Tourism in Cape Verde

Ecotourism is developing around the volcano Pico do Fogo on Fogo.

Tourism in Cape Verde, a group of islands off the coast of Senegal, started in the 1970s on the island Sal and increased slowly in the 1980s and 1990s. Tourism contributed $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. The number of tourists increased from approximately 45,000 in 1997 to more than 115,000 in 2001 and to 540,000 in 2014 according to the Cape Verdean statistics bureau [2]. Most of these international arrivals came from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, United States, and Portugal. The vast majority of tourists visit the comparatively flat and less populated islands of Boa Vista, Sal, and Maio with their white sandy beaches. 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. Diving, windsurfing, sailing and trekking are available to tourists. Some ecotourism is developing on the island of Fogo around the volcano Pico do Fogo. For tourists interested in cultural topics, the town of Cidade Velha on the Island of Santiago was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1997, but cultural tourism has not been particularly promoted up to now.

Statistics

Most guests in tourist accommodation establishments, by country of residence, in 2014:

Rank	Country	Number
1	United Kingdom	96,865
2	Germany	68,834
3	France	61,992
4	Portugal	60,161
5	Belgium Netherlands	50,943
6	Italy	28,029
7	Spain	8,165
8	Switzerland	5,260
9	United States	3,401
10	Austria	2,215
	Other countries	107,867
	Total foreign	493,732