Once, a vital mining town, Johannesburg has evolved as a continental driver of commerce, cuisine and culture. The City of Johannesburg has the dexterity to take Africa to the world and the drive to bring the world to Africa.
In 2017, Johannesburg celebrated its fifth consecutive year as Africa’s most popular destination.
At that point, Johannesburg attracted 4.05million annual international visitors. Compared to its continental peers, The City of Gold shone. Marrakech, in Morocco welcomed 3.93million international overnight visitors, South African cities, Polokwane and Cape Town attracted 1.88million visitors and 1.73million visitors respectively.
The Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index ranked 162 destination cities, with reference to visitor volume and spend. Mark Elliott, Division President of Mastercard South Africa said, “the ranking is significant as visitor expenditure contributes an important source of revenue to the retail, hospitality, restaurant and cultural sectors.”
The significance of this travel footprint was aligned with dollar spend. Johannesburg received the highest international overnight visitor expenditure among African cities, with US$2.14billion spent in 2017, where its successor, Marrakech, received US$1.64billion.
The significance of Johannesburg as a conduit for South African wine is best described by journalist, Len Maseko.
“Joburg is a truly vibrant city with soul; rich with a cosmopolitan character second to none in this country. In fact, it’s much easier to make friends here than anywhere else. Joburg offers a myriad of nightlife options for insomniacs, geared up for zesty pub-crawling,” Len says.
Len says that when he visits the Cape, “Tulbagh is special to me, for visiting farms like Saronsberg, Stellenbosch, where I make a beeline to Delaire Graff and Franschhoek, for La Motte.”
While twenty-two South African wine routes and the South African brandy homes lure many domestic and international visitors, it is imperative to recognize why Jozi Maboneng is a crucial trade route for South African wine.
- Land of Opportunity
Len Maseko’s own genesis as a journalist reveals the radical potential that Johannesburg provides.
“Believe it or not – I started out as a photographer back in 1975, having been trained for three years by South Africa’s foremost photographic legend, David Goldblatt at the Open School of Arts in Braamfontein. I also attended creative writing and music classes there,” Len says.
“Besides taking part in a few photographic exhibitions, my work was published in magazines like: Drum, Staffrider, Bonanza, Tranzvaal Post and Sunday Post – at the time. Then, while planning to go to university to study chemical engineering in 1980, I saw an advert in which Post newspaper was looking for matric students with good English Language pass-marks to train as journalists. Armed with a B-grade pass from my O-Level English exams, I got the job and was sent to a journalism course immediately, and, much later, the Argus Journalism Training School at the Star.”
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