Cape Town has done it again, as it was selected as one of the top 15 most popular destinations around the world to feature in a global study. The research aims to set the standard for tourism world-wide and was conducted by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF).
This prestigious feature demonstrates the City’s global status and undeniable ability to influence world travel due to popularity and the sustainable tourism conditions it operates under.
The study being called the UNWTO-WTCF City Tourism Performance Research is being used to develop a benchmark to measure tourism performance in urban destinations.
One order to do this the research focuses on: Destination Management; Economic Impact; Social and Cultural Impact; Environmental Impact and Technology & New Business Models.
“According to UN Habitat by 2050, 70% of the world’s population is expected to be living in cities. By 2025, metropolitan areas will contribute over 30 trillion US dollars annually to the world economy. As tourism currently accounts as a central component in the economic, social and geographical development of many cities it is essential to monitor tourism performance in urban destinations and clearly address the areas for improvement,” the report says
The case studies include a set of key urban tourism performance indicators and an in-depth analysis of each city in areas such as; economic impact of tourism, sustainability or the use of new technologies to measure and manage urban tourism.
“City tourism should go hand by hand with sustainable development; preserving environmental treasures together with tangible and intangible heritage should be parallel to the importance of engaging local communities,” said UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai.
Cape Town is the perfect city to include in such a study, as it not only contributes 11% to South Africa’s overall GDP and has the third busiest airport in Africa but it is also South Africa’s tech hub, top events and festival destination and was named “Best City in the World” by UK Telegraph readers.
Offering roughly 4 000 tourism enterprises and nearly 3 000 types of guest accommodations, almost 400 varied restaurants and 424 tourists attractions.
The Mother City is also a huge hot spot for property development and is expected to grow 6% in the next year according to the Frank Knight Wealth Report while being home to the most expensive properties in the whole of Africa.
Cape Town is also a highly environmentally conscious city, being part of the Global City Nature Challenge and moving more and more towards having higher levels of sustainable energy everyday.
See the full case study on Cape Town here.
Picture: Unsplash
