Located on the shores of Table Bay, Cape Town is one of the world’s top tourist destinations and has now been voted the ‘Best World City’ in the 2008 Telegraph Travel Awards…

Stunning Cape Town in South Africa fended off competition from major tourist cities like San Francisco and Sydney to claim the top spot in the recent awards.

The awards, which polled 40,000 people, also saw South Africa claim a place in the top three of the ‘Best non-European Country’ category.

A whopping 92 per cent of respondents said that the credit crunch will have no effect on holiday destination choices. The top destinations on earth were voted as New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Canada, whilst top cities were Cape Town, San Francisco, Sydney and Vancouver.

Situated on the southwestern tip of Africa, Cape Town is recognised as one of the most beautiful places on earth. Offering a range of attractions, breathtaking sights and endless activities, it is a year-round holiday destination with friendly people, a mild climate and rich cultural heritage.

Known as the ‘Mother City,’ Cape Town is the oldest city in South Africa and has a cultural heritage spanning more than 300 years.

It also has the top five national tourist attractions in South Africa, including Table Mountain; the V&A Waterfront, a unique shopping and holiday experience on a scenic working harbour; Robben Island, the former home of Nelson Mandela; the Cape Town Wine Routes, where some of the world´s best wines are produced and Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, internationally acclaimed as one of the great botanical gardens of the world.

Cape Town Tourism CEO Mariëtte du-Toit Helmbold said, “We are thrilled with the news.

“Cape Town is well-placed to receive visitors looking for value for money and an authentic experience.

“Cape Town has so much more to offer that visitors generally end up coming back to see and do more,” she added.

South African Tourism UK Country Manager Lebohang Mokhesi said, “Value for money and the strength of the pound compared with other world currencies appear to have been a deciding factor for readers when voting for Cape Town.

“Cape Town is one of the world’s most beautiful cities and to receive such an accolade from consumers themselves is great recognition of the wonderful tourism offering it has developed.

“Word-of-mouth advertising was a key component to spreading the good word about South Africa in the UK.

“It is near impossible for anyone to visit and not share their experiences with friends and family on their return. During this period of economic downturn, value for money is at the forefront of traveller’s minds.

“South Africa has always offered value for money and, with the current exchange rate as it stands, visitors’ money goes even further,” she added.

Cape Town was also recently voted one of ten cities in the world that are most likely to become a global sustainability centre by 2020.

But, remember it’s not all about the destination; it’s about the journey too. The awards found people’s favourite airlines to be the long-haul specialists Singapore Airlines, Virgin, Emirates and Qatar Airways.

http://www.nubricks.com/archives/1493/cape-town-voted-best-world-city-in-telegraph-travel-awards/

Well done to South Africa,

Europeans are clever'o,they'll tell you all this horrifying stories about South Africa,I mean they'll say SA is the capital of rape,hiv,murder and all other nasty things and yet their people are flocking into SA for holidays and business.

Now who is stupid here?with all this negetive reporting SA is still growing and making money.

Haters go die in hell.

@Poster

At what position is Lagos, Nigeria? How about Abuja?

naliakar:

@Poster

At what position is Lagos, Nigeria? How about Abuja?

We are talking about the world's best city and you are mentioning Lagos
Please don't go there

maxell:

We are talking about the world's best city and you are mentioning Lagos
Please don't go there

Bros I will live and die in Lagos city.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8269159.stm

Big jump in S Africa sex offences


South African policeman points his gun at protesters
The police are struggling to cope with the crime levels

The latest crime statistics in South Africa show a slight decrease in the murder rate but a sharp rise in burglaries and sexual offences.

While the murder rate has fallen by 3%, this still represent more than 18,000 killings per year and is one of the highest rates in the world.

Sexual offences have risen by 10%, which the government partly attributes to the inclusion of attacks on men.

Officials insist that security is not a problem at the 2010 Football World Cup.

This is being hosted by South Africa - the first time the event has been held on the continent - and the country is expecting tens of thousands of extra foreign visitors.

Opposition parties have criticised the government's record on crime.

Nationwide, some 2.1m serious crimes were recorded in the past year.

Intolerable

Police Minister Nkosinathi Mthethwa told Parliament in Cape Town that a collaborative effort was needed in the fight against crime.

Mr Mthethwa said while there had largely been a decrease in robberies at big businesses, small business and informal traders had seen an increase in violent robberies.

CRIME IN SOUTH AFRICA
Up
Sexual offences: 71,500 (10%)
Burglaries: 18,400 (27%)
Business robberies: 13,900 (41%)
Down
Murder: 18,000 (3%)
Street robbery: 72,194 (7%)

South African rapist: 'Forgive me'
Canada SA refugee ruling 'racist'

"Issues like the vulnerability of cash often [on site] and the unavailability of resources to implement crime prevention measures contributes to making these businesses vulnerable," he said.

Overall, thefts in business have shot up by 41% over the past year.

Residential burglaries have also shown an increase - of 27%.

The statistics revealed more than 18,000 South Africans were attacked by robbers in their own homes.

"It is one of the crimes that are most intrusive and personalise the crime experience… We simply cannot tolerate a situation where people do not feel safe in their homes," he said.

