Cape Town Tourism and Visit Stellenbosch signed a new Joint Marketing Agreement to combine tourism efforts and encourage visitors to extend their stays across the region. The partnership leverages Cape Town’s 1.44 million international overnight visitors recorded in 2025 to boost year-round travel and local accommodation spending.
Strategic Growth Takeaways
- Regional Consolidation: Cape Town Tourism and Visit Stellenbosch are formalizing cross-destination itineraries and digital campaigns to counteract seasonal tourism dips.
- Economic Yield: Leadership targets longer stays to drive up average visitor spend across accommodation, wine, food, art, and heritage sectors.
- Market Volume: The initiative builds on a baseline of 1.44 million international overnight visitors and 1.42 million domestic overnight trips recorded in 2025.
Aligning Metropolitan Appeal with Regional Tourism
By formalizing this Joint Marketing Agreement, Cape Town Tourism and Visit Stellenbosch are attempting to smooth out the revenue troughs associated with tourism seasonality.
The operational framework focuses on joint itineraries, shared digital content, and synchronized trade activities. The focus will also include domestic visitors during key periods such as school holidays, long weekends and the festive season.
According to Cape Town Tourism CEO Enver Duminy, “Cape Town is a destination that can easily fill a holiday, but it is also the gateway to so much more of the Cape.” He added, “Stellenbosch adds another dimension to the Cape Town experience, and vice versa.”
Capitalizing on 2025 Visitor Metrics
Data highlights the underlying demand driving this partnership. The City of Cape Town recorded 1.44 million international overnight visitors and 1.42 million domestic overnight trips in 2025.
| Visitor Segment (2025) | Total Recorded Trips | Primary Strategic Objective |
|---|---|---|
| International Overnight Visitors | 1.44 Million | Extend length of stay |
| Domestic Overnight Trips | 1.42 Million | Capture school holiday and long weekend regional travel |
Alderman James Vos, the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, emphasized the revenue implications of these numbers. “The opportunity now is to turn that demand into longer stays, greater visitor spend and wider economic benefits,” Vos stated.
Translating Extended Itineraries into Value Chain Growth
Stellenbosch brings a distinct product mix to the arrangement, anchoring its appeal in wine, food, art, and heritage. Visit Stellenbosch CEO Annemie Liebenberg noted that the alliance creates a stronger commercial proposition for the region.
“It also has a very practical benefit for our tourism economy,” Liebenberg noted. “Longer stays mean more visitor spend, more nights in accommodation and more opportunities for businesses across the tourism value chain to benefit.”
By blending the urban infrastructure of Cape Town with the surrounding assets of Stellenbosch, regional operators can market cohesive packages spanning the city, coast, culture, wine, food, art and heritage.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
