Cape Town Tourism Campaign Expands to Major Global Cities

Cape Town Tourism Campaign Expands to Major Global Cities. The City of Cape Town has taken its flagship This Is Cape Town tourism and place marketing campaign to major global capitals, with activations now underway in New York, London and several European cities. The international rollout follows an earlier phase across African cities and Brazil and forms part of a long term effort to position Cape Town as a leading global destination.

Launched late last year by the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos, the campaign is scheduled to run over several months across six continents and 55 cities worldwide. The initiative is designed to stimulate international travel demand, increase visitor spending and support employment linked to the tourism sector.

According to Vos, the focus of the campaign is on converting visibility into measurable economic impact. He said the aim is to ensure that global interest translates into actual bookings, sustained spending in the local economy and job opportunities for residents of Cape Town.

The campaign is being activated through high visibility platforms, including digital billboards, public transport advertising and large scale outdoor displays in key precincts of the target cities. In the United States and the United Kingdom, moving billboards form a central feature of the strategy.

In New York, branded digital screens have been mounted on yellow taxis, while in London, traditional black cabs have been wrapped in This Is Cape Town visuals. These London taxis also carry Virgin Atlantic advertising inside the vehicles, with QR codes directing passengers to flight booking platforms.

Additional exposure has been rolled out through Connected TV advertising in several European markets, including Italy, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany. The campaign also highlights recent growth in air connectivity between Cape Town and key international markets.

Vos noted that United Airlines introduced direct flights between Newark and Cape Town in 2019, with capacity on the route expanding significantly in subsequent years. Increased demand later led to the introduction of a direct Washington D.C. to Cape Town service. He added that the United Kingdom market has also recorded growth, with multiple airlines now operating regular direct flights between London and Cape Town.

The global expansion of the campaign builds on strong digital performance in cities such as São Paulo, Lusaka and Nairobi, where the initiative reached more than 17 million people within a month. Tourism contributed R27.5 billion to Cape Town’s economy in 2024 and supported over 106 000 jobs.