If you thought you knew it all when it comes to Cape Town and the Western Cape as a tourism destination, think again – there’s always another reason to visit, and not only in summer, but throughout the year. This is the main message behind Cape Town and the Western Cape’s brand new domestic tourism marketing campaign that started on 5 April.

The ‘Another Reason to Visit’ campaign, worth R6 million and developed together with TBWA/Hunt/Lascaris, will run from April till August 2008. It’s aimed primarily at the Gauteng and Western Cape tourism markets and will also cover KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape as secondary domestic markets.

“This is the biggest domestic campaign Cape Town Routes Unlimited as the official tourism destination marketing organisation for Cape Town and the Western Cape has ever undertaken. While recent brand research shows that the Western Cape destination brand enjoys a higher profile than its counterparts in the domestic market, the Western Cape is still not the province receiving the most domestic trips in the country. In fact, it came 6th after KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, North West, Eastern Cape and Limpopo in 2006,” says Calvyn Gilfellan, Chief Executive of Cape Town Routes Unlimited.

“What we’d like to do with the ‘Another Reason to Visit’ campaign, is to invite South Africa to look at and think differently about Cape Town and the Western Cape, especially what the province has to offer outside of the traditional summer season. Cape Town and the Western Cape is about so much more than just Table Mountain and the beach. We literally have an unlimited supply of hidden tourism gems which we’d like to showcase through the campaign.”

These include gems like West Coast bush pubs and bokkoms (“wind-dried fish”) at Velddrif, “veldskoen” or “rooibostee” shopping at Clanwilliam, soaking in Citrusdal’s mineral baths, sleeping in a San cave near Murraysburg, crocodile cage diving at Oudtshoorn, donkey cart-rides at the historical mission stations of Zoar and Amalienstein, boules at Franschhoek’s Bastille Week, the highest commercial bungee jump off Bloukrans Bridge, getting stuck at Plettenberg Bay’s Mampoer Distillery, water sports ‘through’ the Knysna Heads, sunset picnics on Clifton Beach, taming eels at Stilbaai’s Palinggat and having a beer in a Cape Agulhas pub, Africa’s most southern point.

“Cape Town Routes Unlimited’s job is to attract more visitors to Cape Town and the Western Cape, to draw them back more often, to encourage them to stay longer, spend more, see more of the Western Cape than just Cape Town and to visit throughout the year. With this campaign we specifically want to increase the numbers of domestic trips during our quieter months, May to September, by 5%, as well as to steer visitors out into the Western Cape countryside,” says Gilfellan.

The ‘Another Reason to Visit’ campaign focuses on the holiday market (LSM 8 - 10), and specifically on affluent homely couples (late 20’s and 30’s), young families and couples (40+), and older (‘golden’) but still active couples (50+).

Starting with a Sunday Times newspaper wrap on Sunday, 6 April 2008, the campaign will feature online advertising across prominent websites coinciding with major Western Cape events, radio spots on Metro FM, RSG, 94.7 Highveld Stereo, Radio Jacaranda and 94.5 KFM, as well as extensive print media coverage. Visitors to specifically targeted shopping malls in Gauteng and the Western Cape will experience what the destination has to offer through creative 3D event spaces, called Cape Cafés.

The mall activation kicks off at Soweto’s Maponya Mall and will run there from 15 to 20 April. The activation programme also includes Northgate in Johannesburg (22 – 27 April), Centurion in Pretoria (29 April – 4 May), Sandton City in Johannesburg (6 – 11 May), Cresta in Johannesburg (13 – 18 May), Eastgate in Johannesburg (20 – 25 May), Menlyn in Pretoria (27 May – 1 June), Somerset West Mall (10 – 15 June) and Canal Walk in Cape Town (17 – 22 June).

“We want to reveal a Cape Town and Western Cape that visitors don’t know, show them ways to make their journey more interesting, and encourage them to keep on exploring and discovering. Ultimately, we want the campaign to inspire our visitors to stay longer and come back to our destination,” says Gilfellan.

The ‘Another Reason to Visit’ campaign will include a strong call to action which will be channeled to the Cape Town and the Western Cape tourism website, where a variety of attractive tourism packages and self-drive options will be available. At least 50% of these packages will feature emerging tour operators.