From winter fall to Secret Season, the Cape Town campaign invites the industry to reimagine ‘winter’. | News
CapeTownMagazine.com (CTM) has launched its Secret Season Campaign – an open invitation to owner-operated businesses, brands and tourism organizations to come together around a shared opportunity: rethinking how Cape Town and the Western Cape are experienced in winter.
Secret Season positions winter as a secret season worth seeking out and utilizing through real connection.
“We have companies we work with whose winter sales are outperforming summer and have influenced many others over the years. We know the impact can be so much bigger and want to share it with more people,” says Marcus Zandhuis, founder of CapeTownMagazine.com.
A shift from discounts to discoveries
We must collectively replace the word winter with ‘secret season’. For those who know: winter offers something unique. More intimacy and a deeper connection to a place, but only if you know where to go, and more importantly, why.
Secret Season is a story-driven campaign that brings this to the forefront, inviting locals and visitors alike to experience a side of Cape Town and the Western Cape that is less crowded, more personal and richer in lesser-known stories. Here we use our Storymaking framework. Telling stories that work.
“Winter specials are a race to the bottom,” says Marcus.
“Rather, the campaign highlights why winter is uniquely rewarding through experiences, places and products that particularly shine during this season. And let’s be clear, the weather can still be better than summer in London,” he adds.
Championing owner-operated businesses
At the heart of Secret Season is a simple idea from CapeTownMagazine.com: People make this place.
“There are visitors. Local families need places to take their children, especially during the long winter holidays and bad weather days, and people still want to eat out or party in the evenings,” said Stephanie Levendal, partnerships leader at CTM.
“What they need is a trusted voice that connects them to the people behind the right experiences. That’s where we come in, championing small, unique, and owner-operated businesses while helping people discover and connect more.”
Proven ability to influence behavior change
This capability is supported by audience data.
From CapeTownMagazine.com:
69% of our readers say they explore more in different suburbs
84% of our readers say they’ve found more things they never knew about
On average, a local reader of our newsletter has done 29 or more things discovered on CapeTownMagazine.com
This behavior helps distribute tourism across the city and province, at a time when destinations struggle with overtourism during peak periods and declining demand during the off-season.
A season hidden in plain sight
From entering an immersive, game-like world in HintHunt’s Mission Room, where rainy days turn into energetic adventures, to nights that unfold like stories in a fable, where cocktails come to life with theater and surprise.
From family moments of wonder at the Two Oceans Aquarium, where locals return again and again, to the warmth of Char’d Grill in Hermanus, where fire, flavor and whiskey tastings make dinner a cozy and connected ritual.
Expect unexpected finds, like dining at a Ferrari-themed restaurant on the ocean.
Together, these moments show a different side of the Western Cape in winter: more intimate, playful and often more memorable.
An open call to partners
The Secret Season campaign is announced at WTM Africa as an open call to the industry. The campaign creates a space for connection for businesses and people looking for it in the channels they live and love.
CapeTownMagazine.com invites:
Owner-run businesses looking for visibility and storytelling support
Destinations that want to participate in meaningful, impact-oriented campaigns
Brands looking for an authentic, story-driven environment to connect with audiences
With a range that includes:
4.2 million residents and visitors are reached every month through six channels
104,000+ newsletter subscribers (including 3,000+ tour operators and travel agencies)
A community of more than 800 owner-operated businesses in the Western Cape
Redefining winter in Cape Town
“Winter is short enough to enjoy,” Zandhuis adds.
“In many ways, Cape Town is at its best: less crowded, more personal and more real. This is the season when the city reveals itself.”
The Secret Season Campaign reframes winter as a competitive advantage, not a weakness.
Join us
Businesses and potential partners are invited to get in touch and share their interest in the campaign to shape the future of tourism in the Western Cape.
Partnership questions: [email protected]
