Reader's Digest survey gives thumbs up to City of Gold!

Johannesburg is one of the world's most courteous cities, according to a Reader's Digest survey of 36 cities around the world.

"This reaffirms what we know of South Africa already, that we are a hospitable, friendly people ever ready with a smile and a greeting," says South African Tourism CEO Moeketsi Mosola. "Our sunny disposition, together with our sunny skies and wonderfully diverse outdoor attractions, is what keeps visitors coming back again and again."

The Reader's Digest survey, involving undercover reporters in 35 countries all over the world, put courtesy to the test in three ways; by walking into a building 20 times behind people to see if they'd hold the door open; by buying small items from 20 stores and recording whether the sales assistants said thank you; and by dropping a folder full of papers in 20 busy locations to see if anyone would help pick them up.

"To allow us to compare cities, we awarded one point for each positive outcome and nothing for a negative one, giving each city a maximum score of 60. We did not attempt a strict scientific survey; it was the world's biggest real-life test of common courtesy, with more than 2000 tests of actual behaviour," said the Digest's article.

Top of the list came New York in the USA (80%), followed by Zurich in Switzerland (77%), Toronto in Canada (70%), Berlin in Germany (68%) and Sao Paulo in Brazil (68%).  Johannesburg came 16th with 57%.