Annareth Bolton, former CEO of Stellenbosch Wine Routes, is joining Destinate in December 2015.

Destinate is the destination marketing company founded in 2013 and run by Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, former CEO of Cape Town Tourism.

Bolton was CEO of Stellenbosch Wine Routes for nine years. During this time she brought the routes and the region international recognition with accolades that include being chosen as one of the Top 300 Western Cape Companies by Topco Media in 2010, being recognised by Wine Enthusiast Magazine as their Wine Region of the World in both 2009 and 2013 – and being named the Best Promotional Body in the Drinks International Wine Tourism Awards in 2014 and 2015.

In 2008, Financial Mail recognised Bolton as Brand Manager of the Year in their Wine Business Awards and she was also pre-selected by Wine Woman Awards, France in 2009. CEO Magazine also nominated Bolton as one of SA’s Most Influential Women in Business and Government in 2009.

Bolton also steered the development of a number of events including eight Stellenbosch Wine Festivals, Taste the Helderberg, the Stellenbosch Street Soirees, Grape Day Out and the Stellenbosch at Summer Place events in Johannesburg.

Destinate’s stable of clients past and present include Reunion Island Tourism, Stellenbosch Wine Routes – and the widely recognised Stellenbosch Experience global campaign, Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism, Soweto Wine Festival, Franschhoek Wine Valley, Wellington Wine Route, the City of George, Vergenoegd Wine Estate and Constantia Fresh 2016. The agency has gained recognition globally for digital marketing campaigns like #Stellenblog for Stellenbosch, #72hrsSoweto for the Soweto Wine Festival and a number of digital pop-up campaigns. Du Toit-Helmbold is also in demand internationally as a speaker on tourism, trends in marketing and the role of digital and social in destination and tourism marketing. South Africa’s first national wine tourism strategy is another project she has been working on for VinPro.

Says Destinate CEO, Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, “Annareth’s turbo-charged personality and highly-respected skills will be an enormous asset to Destinate and are certain to contribute to our growth and strategic offering. Annareth’s extensive experience and insight in wine tourism, event management and strategic business management is essential to support the work we are doing nationally and internationally in tourism, marketing and wine tourism marketing specifically. We look forward to bringing these and other benefits to our clients in the very near future and welcome Annareth to the life of a Destineer.”