How Cape Town is transforming its tourism landscape with innovative marketing

The City of Cape Town is making waves in the global tourism market with its ambitious This Is Cape Town campaign, set to launch in New York, London, and various European cities this month. Following its successful debut across African cities and Brazil, the campaign stands as the city's most daring tourism and place-marketing initiative to date.

Initiated late last year by James Vos, the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, This Is Cape Town aims to bolster international interest and engagement, translating into tangible travel demand, heightened local economic expenditure, and a wealth of job opportunities for Capetonians.

“The focus of This Is Cape Town is to ensure that global attention translates into real travel demand, real spend in our local economy and real job opportunities for Capetonians,” observed Vos, highlighting the campaign’s significant role in attracting global tourists.

The campaign adopts innovative strategies that break the mould of traditional advertising. Noteworthy in its approach are the moving billboards across the United States and the United Kingdom: in New York, digital screens adorn the city’s iconic yellow taxis, while London’s black cabs are enveloped in This Is Cape Town branding. Adding a layer of interactivity, these taxis feature Virgin Atlantic advertising inside, complete with QR codes directing potential travellers to flight bookings.

Moreover, the campaign has set its sights on Connected TV platforms in key markets including Italy, France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Germany—expanding the reach and engaging potential vacationers with dynamic visual content.

The campaign arrives at a pivotal moment as Cape Town has seen significant enhancements in global air connectivity, largely due to targeted marketing initiatives such as This Is Cape Town. Notably, United Airlines initiated direct flights from Newark Liberty International Airport to Cape Town in 2019, offering 3,500 passenger seats. Fast forward to 2025, the airline expects almost 86,000 annual seats having already operated 1,324 flights, cumulatively providing more than 337,000 seats since its launch.

Additionally, United Airlines’ recent introduction of direct flights from Washington D.C. into Cape Town fortifies connectivity, while the UK market is experiencing parallel growth with Virgin Atlantic increasing its London-Cape Town services from three flights weekly in December 2021 to a remarkable seven during the peak season. Altogether, Cape Town currently benefits from 28 direct flights per week from London, serviced by British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Norse Atlantic Airways.

The global expansion of This Is Cape Town builds on impressive digital performance achieved in São Paulo, as well as African cities such as Lusaka and Nairobi. The campaign successfully reached over 17 million people on META platforms within just one month, exemplifying its impactful reach.

 Vos further said, “Beyond creating awareness, tourism contributed R27.5 billion to Cape Town’s economy in 2024 and supported more than 106,000 jobs. Our focus is on growing those numbers through smart, high-impact, and cost-effective campaigns that are backed by conversion in key source markets.”

The excitement surrounding This Is Cape Town is set to continue as it prepares to reach even more markets, including China, India, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia, solidifying the city’s stance as a premier global tourist destination.