Cape Town has a long list of awards and accolades, here are a few:
2018:
- Cape Town has been named one of the top 10 surf cities in the world by Surfer.
- Cape Town has once again been crowned as the number one city in Africa for business tourism events by the International Congress and Convention Association.
2017:
- Cape Town has once again been crowned as the number one city in Africa for business tourism events by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). It is the fourth consecutive win for the city.
- 3 Cape Town breweries top the South African list for the best locations to visit across the world by travel experts Lonely Planet, in a new book exploring the vibrant world of craft beer, Lonely Planet’s Global Beer Tour. The selected brewers, taprooms and breweries are in 30 countries across five continents.
- Featured in Fodor’s Go List 2017
- Western Cape voted Golf Destination of the Year, 2017, Africa and Gulf States (IAGTO – International Association of Golf Tour Operators).
- Cape Town announced as number one city globally for tattoo affordability and studio availability according to the YEAY App and Global Tattoo Index.
2016:
- Awarded the Conde Naste Readers’ Travel Awards 2016 for Best Overseas City for Restaurants & Bars, as well as the second best overseas city in the World.
- The 2015-16 Telegraph Travel Awards chose Cape Town as Best City (for the fourth year running)
- In Condé Nast’s Reader’s Choice Awards, Cape Town took the honour as the number one food city in the world for 2016
- Cape Town has been named as Luxury City Destination of the Year for the second consecutive year in the Luxury Travel Guide Africa & Middle East Awards 2016.
2015:
- Green Hotelier named Hotel Verde their Green Hotelier winner 2015 for Africa and the Middle East in the 2015 Green Hotel Awards
- Conde Nast Traveller named Cape Town number three on their list of World’s Best Food Cities for 2014 as voted for by readers.
- Cape Town ranked number 10 in the Top 25 Destinations in the World by Tripadvisor. This is determined by an algorithm that monitored the quality and quantity of user reviews over a twelve month period.
- Cape Town is one of 22 cities to be included on a special edition, travel themed Monopoly Board, Here & Now.
- Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden named International Garden of the Year by the Garden Tourism Network (IGTN)
- Cape Town Named the 18th Top Winter Destination Today according to Gogobot website users.
- National Geographic named Cape Town as number two on its top 10 list of best beach cities in the world.
2014:
- Voted the Best City by The Telegraph UK’s readers, third year in a row as part of their official Telegraph Travel Awards 2014
- Cape Town is listed as one of the most eco-friendly cities in the World by BBC Travel
- Cape Town ranked as one of the ’25 Ultimate Fun Cities in the World by GetYourGuide & GoEuro survey
- Listed as the 4th best city in the The Top 25 Cities in the World and as the 8th Friendliest City in the World by Conde Nast Traveler
- Cape Town ranked as number 1 in the Top Global Destinations list, and was also the top choice for two categories: hotels with best staff performance and room standard, awarded by Agoda.com
- Cape Town is number two on Lonely Planet Best Bargain Holiday Destinations for 2015.
- Second best value winter break by The Daily Mail 2014.
- Two Oceans Aquarium listed as number ten in the Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Zoo and Aquarium Awards.
- One of the 10 best destinations for eco-travel by responsibletravel.com.The leading ethical agent responsibletravel.com rounds up 10 award-winning destinations which will not only give you the holiday of a lifetime, but where your travels will also make a real, positive difference to local people and conservation efforts.
- Eight Cape Town beaches and three marinas are awarded full Blue Flag Status for 2014/ 2015
- Named as Africa’s Leading Destination at the World Travel Awards 2014
- Named as Africa’s leading cruise port at the World Travel Awards 2014
- Awarded the fifth most responsible destination in the world at the World Responsible Tourism Awards 2014
- One of the most scenic spots in the World to Skydive by New York Post.
- One of the World’s 15 Best Waterfront Cities by Huffington Post
- The Most Beautiful City in the World by Buzzfeed. Buzzffeed is one of the largest entertainment websites in the world, and one of their community posts listed Cape Town as number 1 on the list for most beautiful cities.
- Second best city for Restaurants and Helpful Locals by TripAdvisor World City Survey 2014.
- Best Place to visit in Africa and The Middle East by US News.
- Clifton beach listed as one of top 10 beaches in the world by Harper’s Bazaar.
- Nineteenth Top Destination in the World, Tripadvisor Traveller’s Choice Awards 2014.
- Second Top Destination in Africa, Tripadvisor Traveller’s Choice Awards 2014.
- Hotel Verde receives LEED platinum accreditation for being a sustainable, green hotel.Hotel Verde is the first and only hotel in Africa to receive this accolade.
