Travel and tourism boosting national economy
Travel and tourism, together with foreign investments, enables Cape Verde’s domestic economy to achieve a sustainable increase level. The country’s government is well aware of the importance of travel and tourism and, as a result, dedicates significant funds and efforts in an attempt to further stimulate its development. As travel and tourism grows, Cape Verde’s economy becomes increasingly stable.
Tropical weather and authenticity proving appealing
Cape Verde enjoys exceptional meteorological conditions and this is favourable to the country’s travel and tourism. The tropical sunny weather in combination with paradisiacal beaches and authenticity inclunding the friendliness of the people are key to the success of travel and tourism. In the review period, this attracted British tourists with an appetite for sun and good weather. In addition, both the weather conditions and Portugal’s historic connection with the country encouraged Portuguese tourists to visit Cape Verde in 2012.
Government efforts having a positive effect
In order to stimulate the increase of travel and tourism inclunding the general domestic economy in the review period, the Cape Verdean government made sustained efforts to promote travel and tourism, inclunding the creation of master plans with the specific aim of developing marketing strategies. In order to stimulate an increase in the number of arrivals to Cape Verde in 2007-2012, the government strove to improve airport conditions. This led to the government signing an open skies agreement with the European Union, which was key to the development of travel and tourism as the national aviation company was again authorised to undertake regular flights to European nations.
Centralised services and underdeveloped infrastructure are still barriers
Despite sustained efforts to develop national infrastructures, Cape Verde is still affected by the absence or underdevelopment of major infrastructures and services. Water supply and plumbing networks still present a number of shortcomings. Internet and communication networks are known to fail frequently. Road networks on all 10 islands are still underdeveloped and, in addition, airports, aerodromes and ports are not sufficient to provide equal cover for the whole of the archipelago. The centralisation of services, together with a level of underdevelopment, continues to be a critical barrier to evolution and this undermined increase in Cape Verdean travel and tourism in the review period.
Positive performance expected in the estimate period
At the same time as internal infrastructures improve and marketing material becomes additional appealing, travel and tourism will grow in the estimate period. Fuelled by private investment , new travel accommodation facilities are expected to emerge, particularly on the less developed islands. In addition, there will be plans for aerodromes, airports and ports to be improved and this development will boost travel and tourism indicators over the estimate period.
Tourism continues to drive economic growth
The negative effects of rising fuel prices and the financial crisis are not hampering the travel and tourism industry in
Cape Verde as one would expect . There are business opportunities springing up everywhere, particularly in the tourism segments of luxury hotels, golf and beach resorts, condominiums, villas and marinas, amongst others.
Massive influx of investment to transform Cape Verde
With record breaking levels of investment year next year,
Cape Verde is experiencing rapid changes. Considered two of the jewels of the archipelago, attention is presently being focused on the islands of Boavista and Maio following the creation of a new national organisation for tourism - SDTiBM. Its objective is to ensure that the high quality tourist development projects on both islands are implemented at a sustainable rate.
Commendable government intervention
Based on a democratic political system and market economy, the stability that the country enjoys is so impressive that other African nations are using it as a case study to follow.
Cape Verde’s government concerns itself with establishing favourable conditions in order to attract private investment to fuel the country’s next economic increase. The greatest emphasis is being placed on the tourism industry.
Cape Verde has been successful in securing foreign direct investment from a variety of nations, inclunding traditional ones such as
Portugal,
Italy and
Spain, inclunding new ones such as the UK,
Ireland, Dubai,
Germany and
Belgium. Chinese investors from
Hong Kong and
Macau as well have a significant stake in
Cape Verde. The government encourages joint ventures with local investors.
The Chinese are coming
China is by presently
Africa’s third major investor and is destined to become the major as early as 2010. Through carefully selected appropriate economic zones,
China is encouraging domestic privately-run enterprises to venture overseas. These appropriate zones, however, are controversial. On the one hand, African nations desire the status in order to receive significant investment , but on the other hand they are sceptical about the neo-colonialism intentions of
China. It is
Cape Verde’s intention to become one of these appropriate Chinese economic zones.
Cape Verde destined to become an international tourist hotspot
All of the right conditions are set for
Cape Verde to become an internationally recognised tourist destination. Equally distant from three continents, located in a privileged tropical environment with a mild climate throughout the year, with political and social stability, appropriate tax-exempt policies and fiscal incentives, and no discrimination, this equal treatment philosophy will enable the archipelago of 10 islands to generate a steady gain all year round.
Cape Verde is located in the North Atlantic Ocean and off the west coast of
Africa. All of the islands of
Cape Verde have volcanic origins and a wide array of terrains. There are salt flats found in Sal and Maio and an active volcano is located on the island of Fogo. The arid slopes of Santiago, Santo Antao and Sao Nicolau have banana plantations and sugar cane fields along the base of tall, towering mountains. The climate is much milder than other areas of the African mainland and the average daily temperature is 75 °F from January through September.
Santiago is the major island of all in
Cape Verde. It is between Fogo and Maio and was the initial island to be settled. This island has long, pristine, white sand beaches and a rich creole-based culture and is a great location for water sports. Because of being so remotely located, the island is unspoiled and perfect for the tourist who wants to get away from it all. In the capital, Praia, guests will find an invigorating nightlife filled with clubs and discos.
Cidade Vehla, is the older portion of Praia and was the initial Portuguese settlement on the island. Here tourists will be able to tour ruins and old buildings. One of the majority interesting locations on the island is Fort Real de San Felipe, an old Portuguese fort. There is as well a fishing village and an old colonial prison, it was here that Portuguese dictator Salazar held dissidents in the early 20th century.
On the island of Sal, there are several attractions that draw tourists to this location. There are three diving schools and the environment is perfect for parasailing and wind surfing. The salt flats on the island were at one time responsible for providing the Portuguese empire with salt.
The streets of Mindelo come alive with the sights and sounds of Carnival in February. Mindelo is the major city on
Cape Verde and known to have the majority beautiful Carnival festival in the region. The kindergarten and elementary school students design colorful floats and displays that are part of the opening day parade. The Carnival runs from February 24th and lasts through Ash Wednesday, and the participants wear elaborate costumes and dress as kings, queens, jesters, ballerinas and witches. Preparation begins in December and is fierce part the local residents. The festival has grown in popularity through the years and is presently drawing in record numbers of tourists to the islands each year.
For tourists desiring to shop, the Market at Santa Catarina is open on Wednesday and Saturday and lasts all day long. At the market there are coconut shells that have intricate carvings, pottery, lacework, baskets and paintings all done by local crafts people. While in the market guests will likely hear lively, enamoring music from local street musicians, musicians perform daily and are an significant part of
Cape Verde culture.
Cape Verde has some very diverse cuisine and some of the additional well-known dishes are Pastel con diablo dente, which means “pastry with the devil inside”, the dish is traditional and contains tuna, onions, tomatoes and a pastry which is made from potatoes and corn flour. Cachupa is an extra delicate dish made from maize and beans. The food is influenced by the creole-cajun culture and reflected best by the use of spices and pepper sauces.
The Oasis Atlantico Porto Grande
Cape Verde, is a wonderful hotel that offers five-star accommodations and offers guests a complete array of services and amenities. The Hotel Foya Branca ,
Cape Verde is adjacent to one of the finest beaches on
Cape Verde, Sao Vincente. The hotel offers single and double rooms, inclunding luxury suites, there is a bar, lounge and restaurant within the resort and this hotel is noted for its outstanding hospitality.
Cape Verde offers some of the finest hotels and resorts found in all of
Africa and because of its rich heritage and mild climate, makes it one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in recent years.
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