Positive Outlook for Design Resorts

According to the IMF's Bi-annual report World Economic Outlook, world wide growth is expected for 2010 and 2011 - but the rates at which economies grow and recover will vary widely. While mature economies including Europe and the United States are expected to grow on average between 1 and 3 pp, emerging economies, including Brazil and Angola are forecast at close to and over 5 percentage points. Cape Verde too, while indexed to the Euro, continues to present interesting growth perspectives.

A Home for Everybody in Cape Verde

According to a study completed in 2008, the archipelago of Cape Verde has a shortage of over 80 thousand homes. The government has recently announced the creation of a program entitlesd Casa para Todos, (a Home for Everybody), which aims to tackle the shortage in housing on the archipelago which is estimated to be of over 80 thousand residences short.
The government plans to build eight-thousand social houses and rehabilitating close to 15,000 others until 2011.
Cape Verde may recieve the first installment of a special credit line made available by the chinese goverment as early as this year. The enitirity of this credit line will go towards real estate construction costs for those in Cape Verde in need.

Strategic Plan for Increasing Tourism

The Cape Verde government has recently announced a strategic plan for 2010 through 2013 to increase tourism on the archipelago of Cape Verde. The number of visitors are expected to increase to over 500 thousand per year, up 200 thousand from the current numbers.

Oh the weather outside is frightful....

If you still question the idea of having a second home abroad, and how much you would use it, take the image above into account.

Cape Verde. Its the closest Tropical Destination!

Cape Verde "Credible and Useful"

The vision, determination and courage generally recogninzed in Cape Verde by the International Community at large, have earned it the status of a "credible and useful", states the Portuguese Ambassador to Cape Verde Graça Guimarães in a two page interview printed in the Portuguese daily financial newspaper OJE. She further describes the archipelago as a strategic partner for Portugal and the European Union and as such a natural destination for small and medium size companies.

Expresso das Ilhas - 8th Anniversary

We would like to "take a post" to congratulate Expresso das Ilhas, Cape Verde's leading weekly newspaper for its 8th year in circulation! Through the years they have been for us an informative and accurate source on all things Cape Verde!

If you happen to be in Cape Verde this week, you should try to attend their international conference on Communication, taking place Thursday December 10, at hotel Trópico in Cidade da Praia.

We wish them continued success!

Cruising into Praia!

The new Seaport of Cidade da Praia was inaugurated this afternoon in a ceremony presided by the minister of Infrastructure, Transportation and Telecommunications . The main purpose of these new premises is to be offer comfort, safety and hygiene to all the visitors arriving to the island by ship. Government sources guarantee that this year alone, approximately ten thousand passengers cooming in or out of Cape Verde will make use of the seaport.

Cape Verde Tax Cuts - Dynamic Economy

Having cut VAT from 15% to 6%, Cape Verde has established itself as a player in the highly competitive arena of Foreign Investment. Added to the country’s investment in infra-structure, an economy which has been fueled by the private sector and the government's strict fiscal diciplin and and you what you get is the seventh consecutive year of positive evaluation and high praise from the IMF. A sure sign that Cape Verde remains a strong destination for Direct Foreign Investment.

Europe's Closest Tropical Destination

Recently The Daily Telegraph published a list of the 20 most stupid complaints made by holiday makers to their travel agents. These are based on an actual study conducted by Thomas Cook and ABTA.

Among the most stupid complaints were; “The beach was too sandy” or “we had to cue outside with no air conditioning” – but for us, the one that took the prize was “It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England it only took the Americans three hours to get home”. Jamaica! Seriously? The smart tourists with time constraints, have been going to to Cape Verde - "Europe’s closest tropical destination" for years!

Cape Verde celebrates Tourism

Sunday September 27th marks the 29th World Tourism Day which will be celebrated across the planet. As a country investing heavily on it's tourism industry and infrastructures Cape Verde is, as ever, paying attention. The ministry of Economics together with several interested entities (Expotour, Hotel and Tourism Industry University in Cape Verde) have organized their first Tourism Fair, which is open to the public, throughout the weekend.
Whether you are a tourist or own an investment property in Cape Verde, don´t miss out!

Cape Verde looking to boost Real Estate

On August 3rd we created a post to inform you of Cape Verde's first International Construction and Homes Fair which at the time was due to take place during the first fifteen days of August. We have just learned that the dates have altered and that the first real estate event of this kind in Cape Verde will be held on the weekend of the 23rd through to the 25th of October.
You can obtain more inforamtion at http://www.portugalcaboverde.com/.

Biús

Ponta Bicuda is saddened to learn the news of Biús

Independence Day Cape Verde

Cape Verde celebrates its independence on day this weekend July 5. Can you guess where in the world the second biggest celebration of this day takes place?Rohde Island USA – currently home to the largest Cape Verde immigrant community. So if work has you busy and is keeping you from you ‘re Santiago Island home, you might be able to get a taste of it all at India Park Point between noon and dusk.

