Cape Town Tourism has launched the 'Find Your Freedom' experience – an interactive interface, which uses game-style graphics to empower global travellers to choose their Mother City adventure, based on the guide they identify with.

Travellers will be able to choose the Fearless Foodie, the Nature Warrior or the Urban Adventurer as their guide.

This initiative is a first-of-its-kind concept from the destination marketing organisation.

Ultimately, Find Your Freedom works to restore confidence in Cape Town, which suffered greatly from the global travel bans over the past two years.

Cape Town Tourism CEO Enver Duminy says Find Your Freedom uses the latest digital technology to immerse viewers in unique Cape Town choice-driven video experiences. You choose your guide. You choose your adventure. It’s an interactive journey from start to finish.”

“It's fast-paced, captivating and unlike anything any other destination marketing organisation worldwide is doing,” he enthuses.

City of Cape Town's Economic Growth MMC James Vos adds that the goal is to fuel faster recovery in the visitor economy. He adds that, following the pandemic, people worldwide are itching to explore, do more and reclaim a sense of purpose.

“We want to encourage individuals in our key source markets to jump on a plane and come to Cape Town to find their freedom. This new campaign really hits the mark not just in terms of being something original and fun, but most importantly, being enticing enough, I believe, to result in actual bookings,” Vos says.

The initiative is hosted on the Cape Town Tourism website and visitors are welcomed into an immersive world by an enchanting African storyteller, who urges them to choose their guide. All characters are designed to be visually striking, in gaming-inspired, Afro-futurist graphics.

Once they select their guide, the viewer is taken down a rabbit hole of rapid videos, showcasing some of the best offerings linked to their interests. For example, a fearless foodie will ‘visit’ La Colombe, "watch an aunty fold samosas in the Bo Kaap and dive into steampunk scenes at Truth Coffee".

Viewers getting to make their own choices is the cornerstone of the campaign and very current with international trends. “With the creeping onset of the metaverse, choice will continue to govern virtual experiences that feel ever more real. In this campaign, there is a combination of real-life footage of Cape Town with whimsical computer-generated imagery touches.

Cape Town Tourism chief marketing officer Leigh Dawber says putting the user in charge increases engagement.

“Many of us remember those iconic Choose Your Own Adventure childhood books. This campaign works in a similar way. It’s innovative and inspiring. It lets you dictate how you explore our beautiful city. Millennials, especially, have a keen sense of adventure and desire to travel with purpose. Our aim is to appeal to this. The more personalised you can make your experience of the Mother City, the more likely you are to plan the trip of a lifetime,” says Dawber.

The Find Your Freedom immersive travel experience also leans on the idea of co-creation. Cape Town Tourism is working with GoPro Global, where six international ambassadors will share what Find Your Freedom in Cape Town means through their lens.

“The idea with this initiative is to delve into a different kind of storytelling. This partnership will see these renowned creatives share their stories, their way.” Dawber explains: