Cape Town Tourism wanted to promote the unexpected side of Cape Town. All the small communities, never-heard of places and unearthed gems that can’t be found on Trip Advisor, Lonely Planet, Expedia, or even Google.
Since everyone could not be sent to Cape Town, people were allowed to send their Facebook profiles instead. Through a Facebook app users were given a virtual, tailor-made Cape Town holiday that exposed them to all the unexpected places. A few lucky winners even got to experience their Facebook profile’s holiday for themselves.
Why this idea fits tourism marketing right now
This is a smart twist on an old travel problem. Most destination marketing ends up showcasing the same highlights, using the same guidebook shorthand. Here, the hook is the opposite. The campaign is built around what standard lists miss, and it uses a person’s own Facebook profile as the input to make the recommendation feel personal. This is the right strategy for destination marketing because it turns generic discovery into personal discovery. That matters because using a person’s own profile as the input makes the destination feel more relevant before any trip is booked.
Extractable takeaway: When the audience becomes the input, discovery feels less like promotion and more like a recommendation built around personal relevance.
The pattern to steal is simple
For tourism brands trying to move beyond the same predictable shortlist, the challenge is making discovery feel personally relevant. The real question is how to make overlooked places feel worth exploring before someone ever books. If you want people to care about a place, product, or experience, give them a way to picture themselves inside it. This campaign does that in a very direct way. It takes something people already maintain daily, their Facebook profile, and turns it into a personalized route into discovery.
It also helps Cape Town Tourism promote the long tail. By long tail here, that means the lesser-known communities and hidden gems that do not show up in the usual places. Those places can finally get airtime because the experience is not optimized for the “top ten.” It is optimized for relevance.
A similar proof point from last year
Similarly last year, Obermutten a little and lovely mountain village from Switzerland was put on the world map through a very simple Facebook campaign. Check that out here.
What to steal for destination marketing
- Let the audience be the input. Using a Facebook profile as the starting point makes the output feel personal, not promotional.
- Sell the long tail, not the postcard. A personalised route gives “small communities and hidden gems” a real chance to surface.
- Create an output people can compare. “Your Cape Town holiday” invites sharing because it is inherently personal and discussable.
- Add a real-world payoff for a few. A small number of winners makes participation feel consequential, not just entertaining.
A few fast answers before you act
What is the Cape Town Tourism Facebook Holiday campaign?
It is a destination marketing idea that used a Facebook app to turn a user’s Facebook profile into a virtual, tailor-made Cape Town holiday.
What problem was Cape Town Tourism solving?
They wanted to promote the unexpected side of Cape Town. Smaller communities and hidden gems that are not easily found on mainstream travel platforms and guidebooks.
How did the Facebook profile app work at a high level?
Users submitted their Facebook profiles through the app, and the experience generated a personalized “holiday” that surfaced unexpected places based on that profile.
What made it shareable?
The user is part of the idea. The output is framed as “your” Cape Town holiday, which naturally invites comparison and conversation.
What is the broader takeaway for digital marketers in 2013?
Personal data can be turned into a story engine. When the audience becomes the input, relevance increases and discovery moves beyond the same predictable highlights.