Capital tops 'Travel and Leisure' magazine's list ahead of Cape Town.
By JPOST.COM STAFFtemple mount 311(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Jerusalem was named as the "world's best city" in Africa and the Middle East by the New York-based magazine Travel and Leisure on Tuesday. Mayor Nir Barkat welcomed the announcement in a statement, placing it in the context of the mayor's efforts to boost tourism and the city's image abroad.Barkat has set a goal of bringing 10 million tourists a year to Jerusalem in a decade (up from current 2 million annually) which would create over 100,000 jobs to help Jerusalem's economy.RELATED:Jerusalem named top travel destinationA surprisingly good showingThe last time Jerusalem received the "world's best city" ranking for the region was 2000.Barkat also expressed his hope that tourists visiting Jerusalem would become "'Ambassadors of Peace' from Jerusalem to the far corners of the world."The top five of Travel and Leisure's list of world's best African and Middle Eastern cities was rounded out by Cape Town, Tel Aviv, Marrakesh, Morocco and Cairo.In May, Jerusalem was named one of the world's top 10 travel destinations for culture and sightseeing by TripAdvisor.
