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No joke at all

7th April 2009 | back to article listings BACK    print this article PRINT

Last week Building.co.uk marked April Fool's Day with a crafty article about Cape Verde, claiming that the country was seeking British construction expertise for a £2.5 billion infrastructure programme.

Somewhat questionable statements followed: that Cape Verde is "immune" to the world economic situation, that it is the sole exporter of the volcanic rock pozzolana, which is used for making cement and has been central to China's building projects, that the aforementioned substance has made the archipelago one of the richest per capita nations on Earth and finally that there is to be a massive bridge building project.

Despite the fact that this latter suggestion included the statement that a 375 mile-long bridge connection - 271 times the length of the Humber Bridge - would be built across the Atlantic to the African mainland, it was notable that some still took the bait, such as Homes Overseas, dutifully reporting this as a genuine story.

In a new market like Cape Verde, as with any location, it is important to separate fact from fiction. While one day each year brings deliberate traps for the gullible, the rest may bring inflated or misleading comments, plus statistics and predictions that may appear reliable but are less so.

Property investment in Cape Verde is closely linked with the development of tourist rentals, with the increase in visitor numbers over recent years outlining the potential that exists. But while factors such as infrastructure developments and the advent of direct flights from Britain are well-known factors in this growth, the world economic downturn has loomed large on the horizon as a possible threat to further progress.

For this reason, one tangible statistic may provide some reassurance. New figures from Cape Verde's National Statistic Institute revealed that in 2008, the number of guests checking into hotels in Cape Verde was six per cent higher than in 2007, Macauhub reports.

The pattern also showed where activity was strongest. The island of Sal secured 73.7 per cent of visits, with a 59 per cent bed occupancy rate, whereas the country as a whole had a 48 per cent level - up on 40 per cent in 2007.

Of course, these figures do not reveal the situation concerning smaller accommodation units like apartments, but if it represents the wider pattern for tourism in the year the credit crunch turned into recession in Britain (the largest contributor to the hotel figures with 23.2 per cent), then it may be suggested that the country is holding its own. Moreover, if such popularity carried on growing through 2008, it would suggest there may be more potential for further increases in visitor numbers once the downturn is over. Nor will it require a 375-mile long bridge to achieve it.

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