Cape Town’s ‘biggest and boldest’ marketing campaign hits UK and US

The campaign, launched late last year, is being rolled out over several months across six continents and 55 cities worldwide, and is designed to drive international interest and bookings that support Cape Town’s tourism industry. 

“The focus of ‘This Is Cape Town’ is to ensure that global attention translates into real travel demand, real spend in our local economy and real job opportunities for Capetonians,” explains Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos. 

Cape Town’s marketing strategy is being activated across high-visibility platforms and locations, including digital billboards and public transport advertising in key precincts across the target cities. 

In New York, digital screens are mounted on iconic yellow taxis. In London, traditional black cabs are wrapped in ‘This Is Cape Town’ branding. The London cabs also feature Virgin Atlantic airline advertising inside, including a QR code linking directly to flight bookings. 

Further marketing has gone live on connected TV platforms in Italy, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany. 

A notable increase in global air connectivity 

Comments Vos: “Cape Town has seen a notable increase in global air connectivity, supported by sustained and targeted place marketing campaigns such as ‘This Is Cape Town’. 

“When United Airlines launched direct flights from Newark Liberty International Airport to Cape Town in 2019, around 3,500 passenger seats were available that year.  

“Between 2019 and 2025, United Airlines will have operated 1,324 flights, delivering a cumulative 337,374 passenger seats on the route. By 2025 alone, annual seat capacity increased to 85,500 seats, with a projected 91,749 seats in 2026.” 

According to Vos, Virgin Atlantic increased London-Cape Town services from three flights per week in December 2021 to seven per week during the current peak period.  

In total, Cape Town currently enjoys 28 direct flights per week between London and Cape Town, serviced by British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Norse Atlantic Airways. 

The current global rollout of the campaign builds on strong digital performance in São Paulo (Brazil) and African cities including Lusaka and Nairobi, where the campaign reached more than 17-million people on Meta platforms in one month. 

In the coming months, ‘This Is Cape Town’ is set to go live in additional markets including China, India, the United Arab Emirates and Australia. 

Enhancing Africa’s travel and tourism sector was a focus of the African Marketing Confederation’s 2025 annual conference held in Ghana. The AMC is collaborating with UN Tourism on its Brand Africa initiative to create a responsible, sustainable and attractive pan-African tourism brand. 

At the conference, the AMC also launched a dedicated Tourism Chapter for African tourism marketers.