Accra vs Cape Town

Accra and Cape Town are level on the CIRA Index at 57. Accra grades better on 5 measures, Cape Town on 7; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: Accra 57, Cape Town 57
• OECD: Accra 53, Cape Town 56
• UN Tourism: Accra 55, Cape Town 39
• UNDRR: Accra 35, Cape Town 57

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Accra 83, Cape Town 75
• Economy and jobs: Accra 31, Cape Town 13
• Climate and hazards: Accra 35, Cape Town 60
• Water and environment: Accra 50, Cape Town 13
• Community and housing: Accra 88, Cape Town 67
• Access and continuity: Accra 42, Cape Town 71

Where Accra is stronger

• Recovery against 2019: 115.6 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (country figure) (Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts / Ghana Tourism Authority, 2025). At or above 110: grade 4/4.
• Municipal waste per resident: 255.5 kg per resident per year (metro figure) (IntechOpen / Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project, 2020). At or below 350: grade 4/4.
• Green space: 20 % of the urban area that is green or tree-covered (metro figure) (OECD / SWAC - Mapping Africa Transformations (Africapolis & ESA WorldCover), 2020). Between 20 and 30: grade 2/4.
• Rent growth: 5 % change in rents over the last 12 months (region figure) (Ghana Statistical Service, Consumer Price Index (CPI) Release (August 2026), August 2025 – August 2026). Between 3 and 6: grade 3/4.
• Short-let density: 0.4 short-term rental listings per 100 dwellings (region figure) (AirDNA and Ghana Statistical Service (2021 Population and Housing Census), 2021-2024). At or below 0.5: grade 4/4.

Where Cape Town is stronger

• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 61.7 % average annual occupancy (Cape Town Tourism, Economic Value of Tourism 2025 Report, 2025). Between 55 and 65: grade 2/4.
• Income per head: 15,906 GDP per capita, USD PPP (country figure) (World Bank WDI, 2025). Between 15,000 and 30,000: grade 1/4.
• Tropical nights: 2 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 10: grade 4/4.
• Flood hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4.
• Access redundancy: 3 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (City of Cape Town / PRASA / Transnet Port Authority, 2024–2026). Between 3 and 4: grade 3/4.
• Early warning and emergency plan: An updated city plan with public early warning for heat, flood or fire (City of Cape Town Disaster Risk Management Centre, 2025–2026). Grade 3/4.
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A plan tested in an exercise or a real event, with lessons published (Western Cape Government / African Centre for Cities / CPUT, 2021–2024). Grade 4/4.

Country context (World Economic Forum)

• Ghana: #97 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
• South Africa: #61 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Accra in full · Cape Town in full

The CIRA Index ranking · City vs city · How the index works · CIRA Studio · Put your city in the pilot