Cape Town is among the world’s best cities for an eco-friendly getaway, Tourlane’s new survey reveals.
With World Environment Day on June 5, the company wanted to shed some light on eco-friendly spots for travellers to visit post-Covid-19.
The ranking, which includes 50 places from all six inhabited continents, provides travellers with an interesting range of cities to consider when selecting an eco-friendly getaway.
The list was curated based on eight categories, including accessibility by train, public transportation, low car ownership, green space, the ratio of locals to tourists, clean air, renewable energy usage and recycling. The Mother City took the top spot in South Africa and 41st worldwide. Berlin in Germany claimed the top spot, followed by Vienna in Austria and Munich in Germany.
Tourlane’s Senior Travel Product Manager, Arlett Walleck, said: “As a carbon-neutral company that offsets the carbon emissions of our travellers and our team, we believe that sustainability is more important than ever when planning trips and travelling.”
He said the company saw an increase in travellers who opt for an environmentally friendly getaway and sought destinations outside of the typical tourist circuit.
The survey revealed that European cities ranked highest in the train accessibility category, while cities in Africa, Asia, and South America ranked highest in the car-free category.
It found that cities in Europe have the greenest space and the cleanest air, and renewable energy is popular around the world, with cities in Africa, Oceania, South America, North America, and Europe in the top 10 for this category.
Europe is the best-represented continent overall, with 29 cities in the ranking, while Asia has six cities in the ranking, making it the second best-represented continent. Africa has more cities in the ranking compared to Oceania (three compared to two).
Reykjavík is the least populous city, with approximately 123 000 citizens.