Cape Town trumps Joburg in global awards
Over the past three years, from 2023 to 2026, global awards for Cape Town and Johannesburg have revealed a distinct contrast between the two major cities, with Cape Town taking the most wins for tourism and travel.
Cape Town shines in consumer lifestyle rankings, having earned several prestigious awards across categories, including tourism, lifestyle, culinary, and environmental prestige.
It was named the Best City in the World by the Telegraph Travel Awards for 2023, and was also recognised as the Best World City for Food by Time Out for 2024 and 2025.
Cape Town has maintained a five-year streak as Africa’s Leading City Destination at the World Travel Awards from 2021 to 2025.
Most recently, Cape Town has been ranked the 15th-best city in the world in the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards for the fourth year in a row since the post-COVID era kicked off.
In the Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards, Cape Town also earned tenth place for the friendliest city in the world, making it the only African city on both lists.
The city also received top honours for Best Airport in Africa at the Skytrax World Airport Awards from 2024 to 2025. Cape Town also features prominently on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
Although Cape Town has won more global awards than Johannesburg in the last three years, Johannesburg’s awards highlight its role as Africa’s financial hub and tech centre.
Major financial institutions headquartered in Johannesburg, such as Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), Standard Bank, and Absa, have secured prominent Business-to-Business (B2B) awards.
These include Global Finance Magazine’s Most Innovative Bank in Africa, awarded to RMB for 2024 to 2026, and Euromoney’s Best Investment Bank honours across South Africa and the continent.
This award was won by Absa in 2023, RMB in 2024, Standard Bank in 2025, and RMB, which swept both regional and national categories in 2026.
Johannesburg has also been recognised by Startup Genome as the number one Tech Startup Ecosystem in Sub-Saharan Africa for ecosystem value and knowledge.
The city also received cultural recognition, being listed as Time Out’s seventh-best city in the world for nightlife in 2026, while ranking first for the best nightlife in Africa.
Below are tables featuring some of the global awards received by Cape Town and Johannesburg over the last three years.
Cape Town
| Award name | Awarding entity | Year(s) awarded | Details |
| Best City in the World | The Telegraph (Telegraph Travel Awards) | 2023 | Ranked first place in the reader poll. |
| World’s Best Cities | Time Out Group | 2024, 2025, 2026 | Second in 2024, first overall in 2025, sixth globally in 2026. |
| World’s Most Beautiful City | Time Out Group | 2026 | First place for Most Beautiful City in the World |
| Best World City for Food | Time Out Group | 2024, 2025, 2026 | Over 95% of survey respondents praised the culinary scene |
| Africa’s Leading City Destination | World Travel Awards (WTA) | 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 | Won the regional category for the 4th consecutive year |
| Africa’s Leading Beach Destination | World Travel Awards (WTA) | 2023, 2024, 2025 | Consistent winner across recent cycles. |
| World’s Leading Festival & Event Destination | World Travel Awards (WTA) | 2024 | Grand final global category winner. |
| Africa’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination | World Travel Awards (WTA) | 2026 | Secured the regional title |
| Best City in Africa / Top 15 Best Cities Globally | Condé Nast Traveller (Readers’ Choice) | 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 | Best City in Africa and 15th globally for the 4th consecutive year. |
| Best Airport in Africa | Skytrax (World Airport Awards) | 2024, 2025, 2026 | Best Airport in Africa for its 11th consecutive year. |
| Best Airport Staff Service in Africa | Skytrax (World Airport Awards) | 2024, 2025, 2026 | Top honours for staff service in Africa. |
Johannesburg
| Award name | Awarding entity | Year(s) awarded | Details |
| Most Innovative Bank in Africa | Global Finance Magazine (Innovators Awards) | 2024, 2025 | Awarded to Rand Merchant Bank (RMB). |
| South Africa’s Best Investment Bank | Euromoney (Awards for Excellence) | 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 | Absa won the award in 2023; RMB in 2024; and Standard Bank in 2025 and 2026. |
| Best Tech Startup Ecosystem in Sub-Saharan Africa | Startup Genome (Global Startup Ecosystem Report) | 2023, 2024, 2025 | Johannesburg-Pretoria hub ranked first in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| Best City in the World for Nightlife | Time Out Group | 2026 | Ranked seventh globally and first in Africa |
| Best Airport Hotel in Africa | Skytrax (World Airport Awards) | 2024, 2025, 2026 | O.R. Tambo Airport retained its top regional ranking. |
| Gold Award for Digital Financial Innovation | New Generation Social & Digital Media Awards | 2025 | Awarded for Shyft’s digital forex app. |
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