Singita Private Game Reserve has been voted as the best hotel in the world. The city that it is located in, Cape Town, has been ranked as one of the top 10 cities, according to an Internet survey conducted by Travel & Leisure Magazine.

Cape Town has been ranked sixth among the top ten "best tourism cities' in the magazine's annual survey. Florence topped the list, followed by Rome, Bangkok, Sydney and Chiang Mai in fifth place.

New York was ranked six last year and this year is at the number eight slot and San Francisco was ranked 10.

The tourism industry is one of the fastest-growing in the country, contributing around $13.7-billion (R93.6-billion) to South Africa's gross domestic product in 2004.

The number of foreign tourists visiting South Africa doubled since 1994, from less than 3 million to a recorded 6.7-million in 2004. According to Statistics SA, the reported number of international visitors increased to a total of 7.3-million in 2005.

Earth South Africa