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Cape Verde surges up the popularity chart for holiday rentals

29 March 2012

Figures released by one of the most popular holiday rentals websites, HomeAway, positions Dubai, Cape Verde and Florida as the top performing markets in 2011 in terms of inventory growth.

“Cape Verde has entered HomeAway’s top ten holiday destinations for the first time, jumping in at number 5. With an increase in hotels that have opened and an increase in charter flights and package holidays over the last few years, Cape Verde has become a strong rival to the Canaries for those looking for a winter sun retreat,” HomeAway told OPP.

On HomeAway.co.uk, Cape Verde was the fifth-most popular destination for booking enquiries between October and December 2011. This also supports recent figures from Skyscanner, which place Cape Verde third on the list of emerging destinations.

A spokesperson said that “Cape Verde is easier to access than ever before.”

Read the full article:
www.opp.org.uk/news-article.php?id=6357&dm_i=H9C,R4L7,4JA18K,26WGY,1

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Further Site Work

23 March 2012

Further pictures taken of the site work this week are shown below :

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Site Infrastructure Construction Commences

18 March 2012

The site infrastructure work is continuing with major site clearance works, site levelling and raising the front of the site by 2m. This will be followed by all of the internal site roads, further infrastructure works and in due course followed by the commencement of foundations.





Sales continue apace across the site with all of the Phase One Grande Vista villas now sold and only five more remaining when released later this year at pricing of €1,950,000 each. In addition, the new shared ownership hotel suites offer 100% finance and an entry level of just £24,995 for a limited number of units.

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Daily Mail Article - Boa Vista, The Sleepy Island Of Dunes You Can't Ignore

9 February 2012

The Daily Mail certainly loves Boa Vista !

"This island is now well and truly on the map, no stress."

"Wandering around Sal Rei, the capital and only town of Boa Vista, you get a feel for Cape Verde's unique culture, which weaves between Africa and Portugal. The islands gained independence from their colonial overlords in 1975. "

"The main attraction is obviously its beaches. Boa Vista has 55km of them, all pristine with impossibly clear, blue tides."

"Thanks to the topography and with temperatures not dropping below 24C, these islands are variously described as the new Caribbean or Canary islands. But they have much more to offer other than a passing resemblance to fellow balmy destinations."

"Tourist numbers are rapidly rising - visitors to the archipelago are expected to exceed 1 million annually by 2015 and last year, it made the Lonely Planet’s list of top 10 countries."

www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2062878/Boa-Vista-Cape-Verde-holidays-The-sleepy-island-dunes-ignore.html

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Cape Verde - The Country With No Recession and Huge Tourism Growth !

27 January 2012

Cape Verde is a fantastic place to invest and has seen a huge growth in GDP over the last few years as shown in the chart below :



At the same time the rate at which the country's GDP is growing is consistently much higher than the UK :



Tourism growth is running at a recent rate of 20% per annum and this is set to continue but even long term growth in tourists runs at 7.2% per annum which is helping keep the country in a continuous state of undersupply and healthy returns for investors in well managed resorts.



In addition Boa Vista is clearly the island everyone wants to be on and it has eaten into market share rapidly as new hotels open with Sal in particular losing out.



Our other blog in January referred to the BBC Radio 4 visit to Cape Verde and Evan Davis's surprise over the strength of the economy.

Boa Vista island, Cape Verde is a fantastic place to invest in a world of uncertainty.

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Thomas Cook Confirm Cape Verde As Top Destination In 2012

13 January 2012

Thomas Cook are very bullish on Cape Verde this year as they start flying in high violumes of tourists with a focus on Boa Vista.

“Cape Verde is our hot tip for this year. It is a seven-hour flight and is often referred to as the ‘Caribbean closer to home’. Its relaxed pace of life makes it an ideal choice for British holidaymakers eager to make the most of their time off work.”

