The announcement was made during a press conference held in Cape Town, the city that went away with the City of the Year title.

The prize for the town category went to Knysna, while Montagu, situated midway between Cape Town and Knysna, took the trophy for the village category.

Minister Moosa said Engen had taken the lead in promoting South Africa's Welcome Campaign through the competition, and urged others in the corporate sector to join in efforts to ensure that South Africa remains the best performing tourist destination in the world.

He said during the year, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism would be running community educational road shows on the available tourism opportunities for tourist guides and entrepreneurs.

Minister Moosa further announced that SA Tourism has entered into a partnership with Engen to set up a Tourism Information and Safety Call Line.

"This is the first ever one-stop national call centre to give tourists information and assistance. The aim of the partnership is to provide a world-class call centre service in South Africa which can handle up to 3 000 calls per month," he said.

"This line will be linked to the national tourism database which is a database of all tourism services and products - accommodation, transport, activities, events and contacts. The call line is convenient, quick and will be available at all hours".

The number, 083 123 2345, will be given to all tourists entering the country and will be used to provide them both with tourism information and to provide assistance should they encounter any difficulties in the country, such as lost passports. The call line has been operational since this morning (Thursday, 20 February).

He said Engen's tourism promotional campaign came at a time when South African tourism was at its peek performance, with the latest tourism statistics showing that the number of overseas tourists who visited the country in the first ten months of 2002 increased by an impressive 17.1% when compared to the same period in 2001.

"Working together as government, business and civil society, we can ensure that in 2003 South African tourism reaches even greater heights," concluded Minister Moosa.