Tourism in Cabo Verde surged past its pre-pandemic level in 2022, according to the west African island nation’s central bank, reports Lusa. The Bank of Cabo Verde released numbers showing a whopping 481.5 percent increase in visitors when compared to 2021 numbers. The country’s total number of visitors in 2022 was 785,272.
This recovery was especially notable in light of the world’s performance. In 2022, global tourism overall was still down by 34 percent when compared with 2019.
As with everywhere in the world, Cabo Verde’s tourism industry crashed during the pandemic. Compared with 2019’s figures, it was down by 76.3 percent in 2020 and 24.9 percent in 2021. These drops translated into significant revenue through tourism losses as well – which fell by 68.1 percent and 13.3 percent respectively.
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2022’s massive influx of tourists came largely from Europe, with most visitors hailing from the UK (31 percent), Germany (11.5 percent), the Netherlands and Belgium (10.5 percent) and Portugal (10.5 percent). Demand was concentrated in the third and fourth quarters of last year.
The islands of Boa Vista and Sal are the preferred destinations for both foreign and national tourists, accounting for 92.6 percent of stays in Cabo Verde.
There is still room to grow, however. Nearly every island in Cabo Verde’s archipelago – save São Vicente and São Nicolau – added new rooms last year, but only Boa Vista landed in the ideal occupancy range of between 70 and 95 percent.
Tourism considered the engine of Cabo Verde’s economy, represents about 25 percent of the country’s gross domestic profit (GDP).