We agree with their sentiments but given that it is only a five and a half hour to six hour flight, perhaps they have taken the long way round in getting there though !

www.scotsman.com/news/scottish-news/edinburgh-east-fife/1m_holidaymakers_set_to_book_their_summer_getaways_1_2042540

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Cape Verde Reviewed on BBC Radio 4 Today Program

30 December 2011

Evan Davis spent three days visiting Cape Verde before Christmas. Listen to his report here : news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9668000/9668371.stm

Or read his report here : news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9668000/9668347.stm

Evan is really impressed with the islands, their economy and their future. He wasn't that impressed by the property development on Sal Island compared to our beautiful untouched Boa Vista island though !

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Land Purchased

29 November 2011

The land for Phase 1 of Santa Mónica Beach Resort and Spa has been acquired outright from the Government in a land signing transaction last week. This provides significant security for buyers and is the cornerstone of the Centurion Deposit Protection Trust providing market-leading security for buyers. Work continues on site in terms of the site infrastructure phase of the project which will be complete after Christmas.

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Resort Wins More 5-Star "Best Development" Awards

22 November 2011

We are delighted to announce that Santa Mónica Beach Resort and Spa won another two prestigious awards in the International Property Awards in Dubai.

The first award was the 5 Star, Best Mixed-Use Development (Hotel and Resort) in Cape Verde and is fantastic to be recognised as the top development in the country again.

The second award is for the Best Mixed-Use Development in the whole of the African Continent which again is fantastic bearing in mind this included South Africa, Egypt and many more top tourist destinations.

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Boa Vista Airport Booming

22 November 2011

"International Airport Aristides Pereira (AIAP) in Boa Vista, will receive from the second fortnight of December 32 charter flights a week, confirmed the president of the board (PCA) ASA, Mario Passion.

According to the PCA of the National Airports and air safety, passenger traffic has not stopped growing since the inauguration of the airport on 31 October 2007, with growth above the national average, rising to second place, just after the Amilcar Cabral International Airport on the island of Sal and still growing at a quicker pace.

"We expect a peak of 32 charter flights per week in December, in accordance with authorizations of flights already issued to meet the increasing demands that Aristides Pereira International Airport has seen."

This year registration of passengers already topped 259 000 passengers, 65,000 194,000 domestic and international, representing a growth of 24.9 and 36.7 percent respectively in the previous year.

Aristides Pereira International Airport currently receive 28 weekly charter flights, mostly from England, Portugal, Spain, France and Germany.

The increasing passenger justified the recent investments in the airport, Mario admitted Passion, which highlighted the works to expand the parking deck was opened on 12 September this year, which allowed the parking of five aircraft (previously two).

Between January and September this year, the airports of Cape Verde complemented a total of 1,326,000 passengers, representing a growth of 10.3 percent over the same period of 2010."

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World Travel Market in London

15 November 2011

Santa Mónica Beach Resort & Spa was invited by the Cape Verdean Tourism and Investment Council to help showcase the islands at World Travel Market in London. The resort had an overwhelming interest from both tour operators and airlines looking to enhance their portfolio of upmarket holiday destinations. Awareness of Cape Verde as a destination is growing massively, particularly from tourists looking away from North Africa and the Middle East in general. Cape Verde offers it all, with Boa Vista scooping the favourite vote for its outstanding natural beauty, beaches and wildlife.

Island Resorts used the event to announce a new aviation report that it commissioned earlier this year which outlines significant tourism growth rates and interest from various airlines around the world in flying to the islands in the coming years. In particular, Boa Vista is set to benefit from this new tourism activity.

Visitor numbers to Cape Verde have soared over the last fifteen years, averaging 7.2% growth a year and more recently over 20% pa, yet accommodation levels have not kept pace, particularly on Boa Vista and this has pushed up occupancy rates. We had enormous interest in our resort at the World Travel Market from mid- to high-end tour operators seeking quality accommodation in a luxury resort.

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Boa Vista Airport Getting Busier

14 November 2011

Three Thomson flights at the same time at Boa Vista airport from all over Europe is getting commonplace. The enlarged apron helps. What a change from a few years ago !

We also held great meetings with a number of airlines last week and much more air traffic is to come over the next two years, thanks in part to our resort providing much needed accomodation.

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Construction Commences On Site Access Road

31 October 2011

It's been about two years in the making but all of the detailed project planning for the Santa Mónica Beach Resort and Spa has been worth it. Not long after the full planning permission was given, machinery has rolled onto the site today and site works have begun !



