The check-in attendant at Heathrow was not sure at all where Cape Verde was, or whether the transfer in Lisbon counted as an international connection. But the islands are no longer so obscure as a holiday destination. Direct access to new markets is opening up and tourism, together with tourism-related property, has taken over as the driver of the country’s growth.
Arrivals passed the 200,000 mark two years ago, a 40 per cent rise in five years, and the annual figure may now be about 300,000, with official forecasts of 1m by 2015. Accommodation capacity has doubled since 2000 to 11,000 beds, and many of the new wave of visitors are looking for property to rent out to others. With tourism’s contribution to the economy now about 20 per cent and rising, the government is working on a masterplan to counter recognised weaknesses in co-ordination.
