Johannesburg is rated Africa’s most popular destination, according to the third annual MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index. South Africa’s capital city racked up a projected 2.54 million international visitors in 2013, according to the index.

Johannesberg’s increase in the number of international visitors in 2013 over 2012 was only 5.5 percent, but its growth of 53.6 between 2009 and 2013 was hefty enough to put it in the top 20 cities internationally. Johannesberg also had the highest figures in terms of international visitor spending, with $2.7 billion estimated during 2013, an increase of 1 percent from 2012. Cairo ranked second at $1.7 billion for 2013.

Thirteen African cities ranked in the 132 cities included in the Index, including Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Cairo, Casablanca, Accra, Nairobi, Beira, Dakar, Kampala, Lagos, Maputo and Tunis.

Johannesberg’s top source cities are London, Frankfort and Dubai. Durban, South Africa, is the second fastest growing African city in 2013 with a projected 26 percent growth in 2013. Cape Town is the only African city that is expected to see a decline in both inbound visitors (-8.5 percent) and expenditure (-13.5 percent).

Gauteng Tourism, www.gauteng.net