Cape Town has been identified as one of only 24 cities world-wide to be "future winners."

In a report released on Friday, international research group Jones Lang LaSalle said the Mother City has a bright future as a tourism and conference venue, and that efforts to rejuvenate the central business district (CBD) were bearing fruit.

Jones Lang LaSalle's World Winning Cities research project had uncovered the 24 cities that would have been labelled "unconventional" only five years ago -- cities where "untapped human potential heritage and attractive performance prospects are being uncovered."

Spokesman Jeremy Kelly said their research showed growing interest in property circles in these undiscovered" cities that featured all the right elements to be future winners or "urban stars."

Of particular interest is that only a handful of investors, developers and occupiers have yet "tuned into" the new dynamics of these emerging winners.

Kelly said three cities stood out: Dubai as the most successful city economy and real estate market of the last decade, and Las Vegas, North America's fastest growing metropolitan area.

The report said Cape Town had seen strong growth in tourism, and was developing as a conference destination.

"The city also has expanding media, film and IT sectors, and will increasingly compete and complement cities in India and the Philippines as a low cost location for international contact centre activity, with the added attraction of being in a favourable time zone."

The report said recent real estate investment activity in Cape Town's CBD had provided evidence that the rejuvenation of the central area was beginning to bear fruit.

"Real estate costs are low, the residential market is strong and there are growing opportunities for contact centres," Kelly said.

Sapa