Cape Town Tourism campaign brings in over 13 million Twitter impressions

As part of their global digital media marketing campaign, Cape Town Tourism is currently hosting 4 top international travel bloggers who are recounting their experiences of the destination across various digital and social media platforms this week as iAmbassadors for Cape Town.

To assist the bloggers in planning their activities – and in order to showcase the huge diversity of experiences in Cape Town – Cape Town Tourism invited Capetonians far and wide to participate in the campaign by sharing tips for the bloggers’ itineraries using the hashtag #LoveCapeTown on Twitter. The campaign kicked off with a “tweet-up” on Sunday, July 29 from 1900-2000 hours with suggestions flooding in from Capetonians.

The participating bloggers Keith Jenkins @velvetescape and http://velvetescape.com , Melvin Boecher @traveldudes and http://traveldudes.org , Nellie Huang @wildjunket and http://wildjunket.com , and Matt Long @landlopers or http://Landlopers.com posted a series of questions to the Twitter audience and received immediate answers from locals on their Cape Town favorites.

Mariëtte du Toit-Helmbold, CEO of Cape Town Tourism, enthused about the campaign and the relevance of social media marketing, said: “Crowdsourcing and sharing on social media is perfectly suited to travel. It was inspiring to truly let Capetonians ‘sell’ their own city and it added instant authenticity to our campaign. What’s more, the ongoing #LoveCapeTown twitter campaign undeniably proves that you need more than just a week when visiting the Mother City.”

Over a 24-hour period, including Sunday’s twitter chat, the #LoveCapeTown hashtag has generated 1,500 tweets; 13,521,392 impressions; and reached an audience of 623,041 followers, and the tweets continue.

Some of the highlights that were shared during the #LoveCapeTown twitter chat include:

Q1. Which typical #CapeTown dish should our bloggers not miss while they are here? #LoveCapeTown
A1. Any Cape Malay cooking from the Bo-Kaap, gatsby’s, braai, pickled fish, Snoek pate, fish and chips, Ostrich fillet, biltong, smiley’s and chicken feet, plus Malva Pudding, craft beers and wine.

Q2. Cape Town’s winter offers the best of all seasons. Which outdoor places and spaces make you #LoveCapeTown in winter in particular?

A2. Views from the Noon Gun, Green Point Urban Park, Deer Park, Mzoli’s, the Company’s Garden, Sea Point promenade, the flower market on Adderley Street, Kirstenbosch Gardens and suburbs from Newlands to Kalk Bay and Gordon’s Bay.

Q3. What are the best adventure activities to be done in #CapeTown? #LoveCapeTown

A3. A winter adventure mecca … go hiking, mountain biking, abseiling, paragliding, sand boarding, surfing and shark cage diving.

Q4. How can the bloggers learn the most about our history as a city and nation during their short stay? #LoveCapeTown

A4. Hang out with locals and ask lots of questions, do a township cycle tour, visit any of many Iziko Museums, tour the kramats, do a Camissa tour – of the historic underground waters systems, walk the city on a Sex and the Slaves or Footsteps to Freedom tour.

Q5. What are your favorite people watching spots in #CapeTown? #LoveCapeTown

A5. Coffee shops such as Haas, Giovanni’s, Clarke’s and Vida E Café, the Old Biscuit Mill and other markets, Long Street venues and pubs, Sea Point Promenade with an ice-cream, St. Georges Mall and the V&A Waterfront.

Q6. Nobody knows #CapeTown like the locals. What is your favouite hidden gem in the Mother City? #LoveCapeTown

A6. Vergelegen in Somerset West, Whiskey tasting at Bascule Bar, Chocolate making at Lindt in the Cape Quarter, picnics along Chapman’s Peak, Bakoven beach, Gatesville and a Chisa Nyama in Gugulethu for people and food.
Follow the #LoveCapeTown adventure by following @CapeTownTourism and the travel bloggers.

ABOUT THE BLOGGERS:

Keith Jenkins left a career in banking to become a fulltime traveler. He shares his experiences with upward of 15,000 twitter followers @velvetescape and blogs about his journeys at http://velvetescape.com .

Melvin Boecher has over 85,000 twitter followers @traveldudes and is the founder of http://traveldudes.org , an exchange of travel tips and insider info.

Nellie Huang is a culture and adventure traveler who takes over 21,000 twitter followers @wildjunket along on her global wanderings. She also co-produces an online magazine http://wildjunket.com .

Adventure traveler, Matt Long, shares his adrenaline moments with over 15,000 twitter followers @landlopers and has a blog of the same name http://Landlopers.com . He is a respected Lonely Planet blogger and is noted on several platforms as a top blogger.

ABOUT THE IAMBASSADOR CAMPAIGN:

The venture forms part of Cape Town Tourism’s campaign to promote the destination across a number of focused, influential digital platforms. Termed iAmbassador, the campaign is a collaboration between Cape Town Tourism and a core group of influential travel bloggers who specialize in a variety of travel niches. The bloggers will use the twitter hashtag #LoveCapeTown for the duration of their stay in Cape Town and will share content across various social media platforms. They will also be guest speakers at the forthcoming Getaway Travel Blog Conference on 4 August 2012 ( http://www.capetown.travel/press_releases/entry/second-south-african-travel-blog-conference-for-cape-town-in-august ).