Cape Town has added two major tourism accolades to its name, winning Africa’s Leading City Destination and Africa’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination at the 2026 World Travel Awards.
Picture: Zoe Reeve / Unsplash
The awards were announced at the World Travel Awards Africa Gala Ceremony in Zanzibar on Friday, 28 August, placing Cape Town among the regional winners heading into the competition’s Grand Final later this year.
According to Cape Town News, the recognition comes as tourism continues to make a significant contribution to the city’s economy, with Cape Town recording R24.5 billion in direct tourism spending during 2025.
A strong showing for Cape Town
Cape Town faced competition from a number of well-known African destinations in the city destination category, including Durban, Johannesburg, Kigali, Luxor, Marrakech, Nairobi and Sharm El Sheikh.
The city has now won Africa’s Leading City Destination for six consecutive years, having also taken the title in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
The second award carries a different significance.
Cape Town was named Africa’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination after competing against Durban, Johannesburg, Kigali and Nairobi. According to World Travel Awards records cited by Cape Town News, Durban had held the title from 2017 to 2025, while Cape Town last won the category in 2013.
The result puts the spotlight not only on Cape Town as a leisure destination, but also on its role in hosting meetings, conferences and business events.
Tourism’s wider economic impact
The latest figures from Cape Town Tourism show just how much the visitor economy contributes to the city.
Tourism generated R24.5 billion in direct spending in 2025, while Tourism Gross Value Add reached R23 billion, equivalent to 6.3% of Cape Town’s economy.
The sector also supported 106 358 jobs, accounting for about 6.2% of employment in the city.
International visitors made up a significant share of that economic activity. Cape Town recorded 1.44 million foreign overnight visitors during 2025.
Those visitors stayed for an average of 9.5 nights and spent approximately R1 390 per day, contributing R19 billion in direct spending.
Domestic tourism also remained an important part of the picture, with 1.42 million domestic overnight trips recorded during the year. Domestic visitors generated R5.5 billion in direct spending.
Business travel adds another dimension
The meetings and conference award highlights another side of Cape Town’s tourism economy.
Business events bring together more than delegates and conference venues. According to Cape Town News, conference visitors can contribute to hotels, restaurants and attractions during their stays.
Cape Town Tourism chief executive Enver Duminy said the two awards reflect different strengths within the city’s visitor economy. He noted that some conference visitors may later return to Cape Town for leisure trips with family, friends or colleagues.
Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth and Tourism James Vos has also highlighted the value of business travellers, particularly because they can visit during weekdays and outside traditional holiday periods.
For a city whose tourism economy supports more than 100 000 jobs, that broader spread of visitor activity adds another layer to the importance of business tourism.
From African winner to global contender
Cape Town’s latest success is not the end of the competition.
By winning the two African categories, the city now advances to the World Travel Awards Grand Final, where regional winners from different parts of the world will compete for global titles later this year.
For now, the two awards add to Cape Town’s growing record of recognition while the latest tourism figures show the sector’s substantial contribution to the city’s economy.
Article shared by Cape Etc.
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