The beginning of the infrastructure work includes preparing site access via a new side road off the main road passing by the site, site clearance, site levelling and raising the front of the site by 2m. This will be followed by all of the internal site roads, further infrastructure works and in due course followed by the commencement of foundations. On the photograph above the RIU hotel can be seen in the distance, further down the beach, and in the second photograph the beach can be seen to the front of the site.



We will continue to post photographs of construction progress on this blog.

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Santa Mónica Beach Resort and Spa - Wins 5-Star "Best Developer in Cape Verde" Award

27 October 2011

We are pleased to announce that we have just won the first of what is set to be a series of outstanding awards for the resort.

The award won last week was the OPP (Overseas Property Professional) award for "Best Developer in Cape Verde" and was the best of class, 5-Star award, which was a fitting accolade for the leading 5-Star resort in the islands.

www.opp.org.uk/awards_winners.php

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Infrastructure Works to Commence Shortly

23 September 2011

We are pleased to announce that infrastructure works for the resort are due to start on site within weeks and we will announce news of this shortly.

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Santa Mónica Beach Resort and Spa Is The Most Popular Overseas Investment

23 September 2011

One of the World's leading portals, MoveChannel, has recorded record beating levels of sales enquiries for the resort in August, beating every other investment location in the World.

www.themovechannel.com/news/3938edaf-3479/

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Site Works Start at Santa Mónica Beach Resort and Spa

13 August 2011

Site investigation works started on site last week. Bore holes and trenches were dug across the whole site by our engineers in preparation for the commencement of foundations and infrastructure works.

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Full Planning Permission Granted for Santa Mónica Beach Resort and Spa

1 June 2011

We are pleased to announce that we received full planning permission for the resort on Saturday. This is the first, and currently only, integrated resort on the islands that comes under the new Tourist Resort law recently announced. This new law was brought in to ensure the quality of future resorts on the islands and to move away from previous light-weight development of simple villages made up of apartments and villas with minimal touristic facilities. The new law incentivises high quality tourist destinations with world class tourism facilities that will underpin the Government's aim to grow quality tourism.

Planning permission was granted in an unprecedented 4 months and this clearly recognises the Government's acknowledgement of this resort's importance as a landmark development and catalyst for the amazing future of 5 star tourism on the islands.

We will make further announcements shortly regarding the ground breaking ceremony and commencement of construction on site.

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New Road to Resort Now Complete

31 May 2011

The new structural highway from Boa Vista airport to Santa Mónica Beach Resort & Spa is now complete. Journey time to the resort is now just 20 minutes by taxi from the international airport in the north west of the island.



The road also serves the new 1,000 bedroom RIU hotel, a kilometre away from Santa Mónica Beach Resort & Spa, which recently opened its doors to holiday makers seeking a relaxing break in this sun-soaked beach paradise.

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Site Access Infrastructure Work Almost Complete

16 April 2011

Infrastructure work to provide road access to the Santa Mónica Beach Resort & Spa is almost finished and on schedule for completion prior to the 5th May this year. The new road was almost entirely tarmaced as of last weekend when we were on site. This means the airport is now just 20 minutes away by taxi. This represents another of many milestones to be achieved on the resort and comes as exciting news for everyone concerned.



All services, such as water, are also now being provided to the site boundary, as shown below.



The 1,000 bedroom RIU hotel, 1 km down our beach and the second one on the island, opens on 5th May, utilising the new road.

Please see this link for a video of the site works.

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New Low-Cost Flights Announced

30 March 2011

New low-cost flights from TAP have been announced from June for those looking for a low-cost, indirect route to Cape Verde. The new flights run from Manchester to Lisbon, with return flights currently available from just £55 with no extras. Onward flights from Lisbon to Cape Verde are numerous and the trip via Lisbon offers an extra holiday dimension, making the Cape Verde islands more accessible than ever.

More airlines are actively reviewing an increase in flights to Cape Verde including the government-owned Cape Verdean airline TACV who are currently looking at expanding direct flights all over Europe.

