Cape Verdeans are traveling ever more frequently, and the amount of money they spend on their vacation travels is also increasing. Most prefer to travel abroad, with the northeastern Brazilian city of Fortaleza and Las Palmas, on Spain’s Canary Islands, topping the list of preferred foreign destinations, while those remaining in the country favour the islands of Sal and Boa Vista. A Semana Online interviewed a number of different Praia-based travel agencies to find out more about Cape Verdean tourists.

According to Praiatur director Alfredo Rodrigues, “Fortaleza is the most sought-after destination,” and the travel agency’s only specific vacation packages are for Brazil and the Canary Islands. The price, per person, of a one-week vacation package in the Brazilian cities of Fortaleza, Natal or Salvador, including flights, hotel, day use and airport transfer, varies between 80,000 and 130,000 escudos, depending on the number of stars accorded the hotel in question. A one-week vacation in Las Palmas costs an average of 70,000 escudos per person.

In terms of domestic offers, Praiatur only offers excursions between Praia and Tarrafal, on the northern tip of the island of Santiago, and Praia and nearby Cidade Velha. Apart from these excursions, Praiatur sells “à la carte” packages, which vary depending on the client in question. This seems to be the case at all of the travel agencies visited by A Semana Online: most offer no specific product for the islands of Cape Verde. All Praia travel agencies agree that domestic tourism is a fashion that has yet to spread. But, even so, Sal and Boa Vista are the most sought-after destinations on the part of local tourists - the only exception is at Orbitur, which sells more trips to the islands of Fogo and São Vicente.

If the number of Cape Verdean tourists is on the rise, so are the amounts spent on traveling. As one travel agency employee observed, “airline tickets are becoming more and more expensive, but people are also travelling more and more.”

Novatur calls attention to the need for the creation of a new airline in Cape Verde. “The flights most in demand are always full, and we can no longer satisfy all our clients because of this factor.”

According to Air Senegal’s Praia Office, which sells flights mainly to Africa, the preferred destination on the continent is Dakar, the capital of Senegal. Guinea Bissau and Nigeria, however, are also in high demand at Air Senegal’s offices.

Source: A Semana