OUR WORK south africa tourism
Creating connections that inspire dream vacations.
From the friendly people to the unforgettable experiences, South Africa has so much to offer travelers — and the country wanted to attract more visitors from the United Kingdom and Ireland. They just needed to know how safe and welcoming South Africa actually is. So the country turned to FINN Partners to help craft meaningful stories that make UK and Irish travelers feel connected to South Africa, and eager to book travel there.
FINN planned a creative strategy around engaging content to showcase the friendly, welcoming nature of South Africa’s people and the beauty of its geography.
GOAL
Reach UK and Irish travelers with messaging and stories that compel them to plan visits to South Africa.
SECTOR EXPERTISE
Travel & Tourism
accolades
Travel Marketing Awards: PR Strategic Campaign 2020 (2nd place)
58+MM
impressions
€1,736,532
total PR value
The Work
Selecting local guides to showcase destinations
First we selected 12 passionate “guides” from different provinces across the country, representing an array of tourism — to reveal the breadth of experiences available and encourage geographical spread. Our content created connections between UK and Irish travelers and South African people to inspire them to visit the destination.
Connecting faces with places
Then, we pitched profile features on the guides in the national and travel press to share their local knowledge and expertise around South African Tourism’s key themes. In all, we secured nine media interviews in UK publications, including Wanderlust, Travel Weekly, the i Newspaper, Selling Travel, and Lancashire Life.
Organizing immersive press trips
We also organized two dedicated Meet Your South Africa (MYSA) group press trips for UK and Irish media and incorporated the guides into all individual trip itineraries. We also arranged for the MYSA guides to appear at six UK events to engage with media and conduct interviews, including a London launch media event, cookery workshop, WTM, Destinations, and the Holiday World Show.
As a result, the Meet Your South Africa guides were seen throughout the UK and Ireland. We generated 40 pieces of coverage reaching over 58,321,670, with a total PR value of £1,736,532. We hosted 10 media on dedicated MYSA trips — representing the Irish Daily Mail, The Sun, Fabulous Magazine, OK Magazine, and Sunday Independent.
Importantly, the work also reduced concerns around safety and security by nearly 20%* — and raised the profile of local guides by 40% *based on a consumer survey following campaign launch.