International Tourism
Tourism generates 11% of Cape Verde's GDP and has been identified as one of the two priority sectors of the economy. The main focus for tourism is European markets, attracted and facilitated by:
Natural resources: including the year round climate, beaches, diversity of scenery and limited development.
Activities: include good standard diving, deep sea fishing and windsurfing.
Accessibility: with a four to six hour flight from Western European markets and a time difference of one to three hours.
Culture: Cape Verde has a strong culture reflecting its history.
Stability: Cape Verde is politically and economically stable.
Local People: are friendly, educated and have good language skills.
International tourism to Cape Verde has developed relatively recently. There was limited tourism prior to independence in 1975. From the 1970s until the end of apartheid in the 1990s, South African Airways used Sal Island as a refueling stop on flights to and from Europe and the Americas, with aircrew accommodated on a full board basis in a specially developed hotel (Hotel Morabeza) at Santa Maria. Since then tourism activity has increased. Foreign tourist arrivals at accommodation establishments have grown from 58,000 in 1998 to 199,000 in 2005. There are also excursionists (day trip visitors) to Santiago (Praia) and Sao Vicente (Mindelo) from cruise ship visits on West African itineraries.
Foreign arrivals and nights recorded at tourist accommodation units in Cape Verde from 2000 to 2005 are given in the following table. Although recorded arrivals have increased in each year except 2001, recorded tourist nights have fluctuated and decreased from 2003. Two key factors can be as influencing these tourism figures:
- Transportation. Air transport has historically been limited from key Northern European locations, this is currently being addressed and through investment / increased capacity this situation will be dramatically improved by 2009 (See Section 4.3 Transportation).
- Levels of quality tourist accommodation. Current quality of tourist accommodation is restricted and has resulted in a resistance from key tour operators to heavily promote the islands. However, commitment has been obtained from key operators that on the provision of good quality accommodation and the opportunity for exclusivity on resorts, that Cape Verde will feature heavily in marketing and promotional activities.
| Arrivals | Nights | |
| 2000 | 145,075 | 684,733 |
| 2001 | 162,095 | 805,924 |
| 2002 | 152,924 | 693,658 |
| 2003 | 178,373 | 902,973 |
| 2004 | 184,738 | 865,125 |
| 2005 | 199,114 | 858,091 |
The average length of stay in 2005 was 4.3 nights, reflecting the impact of business related tourism and leisure tourists on multi-island tours. The opening of the Riu Club Hotel Funana at Santa Maria (Sal Island) was too late to make a significant impact on the statistics.
Incoming tourism is dominated by Italy, Portugal and Germany, which together accounted for 78% of foreign tourist nights. However, the provision of regular flights from key European destinations is predicted to dramatically increase the levels and nationality of tourists.
| Foreign Resident Nights | ||
| Country | 000s | % of Total |
| Italy | 326.6 | 38.2 |
| Portugal | 235.8 | 27.6 |
| Germany | 104.4 | 12.2 |
| France | 47.2 | 5.5 |
| Spain | 29.1 | 3.4 |
| Belgium & Holland | 25.5 | 3 |
| South Africa | 10.8 | 1.3 |
| UK | 8 | 1 |
| Switzerland | 7.6 | 0.9 |
| USA | 7.1 | 0.8 |
| Foreign Residents of Cape Verde | 3.9 | 0.5 |
| Austria | 3.5 | 0.4 |
| Other | 44.7 | 5.2 |
| Total | 854.2 | 100 |
The following table shows the variation of nights in tourist accommodation establishments by month in 2005. Demand peaked in August, November and December, with the lowest demand in May, June and October.
| Month | % of Tourist Nights |
| January | 9.1 |
| February | 7.9 |
| March | 8.7 |
| April | 7.2 |
| May | 5.7 |
| June | 6.9 |
| July | 7.7 |
| August | 10.7 |
| September | 7.6 |
| October | 7 |
| November | 10.7 |
| December | 10.8 |
| Total | 100 |
The following table shows the dispersion of recorded foreign arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments throughout the islands. The dominance of Sal reflects its more developed accommodation supply. Santiago reflects the role of Praia as the capital city and Sao Vicente its role as the cultural centre of Cape Verde.
| Island | % of Arrivals |
| Sal | 77.4 |
| Santiago | 11.9 |
| Sao Vicente | 7.3 |
| Santo Antao | 2.7 |
| Boa Vista | 1.7 |
| Fogo | 1.3 |
| Sao Nicolau | 0.4 |
| Maio | 0.2 |
| Brava | 0.1 |
| Total | 100 |
87% of recorded foreign tourist nights were spent in hotels in 2005. Approximately 5% of nights were in residences and the remainder in boarding houses, lodgings, hotel apartments and villages.
Incoming tourism to Cape Verde has grown from a very low base in recent years. Business related tourism has been predominantly centered on Praia (Santiago Island), with Santa Maria (Sal Island) the predominant leisure tourism destination. The expansion of leisure related tourism has been predominantly supply-driven. This has been illustrated by the recent opening, in October 2005, of the first phase (500 rooms) of the Riu Club Hotel Funana, which is reported to have led to increased charter flights from Western Europe and significantly increased incoming tourism that will be reflected in the 2006 statistics.
There has been significant investment in tourism related infrastructure, with the upgrading of the international airport on Sal, the inauguration of Praia International Airport and the imminent inauguration of the international airports on Boa Vista and Sao Vicente. These developments, together with increases in tourist accommodation, are expected to lead to further development of tourism to Cape Verde.
The Government is encouraging tourism development through incentives, but does not have adequate funding for tourism promotion, which is being carried out by the private sector. An assessment of Cape Verde's tourism sector was carried out in 2004 under a French aid funded project. This project identified the water sports and nature and trekking as having strong market potential, in addition to conventional beach based tourism.
It is understood that the 2004 assessment is being used as a basis for a ten year tourism development strategy. This strategy, which is being formulated, is expected to include the objective of diversifying the tourism product to reflect the strengths of Cape Verde and encourage higher spending tourists. There is understood to be concern at the rapid expansion of all-inclusive resorts, because of the relatively limited benefit to the local economy through high economic leakages. We understand that holiday home developments are viewed positively. However, investment will continue to be driven by the private sector, with investors determining the most viable product concept for their project.