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Cape Town and Stellenbosch are teaming up to tempt travellers beyond the city limits, with new itineraries and experiences designed to turn two destinations into one irresistible Cape escape.
Cape Town Tourism and Visit Stellenbosch have signed a Joint Marketing Agreement (JMA) to encourage visitors to experience both destinations as part of a connected Cape journey.
The partnership, announced as South Africa marks Tourism Month, brings together two destinations with distinctly different draws. Cape Town offers its coastline, city energy, cultural attractions and urban experiences. Stellenbosch brings wine, food, heritage, art, nature, shopping and a strong roster of local experiences.
The idea is simple: rather than treating the two destinations as separate stops, these are essentially complementary parts of an iconic experience to the Mother City.
A bonus for school holidays, long weekends and the festive season
The partnership will see Cape Town Tourism and Visit Stellenbosch develop new joint itineraries, share content and run collaborative campaigns across their digital platforms.
Domestic tourism will be a particular focus during school holidays, long weekends and the festive season, while year-round campaigns will aim to create fresh reasons to visit and help tackle seasonality.
For Alderman James Vos, the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, the partnership is a win-win.
“The marketing and management team must go hand in hand. We can’t separate the two because it’s all about conversion,” Vos said at the signing ceremony.
In other words, a beautiful campaign is only half the job. The real measure is whether visitors book the guesthouses, hotels, wine experiences, restaurants, attractions and tours being promoted.
Vos said the City’s tourism ambitions are focused on growing both the supply and economic impact of the visitor economy, including increasing tourism-related jobs and visitor numbers.
Beyond boundaries and borders
Cape Town recorded 1.44 million international overnight visitors and 1.42 million domestic overnight trips in 2025, according to the City.
Stellenbosch recorded more than 1.35 million overnight visitors during the same year, generating an estimated R13 billion in total economic impact. That creates plenty of scope to stretch the Cape itinerary.
“Visitors don’t experience destinations by municipal boundaries, and neither should our tourism thinking,” Vos said. That thinking is relevant as Cape Town’s international air connectivity expands.
Cape Town’s connectivity gets a boost
From Sunday, 1 November, Vos said, Cape Town International Airport is expected to handle 255 international flights a week.
While those visitors may land in Cape Town, the ambition is for them to travel into Stellenbosch and the wider Western Cape, and ultimately to destinations across South Africa.
“We are the gateway,” Vos said, stressing that Cape Town’s role is not to keep visitors within the city but to use its connectivity to distribute tourism demand more widely.
The City has long focused on air access as a driver of tourism and investment. Vos said aviation’s economic value in Cape Town reached R43.2 billion in 2025, underlining why securing more direct routes remains a priority.
The next targets include strengthening connectivity with major international markets, including the US (Miami), China and India.
That connectivity also makes stronger regional partnerships more important. International visitors arriving in Cape Town can be encouraged to build longer South African itineraries. Domestic travellers can be given more reasons to turn a Cape Town break into a broader Cape escape.
More visitors, more spending
Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape Town Tourism, said Stellenbosch adds another dimension to the Cape Town experience.
“There is a real opportunity to encourage visitors to stay longer, explore more and experience the diversity of our region,” he said.
For Visit Stellenbosch CEO Annemie Liebenberg, the commercial case is viable. Longer stays mean more accommodation, more visitor spending and more opportunities for businesses across the tourism value chain.
The partnership will also use competitions, giveaways and shared storytelling to bring tourism businesses from both destinations into the conversation.
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