Sydney has been voted the world's best city destination for the third year in a row in Travel and Leisure World magazine's annual readers' survey, which also selected Bali as the top island.

The Australian city beat out a strong challenge from Rome which leapfrogged Bangkok and Florence to take second place in this year's poll. Cape Town was voted the fifth best city.

It was also a third successive triumph for Bali, which remained the top island destination despite sharp rises up the table by the Hawaiian Islands of Kauai, Maui and Hawaii.

The Asia-Pacific region dominated the best international airline category, taking eight of the top 10 places with Singapore Airlines in the number one slot.

In a major shift from the 2003 results, six of the 10 highest-rated hotels in the survey were in Africa, four of them newcomers to the list.

The top hotel in the world was the Singita Private Game Reserve, in Sabi Sands South Africa, followed by the Kichwa Tembo, in Masai Mara, Kenya.

Last year's winner, The Peninsula in Bangkok, dropped down to third place.

The editor-in-chief of Travel and Leisure magazine said the emergence of the African hotels reflected "an enormous shift in interest toward that continent."

(Xinhua News Agency July 13, 2004)