Cidade Velha - on UNESCO's World Heritage List

So every time you hop on the plane and fly out to Cape Verde you cannot tear yourself away from the clear water and white fine sand. When you do, you mostly like to relax around the pool in your villa. So even though you said you would, you never did get around to visiting Cidade Velha which is one of the 11 new cultural sites that have been added to UNESCO's World Heritage List. Now you know that when you return to Santiago Island, Cidade Velha will be a must on your list of things to do.

Investments between Cape Verde and Canary Islands Made Easy

Cape Verde Investments and Proexca Canaries Public Investment Office have announced the signing of a protocol that will facilitate and stimulate investments and projects in both archipelagos. A meeting will be taking place before year’s end in which further information and more significant measures will be announced.

Better Quality of life in Santiago Island, Cape Verde.

This weekend the prime minister of Cape Verde attended the official launch of the public sewerage and water construction works in Santiago Island, Cape Verde. This project has received a joint investment from the Cape Verdean government and EU and in addition to the network system ,will also be connecting homes to the system.
“This is an investment which has immediate impact on the lives of the people by making their quality of life better” said José Maria das Neves.

Cape Verde in Economic Prospects for Africa Report 2009

Cape Verde is relatively protected from the impact of the financial crisis, According to an AfDB annual Economic Prospects for Africa 2009 report released this Sunday, despite some unfavorable indicators. Primarily the decrease in emigrant remitance which has always been significant. Although economic growth has slowed this year (from 6.1 percent in 2008 to 3.6 percent), there will be growth in 2010. The economic performance of Cape Verde is even more impressive when considering “the significant costs of its small size, insularity and geographic configuration,” stated the African Development Bank

Cidade Velha - Santiago Island, Cape Verde.

Cidade Velha is a MUST on your list of things to do during your holidays in Santiago Island, Cape Verde. The first European style village establihed on the arquipelago by the Portuguese. Currently Cidade Velha is waiting upon UNESCO approval for World Herritage status.

Testimony

We had to share this magnificent text, a testimony of two people who, on their second vist to Ponta Bicuda, describe the environment and the ongoing works with real enthousiasm:

The second time

We had been here before – a little more than a year ago – to see the moonish landscape of Ponta Bicuda. It was burned into brown, we saw stones, rocks, dust, sand and in between: Some courageous leaves and flowers.
We had seen the trucks and construction machines arrive, and we had felt the dust move ever deeper into our throats and cameras as land-shaping began.
Now in April of 2009, we revisited to see a new landscape: – That of Coladera and Teiju –. Part of Cor de Mar was still in gigantic rocks, but the site for the hotel, the cricket field and the spa-lake all ready for the next steps. Ponta Bicuda is rising from it’s moonish grounds. It is amazing.
Land had been levelled out into shelves wider than those fit for corn growing on the inlands of Cape Verde. The idea is nevertheless the same: this is for human feet to move on.
Like last time we were here, we were treated like queens and kings. Helder Ribeiro is the perfect host for luxury second home clients like us – never nagging, always pleasant.
As we stood there on our future shelf overlooking the horizon in about 270 degrees angle, we felt that this place will be fit for queens – or kings – if you like.
What then about Santiago, the basic host of the Ponta Bicuda insula? What about the people, what about the languages of Creole and Portuguese?
Elder Ribeiro has taken us all around Santiago – an island of diverse landscapes loaded with beauty. After the rainy season (in August and September), the whole Island, like a magic stroke of a green brush, dresses itself in green. We have seen it with green mountain ridges – green out of condensations from the clouds as they climb the mountain slopes, we have seen brownish mountain sides baked by the sun and sheer, green “Shangri Las” at the bottoms of the valleys, where farmers pump water from the ground.
The people of Cape Verde seem proud and pragmatic realising that this archipelago has little to offer when it comes to natural resources apt to export: most of what we consume here is imported. The climate, the sun and some other major resources: the music, the friendliness and not least the pride are, however, worth the world. To better or worse, this is seems also part of the Cape Verdean people’s insights.
A people that can make life possible under such natural challenges has to be proud and must develop a well grounded love for their land. As a visitor willing to take part in public life, that love is readily felt in all encounters, be they conveyed in English (spoken well enough by many) in Portuguese (the official language) or in Creole. Creole is the language Cape Verdeans share among each other. It is Portuguese enough to pay a kind of tribute to history and African enough to make Cape Verdeans to what they really are: Queens and Kings of their beautiful archipelago.
May we all come to live well together as fit for these special kinds of “royalties”.

Esben Esther Pirelli Benestad

Easter Weekend Weather Report!

Feast your eyes on the dream Cape Verde Easter weekend weather and compare it to the London forecast. If you own property in Cape Verde and have made this your new Easter holiday tradition - give yourself a pat on the back. If you craftily booked yourself a tropical get a way break to Praia, Cape Verde do not miss the opportunity to look around at some of the properties available in the capital city of the archipelago. Ponta Bicuda offeres a wide range of houses and apartments which can be used as second homes, or as real estate investment.