CapeTownMagazine.com (CTM) has launched its Secret Season Campaign – an open invitation to owner-run businesses, brands, and tourism bodies 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 leveraging through real connection.
“We have owner-run businesses we work with, whose winter revenue outperforms summer and has impacted many others over the years. We know the impact can be so much bigger and want to share it with more,” says CapeTownMagazine.com founder Marcus Zandhuis.
A Shift From Discounts To Discovery
We collectively need to replace the word Winter with “Secret Season”. For those who know it, winter offers something unique. More intimacy and a deeper connection to a place, but only if you know where to go, and importantly, why.
Secret Season is a story-led 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 so rich with lesser-known stories. This is where we use our Storymaking framework. Storytelling that works.
“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 come into their own, especially during this season. And let’s be clear, the weather can still be better than summer in London,” he adds.
Championing Owner-Run Businesses
At the heart of Secret Season is a simple idea from CapeTownMagazine.com: People make this place.
“Visitors are here. Local families need places to take their kids, especially over the long winter holidays and bad weather days, and people still want to eat out or party at night,” says Stephanie Levendal, partnerships lead 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 the small, the unique, and the owner-run businesses, while helping people make discoveries and connect more.”
Proven Ability to Impact Behaviour Change
This opportunity is supported by audience data.
Because of CapeTownMagazine.com:
69% of our readers say they explore more in different suburbs
84% of our readers say they found more things they never knew about
On average, a local reader of our newsletter has done 29 or more things they discovered on CapeTownMagazine.com
This behaviour helps distribute tourism across the city and province, at a time when destinations are grappling with overtourism during peak periods and declining demand in the off-season.
A Season Hiding in Plain Sight
From stepping into an immersive, game-like world at HintHunt’s Mission Room, where rainy days turn into high-energy adventures, to nights that unfold as stories at fable, where cocktails come alive with theatre 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, flavour, and whisky tastings turn dinner into a cosy and connected ritual.
Expect unexpected finds, like dining inside a Ferrari-themed restaurant by the ocean.
Together, these moments reveal a different side of the Western Cape in winter: More intimate, more playful, and often more memorable.
An Open Call to Partners
The Secret Season campaign is being announced at WTM Africa as an open call to the industry. The campaign creates a space for connection for businesses and people looking for them in the channels that they live in and love.
CapeTownMagazine.com is inviting:
Owner-run businesses seeking visibility and storytelling support
Destinations looking to align with meaningful, impact-driven campaigns
Brands seeking an authentic, story-led environment to connect with audiences
With a reach that includes:
4.2 million locals and visitors reached per month across six channels
104 000+ newsletter subscribers (including 3 000+ tour operators and travel agents)
A community of 800+ owner-run businesses across the Western Cape
Redefining Winter in Cape Town
“Winter is short enough to enjoy,” adds Zandhuis.
“In many ways, it’s when Cape Town is at its best – less crowded, more personal, more real. This is the season where the city reveals itself.”
The Secret Season Campaign reframes winter as a competitive advantage, not a weakness.
Get Involved
Businesses and potential partners are invited to reach out to share their interest in the campaign to help shape the future of tourism in the Western Cape.
Partnership enquiries: [email protected]