- Camps Bay beach – 24th Best Beach in the World, Tripadvisor Traveller’s Choice Awards 2014
- In 2014 TripAdvisors travel community named Cape Town 19th Top Destination in the World and the Second Top Destination in Africa
- Second Best Value Destination in the World (for room service) and Fourth best Value Destination (for room rates), Tripadvisor TripIndex Room Service 2014
- Cape Town was crowned the world’s Earth Hour Capital for sustainability efforts by WWF.
- The Backpack, Lonely Planet’s list of Best-Value Hotels in the World 2014: Lonely Planet’s Best in travel is produced annually as a guide to the top destination, trends and experiences for the upcoming year.
- Hotel Spa of the Year Africa – The One&Only Cape Town, 2014.
- The New York Times Travel section listed Cape Town as top destination for 2014 on their list of 52 Places to Go in 2014.
- Number One Holiday Hotspot, Theguardian.com Top 40 destination round-up.
- Number Three City in the World by Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2014.
- The City of Cape Town has been awarded full blue flag status for eight beaches and two marinas.
- Cape Town was announced as World Design Capital 2014, chosen from a shortlist of three cities (and initially selected from a list of 56 cities around the world).
- Cape Town, FlipKey.com Top 10 Wine Destinations
More Awards:
- 2014 World Design Capital
- One of CNN World’s 10 Most Loved Cities
- Top City in Africa and the Middle-East in Travel + Leisure’s Annual Online Poll
- Table Mountain: One of the New7Wonders of Nature
- Muizenberg: One of National Geographic’s World’s 20 Best Surf Towns
- Tjing Tjing Bar: One of Condé Nast Traveler’s 10 Hottest New Bars Around the World
- Boulders Beach: One of TripAdvisor’s 10 Truly Unique Beaches
- Sahara Park Newlands: Cricketer Magazine’s Second Best Stadium in the World
2011:
- TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice Best Destination
- Second Best Beach City, Lonely Planet’s Ten Best Beach Cities
2010:
- Top City in Africa and the Middle East – Condé Nast Readers’ Travel Awards
- One of the World’s Top 20 Cities – Condé Nast Readers’ Travel Awards
- Africa’s Leading Destination – World Travel Awards
- 6th Top City for Men – Askmen.com
- Top Ten Ethical Destinations in the World – Ethical Traveler
- Best Holiday Destination Ever – Heat magazine
- One of the World’s Most Beautiful Cities – Forbes
- Skyscanner’s 33rd most searched for destination for – www.skyscanner.net
- British Airways Top Ten List for 2010
TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice Awards 2010 named Cape Town:
- Twenty Fifth in the 25 Best Destinations in the World
- First in the Top 25 Destinations in Africa category
- Sixth as Top 25 Destinations in the World chosen by Europeans
- Sixth again as Top 10 Beach & Sun Destinations in Africa
- Second as Top 10 Culture & Sightseeing Destinations in Africa
- Fourth as Top 10 Outdoor & Adventure Destinations in Africa
- Second as the Top 10 Food & Wine Destinations in the World (Western Cape)
2009:
- One of the World’s Top 10 Party Cities – Lonely Planet’s 1000 Ultimate Experiences
- New Home of The Loerie Awards 2009 – 2014
- Best Destination – Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards
- Blue Flag beach status
- Second Favourite Overseas City – Guardian, UK
- 27th Best City for Men to Live in – Askmen.com
- World’s Number Two City – Travel+Leisure Magazine
- World’s Best Incentive Destination – Conference & Incentive Travel magazine October 2009
- World’s Best Entertainment/Lifestyle Destination – Luxury Travel Awards April 2009
- Best Tourism Investor City of the Year – AI Tourism Investor Awards
2008:
- Best Destination, Africa – World Travel Awards
- 3rd Best City In The World – US Travel And Leisure July 2008
- Best City In Africa & Middle East – US Travel And Leisure July 2008, 2009
- 4th Top City In The World – Condé Nast Readers’ Choice October 2008
- Best City In Africa & Middle East – Condé Nast Readers’ Choice October 2008
- 3rd Best City In The Top 10 World Food Cities – Lonely Planet Blue List 2008
- One Of The World’s Most Sustainable Cities – Ethisphere Institute, Sept 2008
- One Of The “Places Of A Lifetime” – National Geographic Traveler July 2008
- Best City To Live In, Africa & Middle East – Mercer Quality Of Living Survey 2008
- Favourite World City, UK Telegraph November 2008
Awards from previous years:
- Boulder’s Beach: World’s Best Family Beach – UK Telegraph March 2007
- Cleanest City In SA – DEAT Annual Cleanest Metro Awards March 2007
- #1 UK Long Haul Destination – UK Trends And Spends Survey 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007
- One Of The World’s 5 Bluest Sky Destinations – Expedia.co.uk July 2006
- Favourite Foreign City – UK Telegraph 2004, 2005
- Ideal Travel Destination – Markinor- Sunday Times Top Brands Survey 2005