Cape verde in btl boost

An expected increase in tourism is set to boost the Cape Verde BTL market, according to Assetz…

The Cape Verde islands have been a property investment destination which has been frequently mentioned in 2007 as the country opens up to ever more tourism and investment and prices have gone up.

Some may wonder whether the same or even better will be true in 2008. According to the latest reports, it would seem the answer may be yes.

While 2007 saw developments such as the opening of the new airport on Boavista and the launch of a direct flight service by Cape Verde Air from Stansted in October, 2008 has been tipped to be a year of more growth as increasing numbers of tourists switch from traditional European destinations to the Atlantic archipelago.

Annual holiday ‘a necessity’

The Daily Mail recently reported that this development has been a notable recent trend among holiday companies such as Thompsons and Going Places, which have given Cape Verde, along with a number of other non-European locations, extra coverage in their brochures while simultaneously cutting back on Mediterranean holidays.

Not only is the increasing preference for new holiday destinations such as Cape Verde good news for buy-to-let investors looking to rent out properties to holidaymakers, it would also appear that the credit crunch is not stopping consumers from taking vacations overseas, according to Thomas Cook chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa.

He told the paper: "Whilst UK consumers will almost definitely feel the pressure of the so-called credit crunch this year, our experience and research shows that an annual holiday is an absolute necessity these days as opposed to a luxury."

The news would, on the face of it, appear promising for investors looking to make the most of the growing tourist market. The Daily Telegraph concurs, recently stating that in the last 12 months property prices in the archipelago rose by 20 per cent and are tipped to do the same in 2008.

Significant rise in foreign investment

Furthermore, the Cape Verdeans seem set to continue doing everything possible to help tourism growth, of which inward investment from overseas will continue to play a role. Better infrastructure and more airports will further increase the inward traffic of visitors and boost not just the overseas investors but the national economy as a whole.

Proof of this virtuous circle has come in the form of the International Monetary Fund, whose deputy-administrative director Murilo Portugal said recently: "Growth in the archipelago is being sustained by a significant rise in foreign direct investment, particularly in the tourism sector," Macauhub reports.

The same paper reported today that the African countries had the best growth prospects for 2008 of all the Portuguese-speaking countries, with the islands tipped for seven per cent economic growth.

Add to this the near-certainty of Cape Verde's acceptance into the World Trade Organisation in 2008 and the prospects for a strong economic future look good. If this is in turn used to grow the tourist infrastructure further, yet more visitors may be drawn in, making things even better for buy-to-let investors.