CNN My South Africa couple to buy property in SA

“An experience you get nowhere else in the world… my soul belongs there”

VIKTORIA AND STEFANO Dedola, a young Italian couple, have just left South Africa after having spent 10 days as winners of the 2008 My South Africa competition, an element of a South African Tourism and CNN International destination marketing campaign.

This was the couple’s third visit to South Africa and their prize was five days in Cape Town (“The best city in the world… my soul belongs there,” says Viktoria) and five days in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (“Such big blue skies. You never see anything like that anywhere else in the world,” says Stefano).

They came here first in 2006 on honeymoon and instantly fell in love with South Africa. Viktoria’s honeymoon photographs, submitted to CNN International’s www.mysouthafrica.tv site won them the prize. Viktoria is now expecting their first baby and the couple has as good as decided to buy property in South Africa and make a commitment to a destination they are well and truly enamoured with.

Viktoria’s winning photographs capture South Africa’s spirit of place and people and include pictures of love letters the honeymooning couple wrote in golden beach sand; snaps of public signs (‘kill only time, leave only footprints, take only memories’ at Sodwana Bay); children playing on the beach at Blouberg Strand; and numerous photographs of wildlife, scenic beauty and quirky architecture. In the album is a beautiful portrait of a leopard and an extreme close up of an elephant.

Thousands of photographs were submitted by hundreds of photographers. However, Viktoria’s gallery of pictures comprised a delightful picture essay on a charming and enduringly alluring global destination. She was the clear winner.

“South Africa gives you an experience you can have nowhere else in the world,” says investment banker, Stefano, matter of factly. “It’s easy to travel around South Africa. The roads and infrastructure are wonderful… much better than in many so-called developed countries. And it’s really affordable for people spending Euros. We are continually delighted at the value for money South Africa offers. We have a modest spending budget, and we try really hard to spend our money in South Africa. It’s not always easy, because money goes a long, long way here,” he laughs.

Viktoria, a kindergarten and junior school teacher, has a deeply emotional connection to South Africa. “I have fallen in love with this place,” she says. “I love the friendly people, the wide open spaces, and the wild animals. And I especially love Cape Town.

“When I first came to Cape Town, I had an instant deep affinity and connection to the city. It is so beautiful. It is so friendly and it has so many levels of culture that it intrigues me and calls me back again and again. When I’m at home, and I see a picture of Cape Town on the television or in a magazine, I feel my heart skip a beat. It’s where I belong. I went for a walk in Long Street. It felt like a magnet in my soul.”

CNN International joined with South African Tourism last year to produce the campaign, its first ever user generated content driven advertising solution. The three year partnership enables South African Tourism to capture the zeitgeist of shared multimedia experiences through a multimedia brand campaign. It is driven by a bespoke website www.mysouthafrica.tv and is also executed on air and in print.

The latest phase of the campaign (that is now live on the site www.mysouthafrica.tv) focuses on new brand ambassadors: master chef Reuben Riffel, design diva Khensani Nkosi and wildlife guru Andrew Desmet.

The campaign won the only gold award for media owners at February’s prestigious Internationalist Awards for Innovation in Media.

“We are delighted at the success this campaign has brought our destination,” says Roshene Singh, chief marketing officer at South African Tourism. “It has ignited imagination the world over, and has evoked significant interest in our destination.

“We were just as delighted to have welcomed Viktoria and Stefano back to South Africa. They have become friends of our destination, and we look forward to seeing them again.”

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