New destination campaign challenges travellers to explore the Western Cape

Challenging viewers to ‘Find your place, find yourself, get in a good space', GPS coordinates of exact locations are incorporated throughout the video series, with no place names mentioned, encouraging travellers to get out and discover the regions for themselves.

"Video is a powerful, high-engagement storytelling tool," says Jean Scheltema, Wesgro’s head of marketing and communications. "GPS coordinates as a visual cue challenge viewers to be curious enough to seek out places of immense natural beauty and transformative experiences in the province. The art direction taps into our unique and undeniable spirit and we’re hoping the series will move people to travel to all corners of the Western Cape".

Accompanying the videos is a host of newly captured images, digital assets, editorial content, itineraries and white label logos - all freely available for download on the newly launched trade microsite. Allowing regional tour operators to tap into a host of fresh content to sell and package the province for the upcoming festive season, the launch of the microsite is well-timed for pre-festive season marketing efforts.

Immersive travel

The series has been six months in the making as the Discover Western Cape crew journeyed through the province, capturing "re-imagined" scenes that not only show natural beauty but the diversity of the six regions and the people at the heart of the many places depicted - the very lifeblood of the tourism industry.

Wesgro’s head of leisure tourism, Julia Louw, added: “We travel to explore, to experience and to immerse ourselves in our surroundings. The beautiful curation of these videos transports the viewer into the heart of our regions, re-igniting the desire to get out and explore. Through supporting collateral, we’re equipping the industry with tools to effectively sell the destination, going into market with one unified voice. We believe the microsite will effectively assist our tourism partners in marketing the destination to their domestic and international clients for many months to come”.

"Travellers are seeking wide open spaces and diverse, natural landscapes which the Western Cape has an abundance of for both domestic and international tourists. There is an incredible diversity in the attractions and experiences for those exploring province and these videos do an excellent job of showcasing our destination offer at a time when the industry needs it most.

"While recovery will remain dependent on the vaccine rollout, the easing of travel restrictions and the reopening of the economy, we continue to work hard to support the industry by ensuring that Cape Town and the Western Cape remains front-of-mind for travellers," said David Maynier., Western Cape minister of finance and economic opportunities.

With the Cape Overberg and Cape Winelands launched in August, the videos are being slowly released over the course of the next two months.