Cape Town Declared Africa's Top Travel Destination for the Third Year in a Row

Cape Town has won another major travel industry award, reaffirming the city's status as one of the world's top tourism destinations.

Cape Town was declared Africa's Best Travel Destination by World Travel Awards at a gala dinner held in Johannesburg on 07 July 2010. This is the third consecutive year in a row that the city has won this prestigious award.

In November last year, Cape Town won the 2009 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Award in the Best Destination category.

The World Travel Awards, which were established in 1993, are seen as the travel industry's 'Oscars'. The awards are seen as one of the best endorsements for a travel product.

Alderman Felicity Purchase, the City of Cape Town's Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Development and Tourism and Mansoor Mohamed, the City's Executive Director: Economic, Social Development and Tourism received the award on behalf of the city.

"This recognition is very important as it reaffirms Cape Town's global positioning as a highly attractive tourism destination. The city boasts one of the highest concentration of major events on the African continent which includes the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, the Argus Cycle Tour, the Two Oceans Marathon and Design Indaba. The City of Cape Town will continue to use major events to attract visitors to Cape Town. Mega events such as the 2010 FIFA World Cup are valuable for legacy projects whereas major events provide the annual recurring benefits," said Mohamed.

Alderman Purchase said: "Cape Town is reaping the benefits of establishing and maintaining an excellent tourism infrastructure. The City of Cape Town is constantly enhancing the city's tourism assets and we are building skills and improving opportunities in our tourism sector. All of these efforts support the City's key strategy of infrastructure-led economic growth."

ABOUT WORLD TRAVEL AWARDS:

The World Travel Awards was launched in 1993 to acknowledge and recognise excellence in the world's travel and tourism industry. Now celebrating its 17th anniversary, the awards are regarded as the very highest achievement that a travel product could ever hope to receive.

Votes are cast by one hundred and eighty three thousand (183 000) travel professionals, which include travel agencies, tour and transport companies, and tourism organisations in over one hundred and sixty (160) countries across the globe.

Votes are cast globally by fellow industry professionals in over one thousand (1000) different categories.

Issued by:
Communication Department
City of Cape Town