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Cape Town wins yet another travel award despite the effects of lockdown
This win for Cape Town is in addition to recent accolades such as the Best City in the World and a Safe Travel Destination.
Clifton Beach, one of Cape Town’s many tourist attractions. Image: iStock
The City of Cape Town just scored some major tourism accolades just in time for the holiday season.
This after the recent 28th annual World Travel Awards which named Cape Town Africa’s Leading City Destination for 2021 and named Table Mountain as Africa’s Leading Tourist Attraction.
The awards – established in 1993 – seek to recognise, reward and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of travel, tourism, and hospitality.
According to a statement by the City, the World Travel Awards reported that travel appetites have reached unprecedented levels despite global challenges, with a 17% increase in voting numbers from the previous year.
“A whopping two million votes were cast, representing a huge vote of confidence in the travel and tourism industry.”
“These awards, particularly as Cape Town starts to emerge from months of lockdowns, are both humbling and an affirmation of the splendour and people of our great metro. It is also thanks to my team and our industry partners who have worked so hard with me in keeping the city top of mind for travellers!” said Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for economic opportunities and asset management, including tourism, at The City of Cape Town.
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“As the City’s mayoral committee member for economic opportunities and as someone who goes out daily into communities and meets with people whose livelihoods depend on tourists, I understand the real value of this industry. Tourism directly contributed 3% to South Africa’s GDP and that doesn’t even take into account the value to industries such as manufacturing or transport. It is through tourism that the opportunities and innovation of Cape Town are revealed to the world,” added Vos.
He added that the City was looking forward to building on this momentum to give the city’s tourism industry a much needed boost after two years of struggling.
This is in addition to recent accolades such as being voted the Best City in the World for the seventh consecutive year by Telegraph Travel Readers (2020) as well as being named a Safe Travel Destination, by the World Travel & Tourism Council (2020).
“Winning these awards is a huge honour and really does instill a sense of confidence in our world-class destination,” added Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape Town Tourism.
“Along with the Travel + Leisure award, which saw Cape Town voted the number one city in the Middle East and Africa, these World Travel awards further affirms that the Mother City is a destination worth coming to explore. We are ready to welcome people back now that vaccination numbers are increasing, and strict Covid-19 safety protocols are in place. What this award shows is that despite an extremely challenging 18 months, the Mother City remains a huge part of the global travel landscape and one of the most beloved city destinations in the world,” concluded Duminy.
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Compiled by Kaunda Selisho
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