African Sun: Island Life

Cape Verde is being touted as the new Canaries, the latest hotspot for package-holiday tourists. But there’s more to do here than fly and flop.
280,000 visited Cape Verde last year, says tourism sector.

Over 280,000 tourists visited the Cape Verde islands during 2006 according to Cabo Verde Investimentos and with the flow of tourists over the last five years increasing at an annual rate of 28 per cent, experts believe it could top 300,000 in the next 12 months.

The figures were released as part of the tourism sectors' promotional drive to raise awareness about the booming investment potential in the west African republic and were reported in local newspaper A Semana.
A steady flow of tourists to Cape Verde grew with the introduction of charter flights originating in Sweden, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom and visitor numbers are expected to increase following the news that several countries in southern and eastern Europe have also demonstrated interest in Cape Verde.

The islands' potential will be displayed further next week at the Madrid International Tourism Fair in Spain, where travel agencies Orbitur, Barracuda Tour, Morabitur and Novatur, airlines Halcyonair and TACV and hotel groups Oasis, Terra Sabe, Morabeza, Odjo d'Agua, MindelHotel and Hifacar will be among those promoting the benefits of investing in the region. top


More flights to Cape Verde from UK

Teleticket, the flexible flight-only operator, has increased the number of flights it runs to Cape Verde by adding a second weekly flight on Thursdays from Gatwick Airport to the republic, according to Overseas Property Professional.

Neil Chapman, managing director of Teleticket, said the decision had been made after tourist numbers to the region leapt up in the past few months.

"According to official figures, visitors to Cape Verde are growing at 22 per cent per year, with over one million expected per annum by 2015," he said.

Savvy overseas property investors have also played an important part in the decision to lay on extra flights.

Mr Chapman commented: "We have received so much interest from people wishing to invest in a second home and therefore needing to fly out we created a second weekly direct flight from Gatwick."

These new weekly services to Cape Verde will be available from ﾣ299 return for one or two weeks and Teleticket could be laying on yet more flights as 2007 progresses.

"Last year saw investment projects worth over $300 million (ﾣ150 million) approved by the Cape Verde authorities so we expect demand for flights to this destination to continue to grow," Mr Chapman added.

Cape Verde is set to "explode" says Lonely Planet

A west African tourist expert has declared that the Cape Verde republic’s tourism sector is set to explode thanks to its attractions of sun, surf and sand.

Robert Landon, contributing author of Lonely Planet’s West Africa guide, said that at its current rate of development, the sub-Saharan archipelago will soon become a lower-budget alternative to the Canaries.

"For better or worse, Cape Verde is poised to explode as a sun-surf-and-sand package tourism destination," he said.

"The local government is aggressively courting tourism and the islands themselves do have a lot to offer: sun virtually year-round, remarkably moderate temperatures given its tropical latitudes, some good beaches and amazing seasonably trade wind sports for wind and kite-surfers."

Mr Landon praised the island of Santiago in particular for its nice beaches its ease of accessibility thanks to the relatively new international airport.

Indeed, increased air travel to the resorts was bound to have a positive effect on the region’s tourism sector in Mr Landon’s opinion.

"More airlinks will surely bring more people as airfares drop and word gets about about the climate," he added.

Cape Verde named 10th freest economy in Africa

The Wall Street Journal has placed Cape Verde's economy 10th in a table of free sub-Saharan African economies.

In financial terms, this puts the republic in high regard for those interested in investment opportunities in the area, since measures of economic freedom relate to the tools a nation has encourage investment and economic growth within the region.

Out of 161 countries, Cape Verde was placed 88th with the article adding that the islands are in a slightly above the average position for countries in its region, with "good performance in indicators related to government intervention in the economy, property rights and fiscal and monetary freedom".

The report also found that the republic's judiciary system is among "the most efficient in Africa," which serves as a major attraction for foreign investment.

One of the major scopes for investment within the area was tourism, according to the economists from the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal, along with fishing, manufacturing, communications and transport.

Property experts are predicting that the expected boom in tourism in the west African archipelago of Cape Verde will lead to a rise in housing value in the area, so savvy investors would do well to buy add one of its up-and-coming properties to their portfolio sooner rather than later.

The Cape Verde islands: A shore property hotspot

The Cape Verde islands are tipped to be a holiday hotspot for 2007 - prepare for prices to take off. Graham Norwood of the UK's Independent Newspaper reports. Where tourists go, estate agents follow. So Cape Verde's leap into the list of top 10 holiday locations for 2007, compiled by tourist firm Expedia, means that the archipelago of tropical islands off the west coast of Africa is set to be a holiday-home hotspot, too.

Expedia's survey, which placed Cape Verde amongst the world's most popular places to visit for the first time, comes hot on the heels of soaring tourism figures for the 18 islands that make up this former Portuguese colony. Tourism grew 25 per cent between 2000 and 2005, with the sector's contribution to gross domestic product rising from 7 per cent at the millennium to 10.4 per cent a year ago. The country's population of just under 500,000 expands by 10 per cent at peak visitor times and now substantial numbers of new homes are being built.

"What makes Cape Verde stand out for investors is the way in which the government is developing tourism while ensuring the preservation of the natural beauty of the islands. It has become a highly attractive holiday-home destination which won't face the over-development that has impacted other locations in the past 30 years," says Tom Sheehy of Cape Verde Development, a Republic of Ireland-based company building on the archipelago.

There are new tourist facilities being announced almost weekly. For example a Macau-based businessman, David Chow, is investing more than $100m (ﾣ52m) in a casino and hotel complex in the country's capital city, Praia.

A British-based estate agent, says: "One result of this tourism investment in the economy of Cape Verde is an increased number of businessmen looking for high-specification homes. The property market is still very immature and there are bargains to be had. The recent introduction of direct flights makes it accessible for businessmen in just five hours from London."

On Sal, one of four main islands and the location of an international airport, San Pedro Bay is already famous for wind and water sports and is home for several new developments. (Comment by CVP: San Pedro Bay is not on Sal).

The buying process is identical to that of Portugal and falls into two parts. Expect to pay six per cent of the purchase price to cover fees.

Cape Verde

With bewitching beauty, turquoise seas, stunning wildlife and friendly locals, it's not hard to see why travel writers are continuing to fall in love with the picturesque republic of Cape Verde.

The latest convert is the Telegraph's travel writer Charles Starmer-Smith who recently commented on his trip to the sub-Saharan collection of islands.

What impressed the journalist most was how different each of the ten islands were, with Santiago Island's unspoilt, natural beauty being one of the main attractions for a trip there.

He also commented on Fogo's volcano, the beaches of Sal and Boavista and music and nightlife of Sao Vicente.

Direct flights are now available from Manchester and Gatwick airports, meaning that potential investors are now just a 5ﾽ hour flight away from what many developers are calling the next Canary Islands.

Comparisons are also made with the Caribbean, although Mr Starmer-Smith writes: "The endless dunes and turquoise waters rival anything in the Maldives, Mauritius or the Caribbean."

Also mentioned in his "to-do" list was to traverse the vertiginous landscapes in Santiago to see the fabulous views from the top of the hills.

If you want to get into the hottest new property location before everyone else, why not let Sambala be your guide? As the largest luxury resort developer on the most stunning of the islands, you can be rest assured that you are in good hands.