Tourism in Cape Verde is becoming of more importance for the national economy. There is no mass tourism and due to the great diversity between the islands there is something for every traveler. According to the Cape Verdean Bureau of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estatistica Cabo Verde), the number of tourists increased by 11.2% in 2017 compared to 2016. This equates to more than 716 thousand tourists.
Most tourists come from United Kingdom
Most tourists in Cape Verde come from the United Kingdom (Great Britain) in 2017 with 23.6% of all visitors. The countries Germany (11.2%), France and the Netherlands / Belgium (both 9.7%) follow a considerable distance. Especially in 2017 the number of tourists from the United Kingdom increased significantly (28.2%) compared to 2016.
Sal and Boavista most popular islands
Most of the tourists go to the islands Sal and Boavista. Of the total number of arrivals in 2017, 47.9% goes to Sal and 28.8% to Boavista. Both islands have the most extensive tourist facilities of the archipelago. In addition, Sal and Boavista have an international airport and there are frequent flights. Travelers from the Netherlands and Belgium also have the highest preference for the islands of Sal (61.5%) and Boavista (33.4) as their main destination.
The figure below shows the percentage distribution of the number of visitors per island. In order to be able to show the share of each island, the data from 2016 were used in this exceptional case. Also in 2016 Sal and Boavista were the Cape Verde islands with the most tourists.
Overnight stays
In 2017 there were more than 4.5 million overnight stays. Visitors from the United Kingdom stay the longest on the Cape Verde islands. Visitors from the Netherlands and Belgium spend an average of 7.6 nights on Cape Verde.
Janice says
Hello. Do you have a national.tourist board or DMO that gives advice to tourists?
Andrea Vasconcelos says
Good evening,
Great website!
Cape Verde has a huge tourism potential and this must be explored further in the most sustainable and responsible way possible. We must manage and preserve the little of the resources we have the best way possible, to optimise gains without endangering the future of the country and without the loss of identity and authenticity of the CV experience.
I am from Cape Verde and live in the UK.
I am currently writing my dissertation on CV. I was wondering where did you get the stats from? Are all of them from INE CV?
What is the aim of this website? Are you (or are you trying to become) a DMO?
Many many thanks! Good luck!
CapeVerdeIslands.org says
Thanks Andrea.
You express this quite well! Cape Verde is a beautiful country with a hugh tourism potential, however development must be in the most resonsible way! I hope everyone (including businesses) can embrace this.
Regarding your questions, can you contact us via mail (see for the address the following page: https://www.capeverdeislands.org/contact/), so we can answer your questions in more detail?
Thanks,
Team CapeVerdeIslands.org
Andrea Vasconcelos says
Thank you for your availability and response.
I will indeed be in touch soon!
Best regards