The Tourism Sentiment Index (TSI), a travel data intelligence solution created by destination marketing agency Destination Think, has released ‘Leading Places: The 100 Most Loved Destinations Around the World’ for 2023, with Africa’s destinations featuring strongly.

Uncovering the 100 most-loved destinations around the globe according to consumer sentiment, the study tracked more than 1.6bn online conversations and content pieces publicly available, and about 21 330 global destinations, to identify the top 100.

Seychelles takes top honours as the most-loved destination in Africa, also coming in fourth overall, followed by Mauritius and Zanzibar.

Three South African destinations feature amongst the top in the world, with Hermanus finishing 18^th overall (after being seeded 41^st last year), Stellenbosch 34^th, and Cape Town moving up 14 places to 40^th.

The Maldives comes in as number one in the world.

Welcoming the announcement, Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger, said: “To have not one, but three of our stunning towns in the top 50 of the ‘100 Most Loved Destinations in the World’ is an outstanding accolade for the Western Cape, and rightly so. I am hopeful that the exposure generated by this recognition will attract even more visitors to our shores to explore more of our many and diverse towns, attractions, and offerings in the Western Cape. The Western Cape government will continue to collaborate with stakeholders across the tourism and hospitality sector to reach new heights, attract more tourists so we can boost economic growth that will create jobs in the province.”

Hermanus, Stellenbosch and Cape Town have been repeatedly spotlighted by international visitors, making it onto TSI’s list since 2021. This year's TSI rankings confirm the destination’s competitiveness, keeping the province top of the travel bucket list globally. 

The top five African destinations are:

1. Seychelles (fourth overall)
2. Mauritius (13^th overall)
3. Zanzibar (16^th overall)
4. Hermanus (18^th overall)
5. Stellenbosch (34^th overall)