Cities in South Africa

Here are the top 10 cities to visit in South Africa, in alphabetical order:

Bloemfontein

Fondly known as “the city of roses” because of its beautiful blooms and the annual rose festival that is held here, Bloemfontein has numerous historical, cultural, and natural attractions that make it the ideal holiday destination. Bloemfontein is part of the Mangaung Local Municipality – “place where the Cheetahs dwell”. This municipality was formed at the end of 2000 by amalgamating the Transitional Local Councils of Bloemfontein, Botshabelo, Thaba Nchu and two Rural Councils.

Bloemfontein is the economic hub of Mangaung and also the commercial capital of the Free State.

The atmosphere that one feels in Bloemfontein is one based on an appreciation of family values, where quality of life is of prime importance. Business and family interests are combined, in a hand-in-glove way, with no reason for discord; cultures are intermingled, again with peaceable accord.

Cape Town

Home to the iconic Table Mountain, Cape Town offers a myriad of activities and attractions for all. Enjoy sun drenched beaches, nature trails, water sports, gourmet dining, award-winning wine estates, and more in the “Mother City”.

Economic development

Investors can contact the City’s Economic and Human Development Department (EHD), its agencies and partners for investment opportunities.

The EHD Department is responsible for promoting economic growth, job creation, reducing poverty and monitoring inequalities in Cape Town, through a number of projects and programmes, such as Small Business Week, the Business Voucher Support Programme, and the Smart City Strategy. To read more about these, click here.

Wesgro

Wesgro is the official trade and investment promotion agency for the Western Cape. The City contributes R7-million to Wesgro’s R19-million annual budget, with the rest provided by the provincial government of the Western Cape. Wesgro’s strategy is aligned to the City’s Economic and Human Development Strategy, as well as the province’s Micro-Economic Development Strategy.

Over the last five years, nearly 15 000 jobs have been created thanks to the agency. Most of these have been in the skilled sector. This last financial year saw 2 388 jobs created in Cape Town and 2 693 in the rest of the Western Cape (excluding call centres). Wesgro attracted R605-million in investment into the city’s R123.9-billion economy, attracted R5.45-billion in investment over the last five years.

Durban

One of the most popular holiday destinations in South Africa, Durban boasts warm ocean waters, beautiful beaches, and great weather year-round. Enjoy activities like uShaka Marine World, Gateway Theatre of Shopping, gondola rides, fishing, and water sports such as surfing and snorkeling. You’ll also find the best curries in South Africa!

Durban’s Super 7 are the seven key reasons Durban is attractive to Business and Leisure visitors. .

Award winning Municipality

Durban has the best run and financially strongest local government on the continent. Awards are bestowed through the likes of the Vuna awards – recognising Durban as being the best-run city in South Africa, with 18 500 employees. International credit rating agencies have given us investment grade credit ratings of AA+ off a budget of over R17Bn ($2,5Bn) p.a.. We have a huge, expanding fibre optic system to really make Durban THE Smart City, etc. Durban has the lowest cost basket of rates and services levies across any of the major centres in South Africa.

Lifestyle of business and pleasure together

This is a place to live, work and play. You might have other centres that are dominated by the business side, but perhaps not as blessed as we are with the sustainable lifestyle and sense of pleasure. You might have other places that dominate on lifestyle and pleasure, but don’t have a huge business side to them, in terms of manufacturing or infrastructure profile. The emphasis for us is on the word ‘together’, it’s the two complementary halves, the business or career half and the social and lifestyle-family side.

Large Human Resources base

At the heart of the most populace Province of Kwa Zulu-Natal, Durban has large pools of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled labour, plus some of the best and fastest Skills Development taking place amongst our 3,2M cosmopolitan population. E.G., Durban has Africa’s largest direct contact University based in Durban, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, with over 45,000 direct contact tertiary students of Black African, Asian and European decent.

Highest growth rates

Durbans growth rates are higher than the country’s average, and that of the other major centres, in the region of 6%-6.5 %. they’re targeting in the range of 7.5%-9%. This impacts positively on Business Confidence Levels, fixed capital formation, etc. “The trend is our friend”

Infrastructure Leader

Durban has the continent’s leading infrastructure base. This includes virtual infrastructure like globalised financial services, plus the physical infrastructure base. Durban has the best electricity distribution on the continent, a vast roads network, best & biggest water treatment & supply base, telecommunications via expanding fibre optics, and land. Durbans has reasonable amounts of available vacant land at realistic prices across our 2 300 km2 City. Durban leads the continent in terms of port infrastructure, with Africa’s busiest harbour.

