Johannesburg is set to be the most popular destination city in Africa for the second year, followed by Cape Town, according to the 2014 MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index.
Johannesburg expects 4,3 million international overnight visitors in 2014, a 4,9% increase on last year’s 4,1 million visitors. Johannesburg also comes out tops in Africa in terms of international visitor expenditure, with travellers expected to spend US$3,2 billion in 2014, compared with US$3,06 billion last year.
Now in its fourth year, the MasterCard Index of Global Destination Cities ranks 132 cities in terms of the number of their total international visitor arrivals and the cross-border spending by these same visitors in the destination cities. It also gives visitor and passenger growth forecasts for 2014. The 13 African cities ranked in the Index are Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Cairo, Casablanca, Accra, Nairobi, Beira, Dakar, Kampala, Lagos, Maputo and Tunis.
According to the report, Johannesburg’s top-five feeder cities are London, Frankfurt, Harare, Maputo, and Paris. However, while visitor numbers from London and Frankfurt are growing, the others are dropping. 
Most visitors to Johannesburg will again travel from London. This year, visitors from London are expected to increase in number by 3,3% and will spend an estimated US$462 million while in Johannesburg. 
Frankfurt (305 000 people), Harare (269 000 people), Maputo (204 000 people) and Paris (198 000) are the top five cities sending visitors to Johannesburg. Parisians are expected to spend the most (US$337 million), followed by visitors from Frankfurt (US$159 million), Harare (US$140 million), and Maputo (US$115 million).
Trailing Johannesburg by a substantial margin, Cape Town is set to be Africa’s second most visited city. The Mother City is expected to receive 1,6 million international overnight visitors in 2014, who are likely to spend US$2,3 billion. This is a 5,5% increase in visitor numbers and a 10% increase in spend compared with 2013 (US$2, 1 billion).
Rounding out the top five most visited cities in Africa are Cairo(1,35 million visitors spending US$804 million), Lagos (1,33 million visitors spending US$710 million), and Casablanca (0,98 million visitors spending US$737 million).
For the third time in four years, London is the destination of choice for travellers. London will receive 18,7 million international visitors in 2014, followed by Bangkok (16,4 million), Paris (15,6 million), Singapore (12,5 million) and Dubai (11,9 million).
Dawn Robertson, Chief Executive Officer of Gauteng Tourism, said: “We are excited by the news but we are not leaving anything to chance or showing any signs of complacency. Over the past weekend we concluded a very successful Joburg Shopping Festival in association with the city of Johannesburg.”