Tourism in Cape Verde

Ecotourism is developing around the volcano Pico do Fogo on Fogo.

Tourism in Cape Verde, a group of islands off the coast of Senegal, started in the 1970s on the island Sal and increased slowly in the 1980s and 1990s.^[1] Tourism contributed $41 million to the country's economy in the year 2000. The hotel industry contributed 2.0% to GDP in 1997, which increased to 6.8% in 2001. The number of tourists increased from approximately 45,000 in 1997 to more than 115,000 in 2001 and to 569,387 in 2015 according to the Cape Verdean statistics bureau . Most of these international arrivals came from the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal, Low Countries (i.e., The Netherlands and Belgium), and France. The vast majority of tourists visit the comparatively flat and less populated islands of Sal, Boa Vista, and Maio with their white sandy beaches. The islands of Cape Verde have a pleasant climate during most of the year with 350 days of sunshine, and some of them offer an impressive mountain scenery as well.^[2] Diving, windsurfing, sailing and trekking are available to tourists.^[3] Some ecotourism is developing on the island of Fogo around the volcano Pico do Fogo. For tourists interested in cultural topics, the town of Cidade Velha on the Island of Santiago was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1997, but cultural tourism has not been particularly promoted up to now.

Statistics

Most guests in tourist accommodation establishments, by country of residence, in 2015:^[4]

Rank	Country	Number
1	United Kingdom	126,685
2	Germany	76,451
3	Portugal	61,979
4	Belgium  Netherlands	60,473
5	France	56,458
6	Italy	27,086
7	Spain	9,412
8	Switzerland	5,450
9	United States	4,282
10	Austria	2,351
11	South Africa	232
	Other countries	88,863
	Total foreign	569,387

References

1. Pitt Reitmeier: Cabo Verde, p. 264. Bielefeld 2009.
2. Taylor & Francis Group (2003). Africa South of the Sahara 2004: South of the Sahara. Routledge. pp. 190. ISBN 1-85743-183-9.
3. Boniface, Brain G.; Christopher P. Cooper (2001). Worldwide Destinations: The Geography of Travel and Tourism. Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 256. ISBN 0-7506-4231-9.

External links