2012 has been a great year and there is lots to celebrate like higher tourism figures, amazing sports results, lower crime statistics, leaders making their mark, global rankings and finally awards and investments for our awesome country.

Tourism

• Tourism figures for the first 6 months of 2012 grew at double the global average, recording a 17,1% growth in arrivals from outside of the African continent.
• Table Mountain was officially named as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.
• Cape Town was voted the favourite city worldwide by the readers of British news site the Telegraph and South Africa was rated the third favourite country worldwide in the 2012 Telegraph Travel Awards.

Sport

• The Proteas became the first cricket side in history to simultaneously hold the world number-one ranking side in all three formats of the game South African batsman Hashim Amla moved within four points of the number-one ranked batsman in the ICC Test Player Rankings. Boucher retired as the most successful wicketkeeper the world has ever seen with more than 500 dismissals and 5 000 runs at Test match level and a total of 999 dismissals in international cricket. Philander became the second-fastest man to take 50 wickets in the history of cricket.
• The Springboks climbed one position to second in the latest IRB World Rankings.
• Ernie Else won the British Open whilst Six South African golfers finished the year in the top 100 in the world rankings. South Africa, with six tournaments, will host more European golf tour events than any other country in the forthcoming season, including the Volvo Golf Champions./li>
• Oscar Pistorius joined Natalie du Toit as the only disabled Olympians to participate in the Olympics.
• Emotions ran high when watching the South African Olympians win gold in spectacular fashion – Chad le Clos and Cameron van der Burgh in the pool and South African Men’s Lightweight Four winning some considered the greatest rowing race in Olympic history.
• Chad le Clos was voted South African sportsman of the year after winning Olympic gold when he ended Michael Phelps’ unbeaten record of more than a decade (and don’t forget to watch Bert le Clos’ unbelievable CNN interview on YouTube)

Leaders make their mark

• These include Jonathan Jansen and Mamphela Ramphele who encourage South Africans to become active citizens and through their articles and books motivate South Africans to face South Africa’s challenges
• Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma was appointed Chairperson of the African Union Commission and is also honoured with the international Renaissance Woman of the Year Award 2012.

Crime

• Over the last 10 years there has been an overall decline of approximately 30% in Crime statistics across the board. Areas showing dramatic reductions include: Attempted murder down 57% ; bank robberies down 90%; Vehicle and motor bike theft down 46% ; and Common Robbery down 47%.

South Africans take a stand for their rights

• The Supreme court of appeal rules unanimously in the case regarding the Dalai Lama’s visa application to visit South Africa and also against the education department’s school admission policy.

Global rankings

• South Africa was ranked 14th by international companies as the top prospective investment destinations for 2012 to 2014 in the World Investment Report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development
• South African banks were rated as the second soundest in the world according to the World Economic Forum’s Competitiveness Report.
• Cape Town and Johannesburg’s commercial property outshone that of cities such as New York and London as the strongest growth in property values around the world over the past 10 years, according to Investment Property Databank’s (IPD’s) Global Cities Report.

Awards and Investments

• FNB was named world’s most innovative bank
• South Africa won 32 of the 57 awards at the 2012 World Travel Awards for Africa
• The Woolworths Retail group was named the 2012 international "responsible retailer of the year"
• Bosman Family Vineyards became the world’s leading ethical wine producer by winning the Fairtrade Award at the 2012 International Wine Challenge (IWC)
• BMW South Africa’s Rosslyn Plant outside Pretoria will begin exporting its 3 Series vehicles to China after receiving a China Quality Certification clearance permit
• MTN, the most valuable South African brand, became the first African brand to be ranked on the BrandZ top 100 global brands
• Nestlé opened two new factories near Pretoria as part of a R500-million investment in South Africa
• Global fast-food company Burger King will open its first restaurant in Cape Town during the first half of 2013.
• Nissan is to invest R1-billion in the expansion of its plant which will double its capacity and produce a new one-ton pick-up range aimed at both the local and export markets.
• The business process outsourcing (BPO) industry sees foreign investment by Quindell; Capita plc; WNS; Interactive Intelligence Group.