Cape Town - Cape Town Tourism (CTT), in partnership with Gecko Digital Global, a virtual tours agency, has launched yet another tourism initiative, offering Cape Town to the world through the virtual lens.
Commenting on the launch of the new immersive experience, Cape Town Tourism CMO Leigh Dawber said the project was inspired by CTT’s drive to produce new and innovative ways that inspire potential travellers to choose Cape Town as a tourist destination.
She said CTT saw the impact of Find Your Freedom from exploring the digital space, and the addition of VR furthers the traction of future enhancements to the campaign. This is specially true for the US, one of Cape Town’s top source markets.
“The virtual experience is proven to build trust that their travel experience will match or exceed their expectations, and therefore a higher booking rate. Research shows that 70% of people who view a virtual tour online link through to a direct booking opportunity.
“Tourism bookings can be extrapolated into tourism expenditure and job opportunities in Cape Town, which is Cape Town Tourism’s ultimate goal,” Dawber said.
Corroborating Dawber’s sentiments, Gecko Digital Global’s Jacques Clarijs said the agency had seen that 35% of people, internationally, who view a virtual tour end up making a direct booking with the client on their booking engine.
Clarijs said the typical return on investment for a virtual tour is 14 to 30 days, the highest of any marketing media and trackable through Google Analytics.
Gecko and CTT’s new VR experience is available on the Cape Town Tourism website (www.capetown.travel).
Clarijs said by leveraging state-of-the-art VR advancements, tourists could embark on captivating virtual tours and immerse themselves in the Greatest City on Earth.
“From walking on its beaches and witnessing its mountains to visiting the vineyards in the Winelands all from the comfort of their homes.”
Meanwhile, the City of Cape Town mayoral committee for economic growth is gearing up to kick off this year’s tourism months at the weekend.