Three destinations in the Western Cape have claimed spots in ‘The 100 Most Loved Destinations Around the World for 2021’, according to the Tourism Sentiment Index created by destination marketing agency Destination Think.

Knysna ranks at #19, Stellenbosch at #23, and Hermanus at #41. Cape Town, a point of pride for South Africa and popular tourist destination, ranks #54.

Cape Town tourism on the rise

Cape Town and the Western Cape were also very popular locally this past festive season, with domestic visitor numbers tripling between November and December.

Gathering feedback from over 160 businesses from across the Western Cape, Wesgro data reveals that businesses recorded an uptick in local and domestic visitors. Passenger arrivals through Cape Town International Airport’s domestic terminal reached a high in December, showing a 66% recovery rate when compared with the same period in 2019. 

International arrivals also performed well in October, later reaching their peak in November with a 41% recovery rate. Although in December, international passenger arrivals were less than a third of what they were in the same month in 2019, they grew by 28% when compared with figures from 2020.

Feedback received from the attractions was positive, with Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, Cape of Good Hope, Boulders Beach, and Robben Island experiencing significant growth in visitor numbers in both November and December, and Kirstenbosch Gardens having recovered about half of its 2019 figures in both months.