#Welcome2Jozi, where leisure is business

Dylan Harbour via Wikimedia Commons

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.

Core markets, listed according to size are Europe (including the UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy), followed by North America, Asia, Australasia, Central and South America, Middle East and the African mainland. To date, the most rapidly growing feeder markets emanating from the BRICS grouping are China and India.

Johannesburg’s has a reputation as an exciting business destination and a vibrant, cultural hotspot. It is an all year round global destination for business, sports, leisure, lifestyle, design, the arts, fashion, and film. The city’s shopping, dining, entertainment, and nightlife are complemented by good 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 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 in, including 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 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.

Babak Fakhamzadeh via Wikimedia Commons

All these developments showcasing the city’s 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 has layer upon layer of fascinating history, development, and human interest stories on top of 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.

Johannesburg is:

• 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?

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.

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 Restaurant at the Fairway Hotel in Randburg, Jazz Maniacs at the Soweto Hotel, La Campagnola in Bryanston, La Scala in Montecasino and Le Soufflé in Pineslopes.

What can you do in Johannesburg in a day?

To get the most out of Johannesburg in one day, City Sightseeing’s Red City Tour is recommended. With stops at the Carton Centre and the mining district in Joburg’s CBD, visitors can explore the colourful city centre with its street traders and shops selling all manner of goods. The City Sightseeing bus also stops at the James Hall Museum of Transport, Gold Reef City, the Apartheid Museum, the Newtown Cultural Precinct (with its Sci-Bono Discovery Centre and SAB World of Beer), the Origins Centre, Braamfontein, and Constitution Hill.

What to explore, experience and enjoy if you 72 hours in Johannesburg

©Nicolas De Corte via 123RF - Orlando Towers, Soweto

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