Johannesburg is the continent’s most visited city, according to the latest Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index, which ranks the world’s top 132 destination cities in terms of visitor volume and spend.

The City of Gold welcomed 4.57 million international overnight visitors last year – a 24% increase on the year prior. Of those visitors, 1.02 million (22%) were from Mozambique, followed by Zimbabweans with 841 000 and Lesotho with 493 000.

As reported by Africa Business Communities, Johannesburg also topped the continent’s rankings in terms of international visitor expenditure, with travellers spending US$2.56 billion last year (particularly on shopping, accommodation and dining out).

The index ranks Cape Town as the second-most popular African city with 1.52 million visitors, and international visitors expenditure of US$1.2 billion.

Rounding off the top five African cities are Lagos (1.04 million), Casablanca (961 694), and Cairo (820 959).

17 October 2017
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