Hospitality Research – Cape Verde

Hospitality Research – Cape Verde

Recent hospitality research in Cape Verde indicates that the country is on a growth trajectory that is, however, hindered with obstacles, such as infrastructure that is not up-to-par and a heavy reliance on a healthy Eurozone. While hospitality research has proven the islands’ growth is subdued, it has also shown the efforts that the Cape Verdean government has made in order to attract foreign investors through incentives, facilitations, and the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Sustainable Development. According to hospitality research, this strategic plan is set to be completed by 2021, and aims to modernise Cape Verde’s infrastructure in order to match the growing demand and rising number of visitors.

The hospitality research suggests that tourism and its side impacts accounted for 44.9% of the GDP in 2017, with the number of tourists having increased by 11.2% that same year. These tourists mainly target the touristic islands of Boa Vista and Sal, with the latter having welcomed around 50% of all 2017 arrivals. Hospitality research on the island of Sal demonstrates that with an already high supply of hotels, especially in the all-inclusive segment, the Santa Maria area is still attracting investors with two more properties set to open before 2020. One of which would be under the TUI group which, as hospitality research indicates, is a major player in Cape Verde, as the group is responsible for generating about one third of the country’s tourist arrivals.

Beyond the hospitality research, it has also been noted that there are plans in motion to transform Cape Verde into an international airline hub for transatlantic flights, so it can serve as a connection between Europe, Africa, South America, and North America. The Icelandair group, which was successful in making Iceland a vital point between Europe and North America, has bought a majority stake of Cabo Verde Airlines in the hopes of re-creating their successful model with the islands of Cape Verde.

One of the transpiring points from this hospitality research highlights that the country of Cape Verde is prone to experience years of continuous growth due to its history of security and political stability, which contrasts with mainland Africa, which has not been spared from terror attacks, thus creating a shift in tourism demand, positively so for Cape Verde.