South Africa has long had extremely high levels of rape.

Earlier this year, a survey in parts of South Africa reported that one in four men admitted to having forced a woman to have sex against her will.

This is the first year that sexual offences against men have been included with those against women.

Last month, a white South African man was given asylum in Canada after saying he had been attacked on seven different occasions.

His lawyer argued that the government was unable to protect its citizens.

The ruling ANC condemned the ruling as "racist" and pressed the Canadian government to challenge it.

The legacy of apartheid, social deprivation and corruption within the police force are among the reasons often cited for high levels of crime.

The BBC's Karen Allen in Johannesburg says President Jacob Zuma has put the fight against crime centre stage with the appointment of a new, tough-talking Police Commissioner.

But many commentators warn against populist measures and say that unless the underlying problems are addressed, violent crime will continue.


Big jump in S Africa sex offences


South African policeman points his gun at protesters
The police are struggling to cope with the crime levels

The latest crime statistics in South Africa show a slight decrease in the murder rate but a sharp rise in burglaries and sexual offences.

While the murder rate has fallen by 3%, this still represent more than 18,000 killings per year and is one of the highest rates in the world.

Sexual offences have risen by 10%, which the government partly attributes to the inclusion of attacks on men.

Officials insist that security is not a problem at the 2010 Football World Cup.

This is being hosted by South Africa - the first time the event has been held on the continent - and the country is expecting tens of thousands of extra foreign visitors.

Opposition parties have criticised the government's record on crime.

Nationwide, some 2.1m serious crimes were recorded in the past year.

Intolerable

Police Minister Nkosinathi Mthethwa told Parliament in Cape Town that a collaborative effort was needed in the fight against crime.

Mr Mthethwa said while there had largely been a decrease in robberies at big businesses, small business and informal traders had seen an increase in violent robberies.

CRIME IN SOUTH AFRICA
Up
Sexual offences: 71,500 (10%)
Burglaries: 18,400 (27%)
Business robberies: 13,900 (41%)
Down
Murder: 18,000 (3%)
Street robbery: 72,194 (7%)

South African rapist: 'Forgive me'
Canada SA refugee ruling 'racist'

"Issues like the vulnerability of cash often [on site] and the unavailability of resources to implement crime prevention measures contributes to making these businesses vulnerable," he said.

Overall, thefts in business have shot up by 41% over the past year.

Residential burglaries have also shown an increase - of 27%.

The statistics revealed more than 18,000 South Africans were attacked by robbers in their own homes.

"It is one of the crimes that are most intrusive and personalise the crime experience… We simply cannot tolerate a situation where people do not feel safe in their homes," he said.

South Africa has long had extremely high levels of rape.

Earlier this year, a survey in parts of South Africa reported that one in four men admitted to having forced a woman to have sex against her will.

This is the first year that sexual offences against men have been included with those against women.

Last month, a white South African man was given asylum in Canada after saying he had been attacked on seven different occasions.

His lawyer argued that the government was unable to protect its citizens.

The ruling ANC condemned the ruling as "racist" and pressed the Canadian government to challenge it.

The legacy of apartheid, social deprivation and corruption within the police force are among the reasons often cited for high levels of crime.

The BBC's Karen Allen in Johannesburg says President Jacob Zuma has put the fight against crime centre stage with the appointment of a new, tough-talking Police Commissioner.

But many commentators warn against populist measures and say that unless the underlying problems are addressed, violent crime will continue.

the good thing is that they are trying to work on it.i wish them the best of luck in their fight against crime. . . .

@European
Most of the crime in SA occurs in the Slum and the poor areas especially Johannesburg which has some of the highest levels of crime in the world. Whereas cities like Cape Town, Paarl, Port Elizebeth and many more have historical value and been preserved for many years thats why "ironically" they have one of the lowest crime rates in Africa.
Thus South Africa is an interesting country because it has the best and the worst of everything, Cape Town is considered more beautiful than cities like London and considered one of the best cities to visit, whereas Johannesburg is literally termed as the most scariest place to visit in the world but it is the city with the biggest economy in Africa.

One interesting fact is that South Africa has the biggest ratio of police per person in the world, this is one of the attributing factors that contribute to the steady decrease in most of the crime levels you mentioned and which is currently visible in the CBD of Johannesburg.

Back to the topic, Cape Town has a very rich and diverse history spanning from 1486, it overtook Cairo as the main tourist destination in Africa. Cape Town is also noted for its architectural heritage known as the Cape Dutch of which its a combination of architectural traditions of the Netherlands, Germany and France. The Cape Winelands and in particular the towns of Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek are popular day trips from the city for sightseeing and wine tasting.

Approximately 1.5 million tourists visited in Cape Town during 2004, bringing in a total of R10 billion in revenue. The forecasts for 2006 anticipate 1.6 million tourists spending a total of R12 billion. The most popular areas for visitors to stay include Camps Bay, Sea Point, the V&A Waterfront, the City Bowl, Hout Bay, Constantia, Rondebosch, Newlands, Somerset West, Hermanus and Stellenbosch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Town#Tourism