Western Cape
Cape ‘is second best destination in Africa’
South Africa, Western Cape, Cape Town, Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, twilight. Picture: GALLO IMAGES
Rusana Philander
Cape Town has been voted the second favourite destination in Africa by TripAdvisor’s Top 25 World Destinations list for 2012.
The top destination in Africa, according to the survey, is Marrakech in Morocco. It chips in highly at No6 globally, while the No1 spot is held by London, where the Olympic Games will be held in July.
Though Cape Town comes in at No23 in the world, Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, CEO of Cape Town Tourism, yesterday said it was an honour for the city to be featured in the list.
TripAdvisor surveys are completed by its users and the results are tallied in an annual round-up.
“The user-generated results varies significantly from one year to the next because factors such as major events often bought destinations to top of mind,” said Du Toit-Helmbold.
“Our 2011 win was very much a legacy of the attention and exposure the 2010 Fifa World Cup brought us. Many people vote for the destination they aspire to visit and not necessarily the places they have already been,” Du Toit-Helmbold explained.
She said citations like this one were a significant boost to any destination’s reputation and that the 2011-2012 summer season saw a substantial increase in tourism.
“There is no doubt that it was influenced by accolades like the TripAdvisor Destinations survey.
What is essential, however, is that awards are followed up with tangible marketing campaigns that reinforce the message and capture the interest the moment brings.”
Cape Town Tourism revealed that the city’s urban tourism offering was also the topic of a documentary made as a result of a partnership between Cape Town, Durban and National Geographic.
The programmes explore the undiscovered aspects of Cape Town and reveal “hidden gems” through the eyes of locals.
“Partnerships remains critical for us. Cape Town Tourism is committed to working with our local, provincial and national associates to grow tourism.
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