Top Destination: South Africa secures five spots in Tourism Sentiment Index list

Hermanus took the number 41 spot in the "100 Most Loved Destinations in the World”. Photo: Phil Zammit / flickr

South Africa has secured five spots in the “100 Most Loved Destinations in the World”, as per the Tourism Sentiment Index list.

Knysna Waterfront, Western Cape. Photo: Clark Lin / flickr

The Tourism Sentiment Index (TSI) identifies “Leading Places: 100 Most Loved Destinations in the World” through a data study where more than 1.6 billion online conversations and content pieces, most from Twitter and LinkedIn, and about 21 330 global destinations are analysed.

Five spots for South Africa

Out of the five prestigious spots, the Western Cape bagged four and Gauteng’s Pretoria walked away with one.

Beautiful Knysna stole the show and ranked in the top 20 at number 19 – with a Tourism Sentiment Score (TSS) of 30.23. Stellenbosch was placed at number 23 – scoring 29.31, while Hermanus took the number 41 spot – scoring 27.65. The last Western Cape city/town to secure a spot, was the Mother City herself, coming in at number 54 – scoring 26.24.

Pretoria also made the list , coming in at number 73 – scoring 24.77.

Jacaranda trees in bloom in Pretoria. Photo: Ricardo / Fickr

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David Maynier, Western Cape Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC, 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.

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Award-winning country

South Africa also managed to scoop a variety of awards in the regional ‘Africa’ category at the 2021 World Travel Awards this past December.

The World Travel Awards supports, promotes and develops the global travel and tourism industry by identifying and rewarding excellence and inspiring its practitioners to continually raise the standards of their product and service offering.

In the regional ‘Africa’ category, South Africa took home 20 awards, which just goes to show how many wonderful offerings we have!

Sundeeka Mungroo

Sundeeka Mungroo is a content writer, foodie and all-round adventure-seeker. She's a graduate of the University of South Africa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature, and has worked as a copywriter and editor in the digital marketing industry. Sundeeka currently writes for I Love South Africa and The South African. She lives in the beautiful Mother City and loves exploring all that South Africa has to offer.