist destinations, most African countries have stagnated or in the case of Botswana and Mauritius dropped drastically.

Bloom Consulting forecast that a stagnancy and a reduction in positions for the rest of the African nations will occur when the next edition of the Country Brand ranking is published, as lower numbers of Europeans will travel due to economic limitations, security issues and the Ebola crisis.

Top 10 African Countries:

 

 

Global

For the fourth consecutive year, the United States of America topped the global rankings, followed by Spain, Germany, Hong Kong and France. Some traditional tourism powerhouses, such as the United Kingdom, Turkey and Greece, dropped multiple places in both the regional and global rankings.

Asia meanwhile was the most searched continent by international tourists worldwide, followed by Europe and the Americas.

Top 10 Global Countries:

 

 

Read the full report here.

 

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