Joburg remains most popular city in Africa

Johannesburg expects 4.3 million international overnight visitors in 2014, a 4.9 percent increase on last year’s 4.1 million visitors. Johannesburg also comes out tops in Africa in terms of international visitor expenditure, with travellers expected to spend a substantial US$3.2 billion in 2014, compared to US$3.06 billion last year.

“The City of Gold’s status as the most popular destination city among visitors to the African continent is significant for the economic prospects of the city. Visitor spending is an increasingly important source of revenue for the city’s hospitality, retail, transport, sports and cultural sectors,” says Mark Elliott, the Division President, South Africa, MasterCard.

Now in its fourth year, the MasterCard Index of Global Destination Cities ranks 132 cities in terms of the number of their total international visitor arrivals and the cross-border spending by these same visitors in the destination cities. It also gives visitor and passenger growth forecasts for 2014. The 13 African cities ranked in the Index are Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Cairo, Casablanca, Accra, Nairobi, Beira, Dakar, Kampala, Lagos, Maputo and Tunis.

Most visitors to Johannesburg will again travel from London. This year, visitors from that city will increase in number by three percent (444,000 in 2013 compared to 458,000 in 2014). Londoners will spend an estimated US$462 million while in Johannesburg, US$20 million less than they did in 2013.

Frankfurt (305,000 people), Harare (269,000 people), Maputo (204,000 people) and Paris (198,000) round out the top five cities sending visitors to Johannesburg. Parisians are expected to spend the most (US$337 million), followed by visitors from Frankfurt (US$159 million), Harare (US$140 million), and Maputo (US$115 million).

“The City of Johannesburg welcomes the announcement as it cements our City’s position as the economic capital and the heartland of trade and economic activity in Africa,” says Executive Mayor Clr Parks Tau. “We are proud to be the home of most local and multinational companies in banking, finance and industry due to our world-class economic and social infrastructure which is essential to big business.”

“Johannesburg is a global city that is trusted to host major sporting events, meetings and summits. We recently hosted the C40 Cities for Climate Change Summit and will soon host the prestigious Africities Conference – the continent’s premier gathering of local authorities in Africa,” Clr Tau elaborates. “We also believe that visitors continue to flock to Johannesburg because, beyond business and meetings, it is a truly cosmopolitan and vibrant destination where various cultures live and celebrate side by side; A City rich in music, fashion, arts, heritage and culture.”

Trailing Johannesburg by a substantial margin, Cape Town is set to be Africa’s second most visited city. The Mother City is expected to receive 1.6 million international overnight visitors in 2014, who are likely to spend US$2.3 billion. This is a 5.5 percent increase in visitor numbers and an impressive 10 percent increase in spend compared to 2013 (US$2.1 billion).

“This year’s Index points to a continued strong demand for and interest in air travel, both for business and personal reasons. Having Johannesburg and Cape Town in the top two places in Africa is a great achievement for South African Tourism,” Elliott says.

Rounding out the top five most visited cities in Africa are Cairo in Egypt (1,35 million visitors spending US$804 million), Lagos in Nigeria (1,33 million visitors spending US$710 million), and Casablanca in Morocco (0,98 million visitors spending US$737 million).

The world’s top destination cities

For the third time in four years, London is the destination of choice for travellers. London will receive 18.7 million international visitors in 2014, followed by Bangkok (16.4 million), Paris (15.6 million), Singapore (12.5 million) and Dubai (11.9 million).

These cities are benefiting from the surge in international travel fuelled by an expanding middle class, innovations in luxury travel and the rising need for business travel.

“The Index recognises cities as important business, cultural and economic hubs. This is where MasterCard comes in. Every day, we help consumers and businesses maximize all of the travel opportunities available to them, including a safe and secure way to pay no matter where they are,” says Elliott.