The city of London will get to see what Cape Town has to offer – and book a direct flight here – all while taking a taxi cab in the English city.
The branded cabs are part of a partnership agreement between Norse Atlantic Airways and the City of Cape Town, which was announced by Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis together with Mayco member for economic growth and tourism, James Vos, at the launch of Cape Town’s international destination campaign, on Wednesday, September 11 at the President Hotel.
The partnership with the airline will promote their inaugural London-Cape Town flights commencing on Saturday October 28, as well as Cape Town’s marketing material on 40 of London’s famous black cabs for the month of November, which coincides World Travel Market London, which takes place from November 5 to November 7.
Mr Vos said cabs in London will be wrapped in vibrant Cape Town imagery – from the oceans, safaris to urban culture and investment opportunities.
The cabs will also bear the City’s new international logo, which Mr Hill-Lewis said was a global-facing representation of the vibrancy of Cape Town.
Mr Lewis said the previous logo was familiar with Capetonians, but not for foreigners. “We needed something that people will understand and unmistakeably associate with the city… We needed something simple that makes it clear this is Cape Town, with some element of creativity to it.”
And once passengers hop into the cab, they will see further branding inside with a QR code that will take them directly to a booking platform to secure a Norse Atlantic Airways flight to Cape Town.
He said Norse will have a special offer for flights booked via the QR code, which will be confirmed by the airline.
The agreement follows the announcement by Norse Atlantic Airways of thrice-weekly flights between London Gatwick Airport and Cape Town International Airport from October 28 for the duration of the peak season.
Bård Nordhagen, chief commercial officer at Norse Atlantic Airways, said they were excited to take part in the campaign to promote travel to Cape Town. “Since launching ticket sales for this new route, it has quickly become one of our most popular destinations.”
He said by directly targeting keen explorers with this engaging partnership, they look forward to spreading the news of our “new route and excellent value fares to a wider audience”.
Mr Hill-Lewis added that Cape Town Tourism numbers were significantly above pre-Covid levels and growing strongly. “The arrival numbers to date are looking fantastic and we are only in September.”
The mayor, along with tourism stakeholders who attended the event, also signed the responsible tourism charter, as a commitment to include responsible tourism in their practices.
Also unveiled at the event was Volume 3 of the This Is Cape Town magazine and the revamped This Is Cape Town website.
