Joburg among best destinations
JOBURG - Johannesburg’s member of the mayoral committee for economic development, councillor Ruby Mathang, has welcomed the latest accolade as the city was named one of the world’s Top 50 places to travel to in 2015 by leading New York-based magazine Travel + Leisure.
According to the magazine’s website, ‘While all eyes were on Cape Town last year, Johannesburg has emerged as the continent’s new ‘it girl’. ‘Ambitious and energetic, Jozi relies less on natural assets and more on the clout of cash – this is where the money is made, and given the current exchange rate, your bucks will go far too. The opening of Four Seasons Westcliff… is a game-changer bound the raise the city’s profile and put the luxury and travel set more at ease about hanging around for a post-safari recovery with spa treatments, epic views and expert concierge services’.Mathang said the City of Gold cemented its position as a major and popular global tourist destination. The city shares the exclusive list of exquisite places to visit this year with, among others, Malta, the Mekong River through Cambodia and Vietnam, Oman, Houston, Miami and Cuba. Published by Time Inc and boasting more than 4.8 million readers, Travel+Leisure is one of the world’s leading and popular tourism and leisure magazines.
Mathang said, “The latest recognition of the city comes hot on the heels of several other accolades it has received from several global institutions over the past few months. In October last year, Johannesburg was ranked by MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index as the most-visited city in Africa for the second year running, followed by Cape Town.
“With an estimated 4.3 million international overnight visitors in 2014, Johannesburg has seen a 4 percent increase on the previous year’s 4.1 million visitors. In the same month another United States magazine, Good, ranked Johannesburg as the second-most inspiring city in the world, behind Hong Kong.”
He added that when the Mexico’s Citizens’ Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice released a list of 50 of the most-violent cities in the world, Johannesburg’s detractors expected it to feature highly on it, it did not feature at all.
He attributed the achievement to the welcoming smiles of Joburg people and the professionalism of tourism industry.
