Cape Town marked the end of Tourism Month with an ‘Amazing Race’ style event where schoolchildren dashed across Cape Town from one landmark to another.

The race saw the learners separate into groups where they visited Table Mountain, a Cape Malay cooking class in Bo-Kaap, and the Nelson Mandela exhibition at City Hall.

The race formed part of the ‘Freedom to Wish’ campaign, where Capetonians were invited to nominate themselves or a loved one for a dream experience in the metro.

“We got to celebrate with Bradley Patience who got down on his knee to present his wife Lucille, from Steenberg, with the Shimanksy Cape Town ring in celebration of their 16th wedding anniversary. We granted the wish of Nashief Cassiem who nominated his mother Rayghana, who has stage four cancer, for a family cruise. And we took members of Khayelitsha’s Isibane Se Africa choir to the top of Table Mountain where they treated other guests to their beautiful voices,” said James Vos, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth.

Both the race and campaign tie into ‘Find Your Freedom’, CTT’s interactive concept wherein users choose an avatar – a Fearless Foodie, Nature Warrior or Urban Adventurer – for a virtual taste of Cape Town. The interactive travel experience is a first-of-its-kind aimed at increasing bookings and highlighting unique Cape Town experiences.

The campaign comes ahead of what is expected to be a busy holiday period for the city, with increased international flights, events and festivals, and the opening of the cruise season.

“I am excited to share the good news that between November and December we are expecting 184 international flights per week. This will increase to 191 flights per week between January and March next year. This amounts to approximately 1.56m two-way seats between November 2022 and March 2023, generating a whopping R7.9bn (€448m) in tourism spend. This comes as a result of hard work by the City and its partners to connect with more key source markets, and clever campaigns,” Vos said.