Monday 16th October will see the launch of a new digital campaign from South African Tourism. A trio of UK celebrities will embark on a 10-day road trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town, enjoying a diverse range of products and experiences along the way.
The intrepid team includes TV and radio presenter Maya Jama (currently presenting ITV’s hit show Cannonball); author and healthy food expert Alice Liveing, best known as ‘Clean Eating Alice’; and travel vlogger Saunders Carmichael-Brown.
The campaign – entitled Bakkie Stories after the South African word for a small passenger truck – is designed to highlight fly-drive as a good value for money, safe and convenient way to travel around South Africa. The project is part of the tourist board’s strategy to encourage wider geographical spread and highlight the tourism offering in all nine of its provinces. Fly-drive is an ideal route to increase this and the campaign is timed to help deliver sales for the coming summer season.
South African Tourism Hub Head: UK & Ireland Tolene Van der Merwe says:
“Fly-drive is the largest portion of travel to South Africa for UK travellers. As such fly-drive is a key growth area for us and is well placed to contribute to our over-arching global “five-in-five” strategy, where we aim to attract five million additional visitors within the next five years. The fly-drive product is woven throughout our current agent training – it’s important for us to let the trade know the best driving routes and the range of experiences their customers can enjoy. In the coming year we will be placing further focus on this as we double our agent training for 2018/19.”
Nikki Davies, Marketing Director at Trailfinders notes:
“South Africa has always been one of our top selling destinations due to the many experiences the country offers. With favourable exchange rates we’ve seen a significant growth particularly in our tailormade fly drive holidays, sending clients along the Garden Route to experience the staggering beauty and exceptional food and wine for themselves!”
The three stars will travel from Johannesburg in the North, to Durban on the east coast, before heading along the famous Garden Route through the Klein Karoo to Cape Town. The trip will cover a total of 1,386 miles over 10 days. The adventure will see the stars enjoy a host of memorable experiences – showcasing everything from food and wine, to cities and culture, to daredevil encounters.
In Johannesburg the group will explore the dynamic city’s buzzing arts scene, restaurants and nightlife in the regenerated Maboneng Precinct. In Durban, their bravery will be tested during a shark cage dive and try their hand at the famous ‘Big Rush Swing’ – the tallest swing in the world according to Guinness World Records.
The trip will culminate with a scenic drive along the stunning Garden Route, stopping off at the picturesque Plettenberg Bay to go kayaking with dolphins. The final destination is South Africa’s Mother City, Cape Town. Here the stars will try their hand at surfing and of course sample some of South Arica’s world-famous wines in the winelands. They’ll also visit the city’s landmark new contemporary art museum, Zeitz MOCAA, before finishing their adventures at the end of October with sunrise yoga on Table Mountain with the city’s stunning views as their backdrop.
The South African Tourism website will also feature special guides to all the places featured on the road trip.
