CPT Tourism launches new campaign promoting pocket-friendly tourism

Image via Love Cape Town

"Everyone has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, and people are really battling in the current economy," says Leigh Dawber, marketing executive of Cape Town Tourism.

"Our latest CTT Consumer Impact Report confirms that finances are one of the biggest concerns for travellers. We have also seen that over the past few months there has been a drastic change in the attitude of consumers towards travel, with almost half of our survey indicating that they would strongly consider travelling within their country which is up by 42%. For these reasons we have chosen to showcase a pocket-friendly Cape Town, highlighting value-for-money experiences that people may not necessarily know about."

The campaign is part of our overall domestic driven partnership with TravelStart and will be digitally driven. The Pocket-Friendly Challenge features a series of six 2 minute episodes where various travellers explore Cape Town’s neighbourhoods with a set budget of R150 per person. The episodes will be released weekly, with the aim of inspiring all South Africans to get out and about in Cape Town, no matter how much or how little you have to spend.

"There is a little bit for everyone, whether you are a solo traveller, a family, a couple or a group of friends, with experiences ranging across various themes including food, entertainment, heritage, nature and culture," explains Dawber.

"The idea is to show that Cape Town really is for everyone and with us living in really tough times at the moment, we are desperately needing to restart our tourism engine and keep the wheels moving at a steady pace. There are so many peoples’ lives affected directly and indirectly by tourism and our main aim is to ensure we recover after the past few months."

Diversifying tourism products

Alderman James Vos, MEC for Economic Opportunities, Asset Management and Tourism at the City of Cape Town, notes that this type of campaign is exceptionally important for tourism and local businesses.

"Together with Cape Town Tourism, our official destination marketing organization, we are committed to diversifying our tourism landscape in Cape Town by promoting products and attractions throughout the city, and, by doing so, breaking the perception that tourism is only centred in certain parts of the city and around the main attractions. For me, the pillars of responsible tourism are responsible pricing; responsible places and Responsible Practices.

"By focusing on these, we can diversify tourism products, boost cultural experiences and community involvement and therefore, drive demand which will lead to jobs and social upliftment. I have a dedicated tourism development unit to look at destination development so that we can expand economic participation through tourism because the visitor economy is everyone’s business.

"Cape Town is a value for money destination and if you want to get to the heart of tourism in Cape Town, I would suggest you explore some of the hidden neighbourhoods in the city. Spreading the economic impact of tourism across all communities is important as we, as a city, recover from the effects of Covid-19 and the lockdown," concludes Vos.

The Pocket-Friendly Challenge will be run on the LoveCapeTown via Facebook and Instagram.