As part of their global digital media marketing campaign, Cape Town Tourism is currently hosting four 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, 29 July from 19h00 – 20h00 with suggestions flooding in from Capetonians. 

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

Mariëtte du Toit-Helmbold, CEO of Cape Town Tourism, enthused about the campaign and the relevance of social media marketing: “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 twenty four hour period, including Sundays twitter chat, the #LoveCapeTown hashtag has generated 1500 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 favourite 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 favourite 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.