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Cape Town - 15 April 2014, marked the first Stellenbosch Experience international blogger campaign, #Stellenblog.
This year Stellenbosch will again play host to some of the world’s most influential bloggers as part of the innovative destination marketing campaign, Stellenbosch Experience, developed in order to grow Stellenbosch’s market share of domestic and international visitors.
The #Stellenblog international bloggers campaign takes place from 1 to 8 May 2015 during which seven international and domestic bloggers will stay at an undisclosed location on a working wine farm in the heart of the winelands. It is a joint-production between stakeholders and partners, entailing a week-long itinerary for the bloggers, a tweet-up and what is expected to be the ultimate launch party.
During the week, bloggers will be given the opportunity to immerse themselves in the “Stellenbosch way of life”. Tailor-made itineraries are being designed around each blogger and their readership, and each day will involve a few surprise elements, challenging the traditional perceptions of Stellenbosch.
The campaign will go “live” with a tweet-up in the heart of Stellenbosch from 14h00 – 16h00 on 4 May before moving on to the “secret location” of the #Stellenblog villa for an evening of the best of Stellenbosch’s food and wine, in the company of local personalities, industry stakeholders and top online influencers.
The iambassador core team of bloggers includes some of the best-known travel, lifestyle and food bloggers in the world.
Between the seven bloggers spending the week in Stellenbosch, is a combined following of 200 000 unique readers per month, 356 000 Twitter followers, 51 000 Instagram followers and 95 000 Facebook fans.
International bloggers include Melvin Boecher of Traveldudes, based in Germany;
RT @commonwanderer Totally off the grid at Shira Cave Camp, Kilimanjaro pic.twitter.com/CJsyVqcQkl #travel #Tanzania #TD
— Melvin (@traveldudes) April 14, 2015Rachelle Lucas from The Travel Bite, based in the USA;
Sarah Lee of Live Share Travel, based in the UK and
Michael Turtle from Time Travel Turtle, also based in the UK.
Such a pretty little street in Hanoi here in Vietnam, with lots of plants and flowers for sale. #travel #vietnam pic.twitter.com/FR2L53XyHx
— Time Travel Turtle (@michaelturtle) April 5, 2015
These international bloggers will be joined by local South African travel, lifestyle and food bloggers:
Anna-Belle Mulder from She Said (Johannesburg),
Emma-Jane Harbour from EmmaJaneNation (Cape Town) and
Natalie Roos from Tailsofamermaid, Cape Town.
So why a digital bloggers campaign?
"Because bloggers are influencers and this, combined with the power of word of mouth and recommendations by friends and followers, now drive most travel decisions,” says Chief Destineer Mariette du Toit-Helmbold.
Annareth Bolton, CEO of Stellenbosch Wine Routes said, “For many people, to ‘escape’ no longer means a relaxing beach holiday experience but rather immersing themselves in a destination that showcases its gritty everyday life where the people of the destination are the real storytellers.
"There is so much more to Stellenbosch than history, good food and wine… this campaign uncovers the real Stellenbosch that locals know and love.”
“The web and social media have made it possible for smaller destinations like Stellenbosch to take advantage of a global network of future travellers who respond to and share our stories with the world. Word of mouth through social media is a very powerful tool for destination marketers. We look forward to hosting our latest Stellenbosch ambassadors in one of the most beautiful and inspirational cities in South Africa,” said Annemarie Ferns, CEO of Stellenbosch 360, the tourism agency of Stellenbosch.
Follow #visitStellenbosch and #Stellenblog to track the conversations virtually.
The Stellenbosch Experience is made possible by partners like Jordan Wines, Kleine Zalze, Lourensford, Spier, Stellenbosch Vineyards and Tokara.
The #Stellenblog international bloggers campaign is supported by South African Airways, South African Tourism and Thrifty.
For more information on the Stellenbosch Experience campaign and inspiration to visit Stellenbosch, go to .
