Factsheet tourism Cape Verde
Update: View the tourism statistics for 2023 here
Tourism in Cape Verde is becoming of more importance for the national economy. There is no mass tourism and due to the great diversity between the islands there is something for every traveler. According to the Cape Verdean Bureau of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estatistica Cabo Verde), the number of tourists increased by 11.2% in 2017 compared to 2016. This equates to more than 716 thousand tourists.
Most tourists come from United Kingdom
Most tourists in Cape Verde come from the United Kingdom (Great Britain) in 2017 with 23.6% of all visitors. The countries Germany (11.2%), France and the Netherlands / Belgium (both 9.7%) follow a considerable distance. Especially in 2017 the number of tourists from the United Kingdom increased significantly (28.2%) compared to 2016.
Sal and Boavista most popular islands
Most of the tourists go to the islands Sal and Boavista. Of the total number of arrivals in 2017, 47.9% goes to Sal and 28.8% to Boavista. Both islands have the most extensive tourist facilities of the archipelago. In addition, Sal and Boavista have an international airport and there are frequent flights. Travelers from the Netherlands and Belgium also have the highest preference for the islands of Sal (61.5%) and Boavista (33.4) as their main destination.
Number of tourists (in %) by Cape Verde island
The figure shows the percentage distribution of the number of visitors per island. In order to be able to show the share of each island, the data from 2016 were used in this exceptional case. Also in 2016 Sal and Boavista were the Cape Verde islands with the most tourists.
Overnight stays
In 2017 there were more than 4.5 million overnight stays. Visitors from the United Kingdom stay the longest on the Cape Verde islands. Visitors from the Netherlands and Belgium spend an average of 7.6 nights on Cape Verde.