Cape Town Tourism's international campaign, Find Your Freedom, has played a significant role in saving Cape Town's tourism industry from the adverse effects of the global pandemic.

According to Leigh Dawber, Chief Marketing Officer at Cape Town Tourism, the campaign's innovative, award-winning, and first-of-its-kind immersive travel experience has generated an impressive R147 million (€7.2m) in direct and indirect expenditure and created approximately 755 employment opportunities.

She said the campaign aimed to harness a choice-driven experience to strongly and aggressively drive tourism to the Mother City. “The results of our Find Your Freedom experience far exceeded what we ever expected. The gamified interface resonated with millennials and brought over 5 000 international bookings through Expedia in a very short period, generating close to R50 million (€2.4m) in direct expenditure.” 

The Find Your Freedom campaign's success also contributed to the city’s accommodation recovery story. Average occupancy in February was 85%, compared with 78% in February 2019, and average room rates increased to R2 567 (€127) in February this year, up from R2 026 (€100) in 2019.

The creative campaign also earned Cape Town Tourism numerous global awards, from the Destination Industry Award at the International 2022 ‘X. Awards’ to the title of 'Most Viral Campaign' at the Supersonic New Generation Awards. It was also recognised at the City Nation Place Awards with the highest commendation in the category of Best Communication Strategy for Tourism globally.

Dawber added that, by pushing the right buttons at the right time, Cape Town Tourism was able to reignite travel to Cape Town just in time for high season. “We needed to be innovative in our approach to grab the interest of those wanting to travel. Find Your Freedom has proved to be our most important, most immersive and most successful travel experience to date.”

She pointed out that what added to this success was the destination marketing organisation’s brand collaborations and smart partnerships. “By collaborating with TikTok, Expedia and exciting GoPro content creators, we managed to transform the way the Mother City is marketed and showed how innovative partnerships can help revive a tourism industry that was rocked by the pandemic.”

James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth at the City of Cape Town, said: “Our goal with Find Your Freedom was to fuel faster recovery in the visitor economy. Following the pandemic, people worldwide were itching to explore, do more, and reclaim that sense of purpose. We wanted to encourage individuals in our key source markets to jump on a plane and come to Cape Town to find their freedom. This campaign really hit the mark not just in terms of being something original and fun but, most importantly, being enticing enough to result in actual bookings.”

Dawber concluded: “As Cape Town Tourism embarks on its next chapter, we remain dedicated to attracting visitors and supporting the Mother City's vibrant tourism sector. With a focus on providing unique experiences for travellers and bolstering the local economy, Cape Town can continue to thrive as a leading global destination.”