It’s official. Cape Town is the world’s greatest city and South Africa the best country to travel to.
In the latest Telegraph Travel Awards, South Africa dethroned the decade-long favourite New Zealand thanks to its scenery and attractions. Runners-up for the “Greatest City” title were Venice followed by Seville.
Runners-up for the top country title were New Zealand, with the Maldives in third position. Other countries in the top 10 list include Italy, India and Japan. Other African countries that made it into top 10 include safari stars Kenya at no 7 and Botswana at no 10.
Established in 1998, the awards are voted for by well-travelled readers of the UK newspaper the Telegraph. Calling South Africa “a place of true beauty”, readers enjoyed the ease of flights from the UK and no jet lag, while the diverse places to explore also impressed many.
Cape Town Tourism CEO Enver Duminy said the city’s destination marketing and management organisation is delighted at the latest accolade.
“We have worked to share our city’s incredible wealth of attractions with the world. We know we live in the greatest city on earth and it’s hugely exciting to have others recognise this. We are certain this award will bolster our tourism sector, which has seen strong recovery post the pandemic. We look forward to welcoming more people to our shores.”
Duminy said Cape Town Tourism has run a series of inspirational immersive experiences to boost the city’s profile, including the Find Your Freedom choice-driven initiative. This offered a “choose your own adventure”, first of its kind gamified experience to overseas target markets, with stunning results.
Cape Town Tourism is also working hard to ensure the city is inclusive, “with its Limitless Cape Town movement doing pioneering work to make the city more accessible to visitors regardless of one’s abilities”.
“Cape Town is a remarkable place to visit and to live, with a warmth that makes visitors come back year after year. We hope to amplify this inclusivity to ensure visitors have the greatest experience and build the best memories in the world’s greatest city,” said Duminy.
City of Cape Town economic growth MMC James Vos said the accolade was an acknowledgment of the city’s efforts “to put Cape Town’s experiences, cultures and communities on the map and to make sure we maintain global relevance and appeal that stands out above other destinations”.
“Winning this award is the cherry on top after a major resurgence in travellers and will help us build momentum for the months ahead. Well done to every person who helped bring us to this moment, from the staff at our award-winning Cape Town International Airport to the concierges at our many beautiful hotels, guest house owners, restaurant waitrons and friendly teams at our many attractions.”
Meanwhile, two Cape Town beaches, Camps Bay and Hout Bay, rated high in the world’s most beautiful beaches. According to the survey by online gambling company Betway, Camps Bay Beach has been named 15th most beautiful beach in the world while Hout Bay was 20th in the 100 top beaches in the world.
The survey looked at visitor reviews, average temperature, rainfall during the summer months, amount of litter and Instagram tags at each location to help travellers find the best beaches to add to their travel list. Elafonissi Beach in Greece came tops followed by Turquoise Bay in Australia and Four Mile Beach in Australia.
The UK’s striking Durdle Door on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset with its iconic limestone arch and the volcanic Red Beach on the Aegean island of Santorini also made the top 20.
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