By Fred Felton | September 26, 2021
The City of Durban has won a wide variety of awards in the last decade. In this month of September which is Tourism and Heritage Month we take a closer look at these awards.
Environmental Awards
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| Bronze Beach, Umhlanga | Image: Fred Felton |
Durban has some of the most pristine beaches in KwaZulu-Natal and the City has won a variety of awards including 2012 Winner for ‘’SA’s Greenest City Award’’, 2013 and 2014 ‘’Arbor City Award’’ and 1st African 100 Resilient Cities Partner (Rockerfeller Foundation).
Tourism Awards
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| Umhlanga Pier rated best globally by CNN | Image: Fiona Wainwright |
Durban was rated in ‘’Top 10 Oceanfront Cities’’ globally in 2015 by National Geographic.
CNN voted Durban as one of the ‘’Top 10 most underrated cities’’ and they recently voted ‘’Umhlanga Pier’’ as the best globally and they voted the City ‘’Coolest City in SA’’.
Durban is predicted to be one of the fastest growing tourism cities in Africa and could be one of the fastest growing tourism city’s worldwide, as predicted by the Master Card Global Destination City Index.
The City was rated by the New York Times as number 7 of their Top 52 Places to Go in 2015.
Transport Awards
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| The People Mover. One of the cheapest forms of transport in the City. | Image: Fred Felton |
Durban was rated as #1 in South Africa on the ‘’Top 10 Cheapest Countries for Transport’’ in the 2014 GoEuro.com Report. This was for train, bus and air transportation.
SKYTRAX ranked King Shaka International Airport as the Best Airport Staff in Africa for 2017 and 2nd best airport in Africa by ACI, handling circa 5 million passengers.
Heritage Awards
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) named Durban the UNESCO City of Literature and it is the first African City to receive this prestigious status.
‘’We recognise the important role that our rich and diverse cultural heritage has in helping build our nation. There is no doubt that our history and heritage present an opportunity for growing tourism thereby boosting the economy,’’ said Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda, eThekwini Municipality Mayor.
Investment Awards
Durban was included in the ‘’7 Emerging Luxury Housing Markets To Watch in 2015’’ by Christies International Real Estate Group.
The City recently bagged the ‘’CNN Money/International Investor’’ Award for ‘’Best FDI City in Africa’’ in 2020.
Durban is the ‘’Most Affordable of all SA Metro Cities to live in’’ according to the 2021 ‘’Numbeo and Expatism’’ Cost of Living indices.
The City has also been nominated for ‘’Best FDI Destination South Africa’’ in 2021 for the Bloomberg Decision Maker Business Awards 2021.
‘’Let us work together with all stakeholders to boost our campaigns to market Durban and ensure that we also target the continental tourists. Durban boasts world-class malls, hotels and excellent culinary tourism experience that can match any city in the world,’’ noted eThekwini Municipality Mayor, Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda.
The City of Durban recently launched the 2021 ‘’My City, My Heritage’’ campaign and it calls on all citizens of Durban to highlight and celebrate the rich cultural heritage that makes Durban a melting pot of diverse cultures.
Thanks to these many awards Durban is ready to host world-class events in a safe and secure environment.
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Quick Durban KwaZulu-Natal Fact: Sardine Run – An extraordinary natural phenomenon, that is witnessed annually on the KwaZulu-Natal coast, during late autumn or early winter, is the “sardine run”. Also referred to as “the greatest shoal on earth”, the sardine run occurs when millions of sardines migrate from their spawning grounds south of the southern tip of Africa, northwards along the Eastern Cape coastline towards KwaZulu-Natal, following a path close inshore, often resulting in many fish washing up on beaches along the coast. The huge shoal of tiny fish can stretch for many kilometres and is followed and preyed upon by thousands of predators, including game fish, sharks, dolphins and seabirds. Usually the shoals break up and the fish disappear into deeper water around Durban. Many questions surrounding this exceptional event remain unanswered.
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