Five English roses for Cape Town - world's best city AGAIN
British tourists have voted Cape Town the best city in the world for the fifth consecutive year.
Unveiling the results of a poll of 90‚000 readers in the 2017 Telegraph Travel Awards‚ the UK media organisation said on Friday: “The world’s greatest city? It’s a coastal gem in the shadow of an iconic mountain‚ where fine wine flows and penguins roam. It could only be Cape Town.”
The Mother City beat Vancouver and Tokyo to top spot‚ and the Telegraph said: “With all eyes on South Africa in 2018‚ the centenary year of Nelson Mandela’s birth‚ few would bet against it repeating the trick in 12 months’ time.”
The announcement coincided with Friday’s announcement that Joon‚ part of Air France‚ will fly direct from Paris to Cape Town three times a week from April 1‚ 2018. Arrivals in Cape Town from France have grown by 35% in the last year‚ to 74 278.
Cape Town Air Access‚ a partnership between Wesgro‚ the Western Cape government‚ the City of Cape Town‚ Airports Company South Africa‚ South African Tourism and Cape Town Tourism‚ said the new service would replace Air France flights.
Wesgro CEO Tim Harris said: “This is not only good for our tourism industry‚ but also for business. Indeed‚ according to South African Tourism‚ 41% of travellers from France to Cape Town visit for leisure‚ and another 39% for business.
“This is precisely why Cape Town Air Access is so important for economic growth and job creation in the Cape. By making it easier for more people to visit our beautiful city and province‚ we will increase tourism‚ trade and investment‚ and most importantly‚ boost job creation.”
Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille said: “We are excited about this news and express our thanks to Joon for their confidence in Cape Town. This will be a welcome boost to our efforts to position Cape Town as a globally competitive business destination.
“We look forward to welcoming more tourists from France but also seeing more businesses and investors connect with us with much more ease thanks to these flights.”
Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde said: “Improving air access is a key priority of our Project Khulisa growth strategy‚ and we've seen the positive impact of increased air routes. International air arrivals have grown by 27% year-on-year.”