SOUTH Africa has bagged five spots in the “Leading Places: 100 Most Loved Destinations in the World” list, according to the Tourism Sentiment Index (TSI).
Each of the 100 destinations on the list has earned praise and gained an impressive TSI score during one of the toughest years the tourism industry has faced, 2021.
The TSI identifies its top 100 “Most Loved Destinations” through an intensive data study where more than 1.6 billion online conversations and content pieces and about 21 330 global destinations are analysed.
In South Africa, Knysna ranked in the top 20 at #19 with a Tourism Sentiment Score (TSS) of 30.23 while Stellenbosch was placed at #23 scoring 29.31, Hermanus #41 scoring 27.65 and Cape Town #54 scoring 26.24.
Pretoria in Gauteng also made the list at #73 with a TSS of 24.77.
Bagging the number one spot was the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia, followed by Whitsundays, Queensland, Australia (2); Udaipur, Rajasthan India (3); Bora Bora French Polynesia (4); Noosa, Queensland Australia (5); Nice, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur France (6); Punta Cana, La Altagracia Dominican Republic (7); Cancun, Quintana Roo Mexico (8); Cairns, Queensland Australia (9) and Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco Mexico (10).
The 100th spot was tied between Pensacola, Florida US and Antwerp, Flanders Belgium, both scoring 23.52.
Welcoming the announcement Western Cape Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC, David Maynier said South Africa making the list was an outstanding achievement.
“The last two years will go down in history as the most challenging years thus far for the global tourism sector, and the rankings demonstrate that Cape Town and the Western Cape is a world-class destination and a firm favourite on the global travel bucket list,” said Maynier.