Cape Town, Berlin and New York – ranked as the three best cities in the world by Time Out magazine – have partnered to promote their tourist offerings and support each other in addressing global tourism issues.
The partnership, launched on World Tourism Day and sponsored by United Airlines, kicked off with One Small World – it’s first campaign, which is a documentary-style film following Cape Town musician YoungstaCPT, Berlin DJ Annie O and New York restaurateur Melba Wilson as they explore their cities with focus on gastronomy, culture and social wellness.
Burkhard Kieker, CEO of visitBerlin, said the partnership aims to attract “a young, well-educated, international target group that is looking for a cosmopolitan lifestyle characterised by internationality and culture when travelling.
“Only a few cities can offer this – Berlin, New York and Cape Town are among them and are therefore working together. In a world that is becoming smaller, they are thus role models for a new kind of city tourism that is geared towards the needs of a new generation.”
In One Small World, YoungstaCPT (real name Riyadh Roberts) goes foraging at the seaside with Veld and Sea, cooks with chef Zola Nene, visits the Cape Town Bath House wellness centre, talks about music at The Athletic Social Club bar and restaurant and raps about Cape Town while riding the Table Mountain Cableway with DJ Ready D.
Enver Duminy, Managing Director of Cape Town Tourism, said: “As a city that stands for resilience, diversity and unity, we are excited to partner with New York and Berlin to share our unique South African story with the world and inspire travellers to harness the transformative power of travel. As a destination that has overcome great challenges and strengthened itself as a result, we recognise the importance of global connections and how tourism can contribute to peace.”
Nancy Mammana, CMO and Interim CEO of New York City Tourism + Conventions, said: “During the production of the film, it became clear how important our partnership is to the promotion of tourism and it has reinforced the value of our work. We have much in common but also many unique experiences that we can share with the millions of travellers who visit our cities every year.”
In addition to One Small World, which will be shared across the three cities’ social media channels, the partnership will expand over the coming year with focus on “city-friendly tourism trends” and knowledge transfer. This will include additional marketing activities, involvement of other cities and development of a central platform and social media channels highlighting cultural events in each of the cities.
