Johannesburg - Joburg is so much more than a stopover or gateway city!
While a vast number of visitors arrive for business reasons or events, ever increasing numbers are staying to explore and experience Johannesburg’s fascinatingly diverse, urban tourism and lifestyle scene.
Records show that the African Markets visit Johannesburg for mainly business purposes. Overseas markets travel for holiday, business, visiting friends and relatives, or often have a combination of these.
Johannesburg’s allure as Africa’s most exciting business destination and a vibrant, cultural hotspot is renowned. It truly is an all year round global destination for business, sports, leisure, lifestyle, design, the arts, fashion and film.
The city’s legendary shopping, dining, entertainment and nightlife is complemented by fabulous weather as well as an astonishing array of facilities which add to its appeal as a destination.
The development of the tourism scene in Johannesburg over the past twenty years has seen a dramatic increase in the number of precincts, museums and attractions to highlight the city’s fascinating story, developed by both the public and private sectors.
Vilakazi Street in Soweto, the Maboneng Precinct to the east of the CBD, as well as Braamfontein further north, are just some of the lively neighbourhoods and precincts which have come into their own over the past decade or more.
Myriads of outstanding new heritage sites have been brought into being include the Origins Centre at Wits, the Apartheid Museum at Gold Reef City, the award-winning Liliesleaf Farm, the Hector Pietersen and Chancellor House Museums and the epic Constitution Hill complex, home to South Africa’s Constitutional Court.
These are just the tip of the iceberg and a number of routes have been developed to take in the City’s diversity in terms of themes and attractions, including arts, cuisine, Indian and Chinese heritage, adventure and nature.
All these developments showcasing the city’s extraordinary story have been complemented by infrastructural developments [like the Gautrain the Rea Vaya BRT], as well as the arrival of the City Sightseeing Bus, Johannesburg’s first hop on, hop off tourist bus and hundreds of tour guides and transport companies operating in the private sector.
Johannesburg boasts layer upon layer of fascinating history, development and human interest stories – of course not forgetting the leisure and lifestyle aspects of entertainment, sports, music, arts and culture. This is a city with a colourful past and a future filled with excitement, potential and promise.
Why Joburg is indeed the “destination of choice” for business and leisure travellers:
Africa’s Most Visited City in Africa according to MasterCard Cities Index
The “most popular African city” overall for young people aged 15-to-29 in 2015 - according to the Youthful Cities Index
SA’s wealthiest City
The best City in SA for business
And the New Cool Capital of the Southern Hemisphere - according to GQ Magazine, UK – 2015
What does Joburg have to offer that Durban and Cape Town don’t?
Joburg is known for its cultural diversity. People from all over Africa and from around the world have made their home here. Our inner-city regeneration projects have led to the development of vibrant cultural districts such as Moboneng, Braamfontein and Newtown. Nowhere else in the world - except for Vilakazi Street in Soweto - do you find a street where two Nobel Peace Prize laureates once lived - Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
A photo posted by 2016 JCI Africa&Middle East (@2016jciamec) on May 10, 2016 at 11:57am PDT
Which are some of Johannesburg’s top restaurants?
Johannesburg is home to many award winning restaurants. Among these are Five Hundred at the Saxon Hotel, Villas and Spa, The Leopard in Melville, dw eleven-13 in Dunkeld, Bellagio in Illovo, Il Tartufo in Dunkeld, La Cucina di Ciro in Parktown North, Balata Hotel at the Fairway Hotel in Randburg, Jazz Maniacs at the Soweto Hotel, La Campagnola in Bryanston, La Scala in Montecasino, Le Soufflé in Pineslopes.
How to explore Joburg in 72 hours
As always Johannesburg is jam-packed with events ranging from leisure to business. Explore the city and see why it is a preferred destination for business, lifestyle, heritage, culture, arts, sports, nightlife and shopping.
A trip to Johannesburg isn’t complete if you haven’t ticked off our list of top places to visit:
• Soweto
• Gold Reef City
• Johannesburg Zoo
• Constitution Hill
• Sandton City
• Apartheid Museum
• Newtown Precinct
• Lilliesleaf Farm
• Maboneng Precinct
• Joburg Theatre
Follow Joburg Tourism’s domestic tourism campaign on Twitter at #Welcome2Jozi and log onto www.joburgtourism.com for tips and suggestions.
Adapted from a press release for IOL