Say what you will about Cape Town and Capetonians, but when it comes to protecting our lucrative tourism industry, it’s the fastest way to get everyone around the same table and singing from the same hymn sheet. After all, this multi-billion rand sector sustains over 300 000 direct and indirect jobs, contributing significantly to the overall GDP of the province.
It’s with this in mind that Wesgro, in partnership with key stakeholders launched the #NowhereBetter campaign. It sounds simple enough, almost too simplistic. Wesgro CEO, Tim Harris, says the message quite simply is that nowhere in the world does tourism better.
“We’re inviting the world to come experience all we have on offer. Nowhere in the world will you find such a diverse range of experiences in such close proximity to each other.”
If one thinks about it objectively, this idea might just be spot on. Through the research phase of the campaign and numerous discussions, the question was posed: Where else in the world can you experience breath-taking landscapes, rich cultural experiences, world-class food and wine, art, marine life, beaches, nature and much more, all within a few minutes or hours from a vibrant city centre?
The initiative has the backing of some heavy hitters in the industry, locally and nationally, which proves that growing Cape Town’s tourism is in everyone’s best interests. South African Tourism, Cape Town Tourism, the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA), FEDHASA, the South African Association for the Conference Industry (SAACI), Airbnb, the President Hotel, the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, Marriott International and the V&A Waterfront are all behind the drive.
#NowhereBetter is in response to the perfect storm of negative messaging during the drought, and the dreaded ‘Day Zero’ messaging which, while compelling us to save water, also drove visitors away.
Wesgro’s Chief Marketing Officer for Tourism, Judy Lain, says they really want to reignite people’s passion for Cape Town and the Western Cape.
“We need to go back to basics and remind people why we are great and why they need to come and visit us!”
With phrases including “Where the French come to fall in love” and “The English come to drink tea,” the video and multi-media campaign adopts a cheeky twist compelling travellers to come visit Cape Town and the Western Cape to experience activities synonymous with other countries because – we just do it better.
The video, which beautifully displays the diversity of the experience escapes available in the province, has been curated into shorter scenarios which will be boosted to the Cape’s top three source markets (United States, United Kingdom and Germany) via all the social media sites.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLj1oN5Jurg&feature=youtu.be
The CEO of the South African Tourism Services Association’s, David Frost, is optimistic about the initiative.
‘’What I truly love about the campaign is that it is a positive and ingenious way to reposition the Cape after the damage the water issue did to tourism to the region. The campaign is underpinned and funded by a strong collaborative base of the public and private sectors. I hope this can act as a catalyst for a long-overdue national campaign that seeks to reposition South Africa as a cool place to come to for a holiday.’’
While this is certainly not a silver bullet solution to a complicated problem, Wesgro hopes this can be seen as an active response, with the power of a single voice, for maximum impact.
The new micro-site that accompanies the campaign www.nowherebetter.co.zahas a simple, yet effective layout, so whether you want to come and enjoy the great outdoors, your cultural side, or simply “Eat, drink and be merry”, there is a spot in the Mother City for you.
