Cape Town top tourist destination

Source: Cape Argus, 17/02/2018

Cape Town - The mother city was voted best city in the world for a
fifth time by readers of The Telegraph in Britain.
The poll was conducted by the UK newspaper, and according to 90 000
people who voted in the annual Telegraph Travel Awards, Cape Town was
the number one city, beating cities like Vancouver and Tokyo.
According to the newspaper’s website, Cape Town clinched the title of
best city for its coastal location, shadowed by the iconic Table
Mountain, the fine wine and well-known Boulders beach where the
penguins roam freely.
Late last month, Cape Town was also one of the 19 cities which joined
the list of 180 cities which have been recognised for their
contributions to the development of art and design.
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco)
Creative Cities Network which started in 2004 aimed to connect cities
which invest in promoting art and design as well as creating
sustainable development initiatives to drive the cultural and design
landscape in their respective countries.
“These new designations showcase an enhanced diversity in city
profiles and geographical balance, with 19 cities from countries not
previously represented in the Network,” declared the Unesco director-
general Irina Bokova.
She added: “The co-operation framework proposed to foster candidate
cities from the Africa region - a Unesco Global Priority - has been a
true success with nine African cities now joining the network.”
Zara Nicholson, Spokesperson for the Mayor, Patricia de Lille shared
their excitement about this achievement.
“It is wonderful to know that the beauty of our city continues to
make Cape Town a firm favourite. The tourism industry is a very
important part of our economy, providing thousands of much-needed
jobs.
“Accolades such as this certainly help to boost our profile and help
with destination marketing. With this kind of exposure, we can
continue to grow important job-creating industries and make even
greater gains through more work opportunities for the people of Cape
Town,” Nicholson said.
Even though Cape Town is in the midst of the worst drought in its
history this does not mean that business must stop, she added.
“The City remains committed to working with residents, businesses and
the tourism sector to ensure that everyone is on board with saving
water so that we can beat this drought together and remain a top
travel destination.”