Tourism Crown

Durban is the largest domestic tourism destination in South Africa by a healthy margin, plus concrete projects in place to become one of the largest international tourism destinations. This is done through an ‘event-led’ tourism drive across both business and pleasure tourism. Our International Convention Centre is rated by the global trade as Africa’s best convention centre for the last 6 years running. Durban just spent nearly half a Billion Rand in terms of further expanding it’s footprint.

Substantial, successful, growing business base already in place across the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. It’s a case of functional magnetism – companies like to be located synergistically, with over 60% of the Provinces GGP produced in Durban. Business is clustered around the manufacturing, tourism, services, maritime and logistics industries. Having the second largest business & industrial base in SA provides many options for suppliers, support services, customers, and employees which are all important elements of production.

East London

The sub-tropical climate, long hours of sunshine, warm Indian Ocean, and uncrowded beaches makes East London a desired destination on the Eastern Cape’s Sunshine Coast. Visitors flock here for its laid back lifestyle, water sports, outdoor activities, and cultural experiences.

East London Industrial Development Zone

A lot of economic activity is initiated and guided by the  East London Industrial Development Zone (ELIDZ). Innovation, Efficiency, Growth and Sustainability are key to the East London Industrial Development Zone reason for existence.Established in 2003, as part of the South African government initiative to improve industrial competitiveness and economic growth in the country, the zone has become a prime industrial park in South Africa, renowned for its customised solutions for various industries including automotive, agro-processing and aqua-culture.The ELIDZ offers growth oriented companies a specialised manufacturing platform, innovative industrial and business solutions access to new markets and strategic industry networks. We don’t just offer businesses a physical space to locate – we partner with you in finding innovative solutions to ensure greater returns.A number of global players have already positioned themselves for growth by choosing to locate their facilities in our zone. These include renowned brands such as Foxtec-Ikhwezi, Mercedes Benz South Africa, the Feltex Group, Johnsons Controls, Ti Automotive, Sunningdale Dairy and Matla Diamond Works. So whether you are looking for serviced industrial land, prime industrial space for leasing or purchasing, or value added services that will improve your business operations, our team will design a solution that will work for you.

Johannesburg

The modern African metropolis of Johannesburg has it all: vibrant nightlife, gourmet dining, live entertainment, couture shopping, arts and culture, the Gautrain, and plenty of tranquil retreats for a perfect all-round getaway.

Johannesburg is the financial centre and the most affluent metropolis in South Africa. Similarly to other South African cities, Johannesburg is coping with huge unemployment, uncontrolled crime, the spread of diseases (eg HIV), and income inequality. On a positive note, over 2006-2011, the gradual degradation of the city’s Central Business District was reversed, a new train service connecting Tshwane and Johannesburg was launched, and a bus rapid transit system was introduced.

Kimberley

Known as the “city that sparkles”, Kimberley is a historic city with a savvy diamond mining past. Most famous as the home of the Big Hole, Kimberley offers an array of fascinating museums and historical attractions.

Nelspruit

Nestled in the fertile valley of the Crocodile River, Nelspruit is the gateway to Mpumalanga and the Kruger National Park. With abundant sunshine, moderate sub-tropical climate, lush landscape, and a host of nearby attractions, Nelspruit is an ideal base to discover the natural wonders of Mpumalanga.

Pietermaritzburg

Set amidst the forested hills and rolling pastures of the Natal Midlands, Pietermaritzburg is one of the best-preserved Victorian cities in the world. Situated between Durban and Johannesburg, near the Drakensberg and a number of game reserves, Pietermaritzburg is a convenient stop over and base to explore KwaZulu-Natal.

Port Elizabeth

Endeared as South Africa’s “Friendly City”, Port Elizabeth lies in the Eastern Cape, at the end of the Garden Route. It stretches along the magnificent Algoa Bay and boasts blue-flag beaches, historic buildings, and an abundance of water sport opportunities.

Pretoria

Painted purple in a sea of Jacaranda trees, Pretoria is fondly known as “Jacaranda City”. It is also referred to as Johannesburg’s quieter sister, because of its more laid back atmosphere. Enjoy a number of natural and cultural attractions as well as significant old buildings and museums that are well worth exploring.