Awarding the Mother City's unusual attractions - golf and tattoos

9 Dec 2016

Cape Town has scooped two more titles to round off a year of global success in tourism. While quite different to each other, both attractions highlight the city's scope of appeal to a wide diversity of visitors:

Awarding the Mother City's unusual attractions - golf and tattoos

Western Cape voted Golf Destination of the Year 2017, Africa and Gulf States, by IAGTO (International Association of Golf Tour Operators)
Cape Town announced as number one city globally for tattoo affordability and studio availability according to the YEAY App and Global Tattoo Index.

Both of these would fall under the category of niche tourism, but represent a large segment of the travelling community.

The IAGTO award is judged according to the following criteria: customer satisfaction, quality of golf courses and accommodation, value for money, professional conduct of suppliers, support from the local tourism industry and accessibility to tee times. As one of the reasons for earning the accolade, the courses at Royal Cape, Clovelly, Milnerton and Atlantic Beach were cited as scenic golfing destinations with magnificent views. The city has produced golfers of an international standard.

“I am extremely busy during the holiday season, which lasts until March, but in some European countries like Germany, their entire golf season only lasts about three months, whereas you can play all year round in Cape Town, so the international guests take advantage of our good weather,” commented Ebrahim Osman, the owner of Ozzies Golf Guide.

The Global Tattoo Index stated that Cape Town ranks as the most accessible city for tattoos, offering the most parlours per capita weighed against cost. This was measured against 100 other cities by using the YEAY app, which measures how many tattoo parlours exist per citizen and the tattoo artist’s average cost per hour.

Cape Town’s tattoo artists travel frequently to international conventions where their work is sought out. As tourism ambassadors, they attract tattoo enthusiasts from around the globe seeking their services.

“These two fresh titles should not be taken lightly, they indicate the extent to which visitors seek out Cape Town as a destination, for more than just the big attractions. They represent our ability to offer something to outdoor and sport enthusiasts as well as our cultural and artistic offerings. There are golf courses and tattoo parlours across the city, so these help to extend the tourism footprint into all sorts of places from Muizenberg to Milnerton,” said Cape Town Tourism CEO, Enver Duminy.

Cape Town's awards, accolades and titles 2016

In the 2016 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Awards, the top three restaurants are all Cape Town-based: 1. The Test Kitchen, 2. La Colombe and 3. The Restaurant at Waterkloof. In addition, The Greenhouse at The Cellars-Hohenort came in at number 7, and Camphors at Vergelegen at 10.
Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel guide for 2017 lists Cape Town in the top 10 cities to visit in the world.
The 2015-16 Telegraph Travel Awards chose Cape Town as Best City (for the fourth year running)
In Condé Nast’s Reader’s Choice Awards, Cape Town took the honour as the number one food city in the world for 2016
The Condé Nast Readers’ ChoiceTravel Awards 2016 chose Cape Town as Best Overseas City for Restaurants and Bars.
Cape Town has been named as Luxury City Destination of the Year for the second consecutive year in the Luxury Travel Guide Africa & Middle East Awards 2016.
Listed in the top 5 global travel destinations as “surprisingly gay-friendly” in the New York Times/SCRUFF survey on gay travel, 2016.
Post Office Annual Holiday Money Report – 2016 – Cape Town announced as best-value long haul destination option for 2016.