A survey carried out in the United Kingdom shows that Cape Verde stands at the top of the list of new tourist destinations chosen by the British to spend their vacations. The trend seems to be on an upswing, according to a number of local and international tourism agencies and companies.

In addition to Cape Verde, referred to as "one of the new favourite destinations," the British are travelling more often to Canada and Bulgaria to enjoy their vacations.

The news was published in the 'Glasgow Evening Times', which also stated that one in ten British citizens intended to purchase a vacation home in Bulgaria. The acquisition of property by British subjects in the former Soviet Bloc nation has increased by 38 percent just since January of this year.

Cape Verde has been enjoying an increase in popularity as a tourist destination among Britons over the past two years. A number of business missions from the United Kingdom have made their way to the islands, with a number of investment projects with English, Scottish and Irish capital currently underway in the archipelago.

It is expected that in the near future, the United Kingdom will respond for the greatest number of tourists making their way to Cape Verde, following Portugal, Italy and Germany.

The Portuguese-speaking archipelago has enjoyed good marketing by travel journalists in the European press for a long time, as one of the few safe and secure holiday destinations in Africa, which is located closely enough to Europe to sustain charter tourism.

"There is a shortage of winter sun resorts that can be reached from the UK in less than six hours, and most people are reluctant to spend more time in the air," the British 'Times' noted in a recent feature article on Cape Verde. The archipelago was praised as an all-year destination with "sun, sea and sand just six hours away" by the popular British daily.

lived on sal for 6 months last year....its not bad but at the same time not great, theres no farming on the island, you couldn't even buy a can of diet coke and all the meats shipped in, lived on tuna steaks and bought packs of frozen bacon or the islands favourite pizza! some great hotel restaurants but you can't eat there everynight and considering the apartments are being sold with kitchens i saw a big lack of choice to buy any groceries in the supposed supermarkets....in fact i walked into one in murdera where i was staying and witnessed chickens being chopped up on top of the deep freezer, chucked into plastic bags with no sell by date!!! if you like tinned beans, sardines or any weird stuff like that then away you go!!!

medical facilities on the island leave a lot to be desired, anyone sick or injured is advised to fly to the main island praia, i heard of one guy who was out there on an inspection visit to look at property who got mugged leaving a disco late at night and tried to fend off the attackers to get bitten on the arm by one of them....went for a tetanus at the hospital and they left him waiting for over half a day before he got anything done?

to the originator of this post.....are you selling out there and are you aware of what I have written?

Dear OverseasMickey,

Sorry to not reply before but I have been away on holiday.

In answer to your final question, yes we are selling property in the Cape Verde Islands.

Like all emerging markets services come with people, Cape Verde is like the Canary Islands, where we are based, 25/30 years ago. At that time here there was also a lack of services but as tourism came so did the services and now here in the Canary Islands every issue you raise about Cape Verde has been resolved.

This will also be the case in cape Verde but it will happen in the next 2 to 5 years as all the major projects/resorts that are being built include restaurants, bars, supermarkets etc.

Also with the influx of tourists the medical side of the infrastructure will also improve. Cape Verde needs tourism to ensure it's future growth. They cannot grow in the tourist sector without medical facilities. Plus the Cape Verde islands want to enter Europe so again to achieve this they need to have all the points mentioned sorted.

Regards

Steve

I am afraid to say I would not buy in Cape Verde even though i have been advised to. I am just afraid of all the risks!!!

Just a quick note to say that i went to sal last november on an inspection trip with a couple who were also looking to buy.
we walked in the town of santa maria had drinks in a few bars and left in the early hours,and we didnt feel threatend in any way.

I have been going to CV regularly for years now for working reasons.
A part from Praia I never felt threatend in any way.

In the smaller islands it is iven better. Believe it or not there are no locks on doors...

I dont know where this information has come from but I certainly wouldn't consider Cape Verde as a top of the list tourist destination from the uk.
I like to think I keep in touch with emerging markets,even though there was a lot of hot air re Cape Verde a couple of years ago it seems to have quitened down a lot.
Anybody else know any different???

...well I am not an expert in turistic destinations.
Consider that Cape Verde is the closest tropical island to Europe, good weather is guaranteed for 12 months per year, there is no jet lag, there are quite a few direct flights from the UK the beaches and the sea are wonderful.

The infrastructure is coming up fast and that is why we have decided to build there rather than Spain/Portugal

Hi gatremonti,

which country would you say your main buyers are from????

they used to be Italianns but now 99% are British and Irish