Joburg overtakes Cape Town on list of world's priciest holiday cities

Johannesburg has accelerated past Cape Town in a global ranking of 100 of the most expensive holiday destinations in the world for 2020.

Johannesburg prices were reported to have increased by 20% over the past year, edging the city of gold past Cape Town for the first time since international ground transportation company Hoppa started releasing the annual comparison report in 2016.

Joburg ranked as the 60th most expensive destination, costing travellers £134.37 (around R2,500) on average per day in food, accommodation and transport costs, while Cape Town took 81st place at around £110.12 (R2,059) per day.

“Notably, the average price of a single night in a double-occupancy hotel room in Cape Town has decreased over the past year, which has caused the city to rank as less expensive than Johannesburg for 2020. This may be the result of reduced guest nights on account of the city’s water shortages," said Hoppa in a statement on Wednesday.

“PwC reported that hotels [in Cape Town] have been experiencing increased cancellations as well as a drop in tourism during the festive season. There is growing concern among travellers about the availability of water, and many hotels have been offering rooms at discounted rates to encourage tourism in the city.”

While the average cost of a Big Mac meal, a pint of beer or a bottle of wine was found to be slightly higher in the mother city, it was average taxi fares per 5km, hotel costs per person per night and a restaurant meal for two that proved to be more pricey in Joburg. 

The latest report ranked Grand Cayman, the largest of the Cayman Islands, as the most expensive destination, with an average per-day cost of £459.58 (around R8,500).

Antalya in Turkey emerged as the cheapest, at just £63.79 (around R1,180) per day.

South Africa featured among the top 10 in the world for the cheapest fast food, cocktails and wine.

“In particular, the country is well known for the high quality of wine that it produces, with the total annual exports from the South African wine industry exceeding 400-million litres, according to Wines of South Africa,” said Hoppa.

The most expensive city for a cup of coffee was Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, at an eye-watering £5.68 (R105).