Tourism in Cape Verde, a group of islands off the coast of Senegal, West Africa, started in the 1970s on the island of Sal and increased slowly in the 1980s and 1990s. [1]
Tourism in Cape Verde, a group of islands off the coast of Senegal, West Africa, started in the 1970s on the island of Sal and increased slowly in the 1980s and 1990s. [1]
Tourism contributed US$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.[ citation needed ] The number of tourists increased from approximately 45,000 in 1997 to more than 115,000 in 2001 and to over 765,000 in 2018 according to the Cape Verdean statistics bureau.[ citation needed ] Most of these international arrivals came from the United Kingdom (23.6%), Germany (11.2%), the Low Countries (i.e., The Netherlands and Belgium), France, Portugal, Italy, and other countries. Less than one percent of tourists came from the United States. The vast majority of tourists visit the comparatively flat and less populated islands of Sal, [2] Boa Vista, [3] and Maio with their white sandy beaches.[ citation needed ]
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. [4] Diving, windsurfing, sailing and trekking are available to tourists. [5] Some ecotourism is developing on the islands of São Nicolau, Santiago and Boa Vista. [6] For tourists interested in cultural topics, the town of Cidade Velha on the island of Santiago was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997, but cultural tourism has not been particularly promoted up to now.[ citation needed ]
The Visa policy of Cape Verde requires visas for tourists from most of the world. [7] Recently however, a visa exemption for European Union citizens, [8] citizens of the United States and Canada, and citizens of European countries outside the Schengen Area, has been implemented and took effect on 1 January 2019. [9] [10] [11]
Most guests in tourist accommodation establishments, by country of residence, in 2015: [12]
| 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 |
Sal is an island in Cape Verde. Sal is a tourist destination with white sandy beaches and over 350 days of sunshine a year. It is one of the three sandy eastern islands of the Cape Verde archipelago in the central Atlantic Ocean, 350 mi (560 km) off the west coast of Africa. Cabo Verde is known for year-round kiteboarding, for the large reserve of Caretta turtles which hatch from July to September, and the music of Cesaria Evora.
Boa Vista, also written as Boavista, is a desert-like island that belongs to the Cape Verde Islands. At 631.1 km2 (243.7 sq mi), it is the third largest island of the Cape Verde archipelago.
Santiago is the largest island of Cape Verde, its most important agricultural centre and home to half the nation's population. Part of the Sotavento Islands, it lies between the islands of Maio and Fogo. It was the first of the islands to be settled: the town of Ribeira Grande was founded in 1462. Santiago is home to the nation's capital city of Praia.
Sal Rei is a city on the northwestern coast of the island of Boa Vista in eastern Cape Verde. Sal Rei is the island's main urban settlement, and the seat of the Boa Vista Municipality. In 2010 its population was 5,778. The name of the settlement means "Salt King" in Portuguese. This name stems from when the island's main industry was salt production.
Praia de Atalanta is a beach on the north coast of the island of Boa Vista in Cape Verde. It is approximately 6 km northeast of the island capital of Sal Rei and 3 km west of Vigía. The wreck of the Spanish cargo ship Cabo Santa Maria, which ran aground on September 1, 1968, is located here.
Fundo das Figueiras is a village in the eastern part of the island of Boa Vista. The village is around 21 km east of the island capital of Sal Rei. It is the seat of the civil parish of São João Baptista. 2 km to the south is the village Cabeça dos Tarrafes and 8 km southeast is Ponta Meringuel, the easternmost point in Cape Verde.
Povoação Velha is a village in the southwestern part of the island of Boa Vista, Cape Verde. The village is around 16 km south of the island capital Sal Rei.
Primary school education in Cape Verde is mandatory between the ages of 6 and 14 years and free for children ages 6 to 12. In 1997, the gross primary enrollment rate was 148.8 percent. Primary school attendance rates were unavailable for Cape Verde as of 2001. While enrollment rates indicate a level of commitment to education, they do not always reflect children’s participation in school. Textbooks have been made available to 90 percent of school children, and 90 percent of the teachers have attended in-service teacher training. Its literacy rate as of 2010 ranges from 75 to 80% and being the highest in the whole of West Africa south of the Sahara.
Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country in the central Atlantic Ocean. The ten volcanic islands in its archipelago have a combined land area of about 4,033 square kilometres (1,557 sq mi). The capital Praia, on the southern coast of Santiago island, lies approximately 650 kilometres (400 mi) west of Dakar, Senegal on the Cape Verde Peninsula, the westernmost point of continental Africa. Cape Verde forms part of the Macaronesia ecoregion, along with the Azores, Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Savage Isles.
Cape Verde is an archipelago, and its islands are historically divided into two groups, or regions:
This article is about the mass media in Cape Verde including its telecommunications, television and radio.
Cabo Verde Express is a Cape Verdean regional airline headquartered in Espargos and based at Amílcar Cabral International Airport operating domestic scheduled and charter services.
Prostitution in Cape Verde is legal and commonplace. There are no prostitution laws on the islands except for those concerning trafficking and child prostitution. UNAIDS estimate there are 1,400 prostitutes in Cape Verde, many were from Ghana and Senegal before being expelled by the police. Some turn to prostitution through poverty.
Visitors to East Timor must obtain a visa unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries.
Visitors to Cape Verde must obtain a visa to enter, unless they come from one of the visa-exempt countries, which are mostly in Africa, Europe and the Americas. Visas may be obtained in advance from a Cape Verde embassy or consulate, or in person upon arrival at any of the international airports.
Hurricane Fred was the easternmost Atlantic hurricane to form in the tropics, and the first to move through Cape Verde since 1892. The second hurricane and sixth named storm of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season, Fred originated from a well-defined tropical wave over West Africa in late August 2015. Once offshore, the wave moved northwestward within a favorable tropospheric environment and strengthened into a tropical storm on August 30. The following day, Fred grew to a Category 1 hurricane with peak winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) as it approached Cape Verde. After passing Boa Vista and moving away from Santo Antão, it entered a phase of steady weakening, dropping below hurricane status by September 1. Fred then turned to the west-northwest, enduring increasingly hostile wind shear, but maintained its status as a tropical cyclone despite repeated forecasts of imminent dissipation. It fluctuated between minimal tropical storm and tropical depression strength through September 4–5 before curving sharply to the north. By September 6, Fred's circulation pattern had diminished considerably, and the storm dissipated later that day.
Cape Verde has risen to prominence in a number of sporting areas in recent decades.
RECORD TV is a channel of RecordTV in Cape Verde. It is the first Brazilian based channel to have its own version in Cape Verde. The network was launched on 31 March 2007.
Electra is the main electricity and water company in Cape Verde. It was founded as a public company on April 17, 1982 by the merger of Electricidade e Água do Mindelo, Central Eléctrica da Praia and Electricidade e Água do Sal. In 1998 it was converted into a public limited company. In December 1999 the majority of the stocks was sold to Portuguese companies: 30.6% to Electricidade de Portugal and 20.4% to Águas de Portugal. Since 2013, the company consists of three entities:
 | Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Cape Verde . |
