Tourist Activity and Destination Brand Perception: The Case of Cape Town, South Africa

A respondent-completed questionnaire in Cape Town, South Africa was used to check how the activities that tourists enjoyed in Cape Town relate to how they perceive this destination using brand descriptive variables (brand essence, brand image and brand loyalty). 200 questionnaires were received for bivariate and multivariate analyses. This study finds that although tourists found most activities in Cape Town enjoyable; nature and outdoor, food and wine, and shopping enjoyment have more impact in determining the general experience satisfaction of tourists, than beach, and surprisingly, history and cultural activities. Nonetheless, tourists generally perceive Cape Town quite positively. From analyses, this study strongly suggests that the brand position statement for Cape Town should revolve around unique and diverse tourists' attractions in Cape Town, and the memorable experience with which tourists go home from Cape Town. The brand position statement should be linked to Cape Town tourism integrated marketing communications. This study can assist tourism business owners in Cape Town to evaluate and improve tourism offerings to meet the expectations of visitors, contributing to visitors forming a positive perception towards Cape Town. The findings have implications for similar destinations in the developing economies.