#ItsAllStillHere tourism campaign launches in CT

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Each video features an internationally acclaimed local surfer explaining their personal relationship with water, and how the recent drought affected not only them, but the province as a whole. The message across all three videos is a clear call to action: Cape Town and the Western Cape is a leading destination for responsible tourism and adventure tourism, with some of the best surfing conditions and is open for business.

Wesgro CEO Tim Harris commented: "As the tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape, we wanted to use our most influential young ambassadors, who travel the world to surf, to remind global travellers just how special this destination is. In the films, they pay homage to individual Capetonians and local businesses that took it upon themselves to change their relationship with water to get us through this challenging period."

Harris added: "We are immensely grateful to Jordy, Frank and Mikey who took part in the campaign free of charge. We are honoured to have such passionate international spokespeople for the city and province, who were willing to give up time between the World Surf League competitions to film with us."

The Western Cape story

"When Frank approached us with this idea of using globally recognised local surfers to help tell the Western Cape story, we saw a great opportunity to tie in a positive message about water," commented Judy Lain, Wesgro’s chief marketing officer for tourism. "Jordy, Frank and Mikey were the perfect ambassadors for the face of this campaign considering their achievements and extensive social media influence and reach and passion for the province."

Instrumental to the success of the videos produced was Sledgehammer Studios – who managed to capture each surfer in their home environments despite the short run times, and Sacha Specker - a local videographer and photographer who generously provided additional footage of all three surfers.

Cape Town executive mayor Patricia de Lille said: "We live in an ever-changing world and we work from the premise that the world owes us nothing. By positioning Cape Town as a digitally connected city that constantly innovates in every sector, we show our city as a place with incredible natural beauty, creative young people, and a diverse community. Tourism attracts thousands of visitors to our shores each year and showcasing a diversity of attractions will bring more growth and investment to Cape Town."

Minister of economic opportunities, Alan Winde commented: "This campaign not only highlights the scenic beauty and the amazing tourism opportunities that await visitors, but also highlights the importance of mindful and sustainable tourism and tells the story of our water resilience in a unique way. Sustainable tourism and building resilience are key to preserving our tourism industry and ensuring that it can grow to benefit the people of the Western Cape."