Cape Town - Attempts to recover the tourism sector after being hit by the Covid-19 pandemic continued with the recent launch of Cape Town Tourism’s (CTT) Find Your Freedom campaign that took the form of a virtual game that allowed people to choose an adventure or activity on land or sea.
CTT CEO Enver Duminy said this campaign hoped to attract a millennial audience to the city through immersive travel experiences using an interactive interface and game-style graphics.
This comes as economic growth Mayco member James Vos revealed new figures which showed that approximately 3 000 international visitors were arriving at Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) every day, while statistics from December showed that tourism contributed R800 million to the metro’s economy and R5.8 billion in all of 2021.
Vos said the success was a result of the numerous local and international tourism campaigns launched over the festive period.
“Our domestic campaign to lure South Africans from the rest of the country at the end of last year resulted in bookings valued at just over R40 million,” Vos said.
Despite this, Vos said tourism’s road to recovery was still in need of attention as many in the sector and overlapping sectors were still suffering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
To redefine the tourism industry and continue in their recovery efforts, Duminy said they looked to draw in a new millennial audience to Cape Town through this Find Your Freedom campaign.
“Our innovative thinking was to use the latest digital approaches to immerse viewers in unique Cape Town choice-driven, video experiences.
“You choose your guide. You choose your adventure. Then you are taken down a rabbit hole of rapid videos showcasing the best we have to offer. It’s an interactive journey from start to finish,” Duminy said.
Duminy said millennials or Generation Y referred to those born between 1980 and 1995, and from extensive global research, they discovered that this particular generation had a keen sense of adventure and desire to travel with purpose.
Through this research, Duminy added that travel was clearly a necessity for millennials as it ranked higher on their priority list than saving for retirement or purchasing a car or home.
“They will spend more on travel for authentic experiences and meaningful connections than any other generation before them. One out of every three millennials will be spending around R80 000 to R100 000 on a vacation over the next five years,” Duminy said.
Vos added that this campaign was geared towards achieving more bookings because it was those bookings that benefited local businesses and ultimately supported economic growth.
The initiative can be found on the Cape Town Tourism website https://www.capetown.travel/