Lonely Planet, a major global tourism platform, has announced today that the Cape Winelands has been selected as one of their “Top 10 Best Value Destinations for 2020”.

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Coming in 8th position, Lonely Planet celebrates Cape Winelands on their website for its natural beauty and world-class wineries: “A short journey from the fabulous food city of Cape Town is the country’s wine region, centred on the historic towns of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch. The real action here is at the wineries and fabulous restaurants dotting the beautiful upland scenery. You won’t find elephants snuffling round the vineyards, but you will find inexpensive tasting tours followed by lazy lunches serving world-class food alongside delicious local wines. If you care to stretch your wallet a little further when staying the night you can sleep it all off in high-end guesthouses and B&Bs that would cost a lot more elsewhere.”

The full list of destinations ranked in this category are:

  1. East Nusa Tengarra, Indonesia
  2. Budapest, Hungary
  3. Madhya Pradesh, India
  4. Buffalo, NY, United States of America
  5. Azerbaijan
  6. Serbia
  7. Tunisia
  8. Cape Winelands, South Africa
  9. Athens, Greece
  10. Zanzibar, Tanzania

Western Cape Provincial Minister for Finance and Economic Opportunities, David Maynier, welcomed the announcement today: “The Cape Winelands is a world-class tourism attraction in the Western Cape and we are proud to be recognised as such by Lonely Planet. This is one of many unique food and wine attractions that we offer visitors, and an example of tourism service excellence that helps grow the economy and create jobs in the Western Cape.’”

Indeed, the region is well known for its world class wine and experiences, top restaurants, events and exceptional selection of choice for accommodation, all underpinned by natural beauty and vast open spaces.

Wesgro CEO, Tim Harris, added: “I am excited to be attending World Travel Market London this year, where this award will be made. I am looking forward to sharing this great news with the travel trade world-wide, to ensure that even more people come and experience the unrivalled beauty of our province. The Cape Winelands has made its mark as a destination in the Western Cape and I am positive that this accolade will help boost tourism to this region in the future. We wish to thank all our partners for their hard work in promoting this beautiful destination.”

“Our vast open spaces, hospitable people, fauna and flora, agricultural sector, wine industry fine cuisine and opportunities for grand adventure echo what all Cape Winelands tourism stakeholders believe: A thousand things to do and then some wine…”” stated Ald (Dr.) Elna von Schlicht, Executive Mayor of the Cape Winelands District Municipality.

Upon hearing this good news, she went on to say, “Here in the Cape Winelands and specifically at the Cape Winelands District Municipality (CWDM), we recognize the value of a robust tourism industry and its role in economic and skills development. We support the tourism industry through our relationships with Local Tourism agencies, and projects such as the Annual Mayoral Tourism Awards. During this year we have developed the Cape Winelands Route and Events App, available free of charge to all visitors to help travelers, visitors an even our citizens find all the special places in our district. The people of the CWD are the strength of our tourism industry, the manner in which we host, entertain and nourish our guests tells us that the Cape Winelands District welcomes visitors who wish to be hosted, entertained and nourished!”

For more information, visit Lonely Planet’s website here: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/best-in-travel