Cape Town's tourism campaign takes flight in New York and London

The City of Cape Town has expanded its "This Is Cape Town tourism" campaign to major international cities, with activations launching this month in New York, London and several European markets.

The campaign, launched late last year by the City’s Mayco Member for Economic Growth, James Vos, is being rolled out across six continents and 55 cities over several months. The City says the initiative is aimed at increasing international travel demand and supporting tourism-related jobs.

According to Vos, the campaign is focused on converting global visibility into actual travel bookings and economic activity in Cape Town.

The strategy includes digital billboards and public transport advertising in selected precincts. In the United States and the United Kingdom, the campaign makes use of vehicle-based advertising. In New York, digital screens have been installed on yellow taxis, while in London, black cabs have been wrapped with campaign branding. Some London taxis also feature in-cab advertising from Virgin Atlantic, including a QR code linking to flight bookings.

Additional campaign placements have gone live on Connected TV platforms in Italy, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany.

Vos said the campaign formed part of broader efforts to improve Cape Town’s international air connectivity. When United Airlines introduced a direct Newark–Cape Town route in 2019, approximately 3 500 passenger seats were available in its first year. Between 2019 and 2025, the airline is expected to have operated 1 324 flights on the route, providing a cumulative 337 374 passenger seats.

By 2025, annual seat capacity on the route had increased to 85 500 seats, with a projected 91 749 seats in 2026. United has since added a direct Washington D.C.–Cape Town service.

In the UK market, Virgin Atlantic increased its London–Cape Town flights from three per week in December 2021 to seven per week during the current peak period. Cape Town now has 28 direct flights per week from London, operated by British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Norse Atlantic Airways.

The City said earlier phases of the campaign in São Paulo and African cities such as Lusaka and Nairobi reached more than 17 million people on Meta platforms within a month.

Tourism contributed an estimated R27,5 billion to Cape Town’s economy in 2024 and supported more than 106 000 jobs, according to City figures. Vos said the intention was to increase these figures through targeted marketing in key source markets.

Further campaign rollouts are planned in China, India, the United Arab Emirates and Australia in the coming months.

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