Another major global accolade for Joburg
20-01-2015
Joburg has done it again.
The City of Gold cemented its position as a major and popular global tourist destination when it was named one of the world’s Top 50 places to travel to in 2015 by leading New York-based magazine Travel + Leisure.
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.
“[Though] 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,” reads Travel + Leisure’s description of the city.
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.
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% 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.
The city has also been ranked by prominent arts publisher Phaidon as one of “12 Art Cities of the Future”, while the Wall Street Journal considers it as one of “Four Emerging Arts Cities You Should Know”.
Travelstart named it one of the 15 best cities to live in on the continent.
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.
Councillor Ruby Mathang, Johannesburg’s Member of the Mayoral Committee for Economic Development, has welcomed the latest accolade from Travel + Leisure.
He attributes the achievement to the “welcoming smiles of Joburg people and the professionalism of our tourism industry”, which he says the City cannot do without.
Joburg Tourism’s Laura Vercueil says Johannesburg remains a boomtown that continues to inspire on many levels.
“Joburg’s appeal as a fascinating urban landscape is really amazing,” says Vercueli. “It’s thrilling for the Joburg Tourism team to see all these well-deserved accolades mounting. It is a resounding testament to the spirit of the people who love the city, people who live, work, invest and innovate in it. Hats off to Destination Joburg and everyone who makes it happen.”