In efforts to revive the travel and tourism industry in the town, Stellenbosch invites visitors to stay for more than two nights and enjoy discount perks with the Stellenbucks campaign.
The campaign, which aims to boost visitor numbers in the accommodation industry this winter, promises to reward visitors who stay two or more nights in one of the participating accommodation establishments with Stellenbucks coupons.
These are to the value of 20% of their accommodation bill, to a maximum of R1,200. The rewards can also be spent at various local eateries.
"Think easy dining, old school French, relaxed bistros or take a stroll around the town centre and pop into one of the trendy wine bars," said Marketing Manager at Visit Stellenbosch Elmarie Rabe.
Guests can also spend Stellenbucks on:
- Outdoor experiences such as walking tours or bike rentals, and wine tastings.
- Purchasing wine from participating wine farms.
- Cultural experiences: Art galleries, museums, and more.
"June to September is our lower season traditionally, which affords us an opportunity to extend visitors a great incentive to stay and play in Stellenbosch," said CEO of Visit Stellenbosch Jeanneret Momberg.
"We also have an exciting line-up of events, and we encourage visitors to go beyond the half day to experience Stellenbosch and surrounds like a local. These events are being hosted under the themes of art and culture, music, outdoors concerts, social justice events, bespoke culinary festivals, walking tours, and of course, ample wine tasting attractions, including the annual Wine Town Stellenbosch," Momberg added.
Participating accommodations, restaurants, and other establishments included in the rewards programme participate at no cost. This is because the campaign is a collaboration between tourism stakeholders and private donors such as Stellenbosch University, Remgro, Capitec, Investec, Mergon, and LDP.
"It is free for establishments to participate – they just need to register. The discounts come from the established fund with restaurants and other businesses getting the full value of the customer's purchase," Rabe said.
Here's how it works:
- A patron books accommodation for a minimum stay of two nights at a campaign accommodation partner.
- The patron will receive coupons to the value of 20% of the accommodation transaction value, to a maximum of R1,200.
- Coupons can be spent at any participating winery, restaurant, experience supplier, or accommodation establishment.
- Coupons have to be redeemed by 30 September 2022
Prior to this campaign, the town launched a similar initiative called the Support Stellenbosch Restaurant Campaign. It comprised of a rewards-based system of redeemable Stellenbucks vouchers, and reportedly injected R7 million into the local economy, boosting consumer confidence, job security and collaboration between the tourism industry and locals in the face of tough lockdown restrictions.
"Similarly, our Stay Stellenbucks campaign aims to create and safeguard jobs, while increasing the appeal of winter travel to our town. For Capetonians, in particular, Stellenbosch is a 45-minute drive offering something to suit the needs of every type of traveller, making it the perfect overnight destination," Momberg concludes.