All of this activity is being driven by the stunning tourism demand, partially created out of the unrest in less democratic parts of the world such as Egypt, Tunisia and other parts of North Africa and the Middle East.

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ESPA announced as the Spa Operator for the Resort

24 March 2011

We are pleased to announce that the leading spa operator in the world, ESPA, is to design and operate the 3000 m² spa within the 5-star hotel at the resort.

Santa Mónica Beach Resort & Spa joins an elite group of leading spa hotels offering the best treatments and products available today.

www.espaonline.com/spa-design/our-spas/

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Full Due Diligence Pack Issued

24 March 2011

A full due diligence pack is now available for all potential buyers on the resort. Please call the sales team to request your copy or register your enquiry through this website.

Full details of the land purchased, planning permission, the hotel and spa operator and much more are available in this report.

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Cape Verde – EU Aviation Agreement in Place

23 March 2011

The European Union and the Cape Verde authorities have signed a new ‘horizontal’ aviation agreement, opening up the possibilities of tourism expansion for the islands. The agreement will allow any EU airline to operate flights between any EU member state and Cape Verde.

This move will remove restrictions on the nationality of airlines permitted to run flights to Cape Verde. Previously, bilateral agreements between eight Member States and Cape Verde restricted the number of airlines on the routes.

The new agreement is set to cement Cape Verde’s status as the world’s next tourism hotspot and comes as great news to both property investors and holiday makers with an eye on this spectacular, up-and-coming destination.

Source: European Commission

See link for more details ( ec.europa.eu/transport/air/international_aviation/country_index/cape_verde_en.htm )

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Direct Flights from Bristol to Boa Vista Announced

27 February 2011

The outlook for tourism on sun-soaked Boa Vista has received yet another boost as Thomson have announced that they will be operating direct flights from Bristol airport.
Holiday makers in the South West of England will now have easy access to this year-round beach paradise. Flights are initially scheduled to run from November 2011 to April 2012.
The new Bristol flights will be added to a growing list of UK airports that operate direct flights to Boa Vista which already includes Manchester, London Gatwick and Glasgow. This good news is set to cement Boa Vista's place as the most sought-after of Cape Verde's magnificent islands.
Read more here www.bristolairport.co.uk/news-and-press/latest-news/2011/02/cape-verde-thomson.aspx

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Final Planning Permission Application Submitted

1 February 2011

As we confirmed last month we are very pleased to announce that the final planning document pack was presented and submitted to the planners last Thursday, the 27th of January. This will result in the issuing of our Building Certificate in less than sixty days. The planners have already confirmed before Christmas that this process is now just a formality following a substantial and detailed pre-submission before Christmas. The site already benefits from being Government land that we secured with outline planning permissions already in place making it very low risk.

The planners were extremely happy with the design of the Santa Mónica Beach Resort and Spa, saying it set a new level of resort excellence on the islands. In particular they said that it sets the scene for the future of development on Boa Vista which is set to be the home of the most luxurious resorts of all of the islands and setting it apart from the other islands. At present we are the only luxury scheme available on Boa Vista and this is likely to remain so for some time.

We are also preparing for the final tender process for the contractors in order for them to start on site later this year. Plans are afoot to build the first show apartment and show villa on the site in order to open these for visitors as soon as practicable this year.

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New Road to Resort Close to Completion

1 February 2011

The new dual carriageway from the airport in the North of the Island to the stunning Santa Mónica Beach Resort and Spa and the new Riu Hotel is well underway and opens April, ahead of the new Riu Hotel opening in May.

Other important infrastructure, including power and water, is being laid on at the same time so our site will receive services in the Spring, ahead of the contracted date by the Government.

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Cape Verde in World's Top 10

25 January 2011

Cape Verde has been heralded as one of the world's top tourist destinations. The islands hit the number two spot in Lonely Planet's Top Ten Destinations for 2011. This confirms what many people are beginning to discover, that this spectacular tourist haven is the place to be for those looking for an unspoilt paradise with winter sun.

‘Splashing about with the turtles of Boa Vista’ gets a special mention and is included as one of the life-changing experiences available for visitors to Cape Verde.

Read the Lonely Planet guide for more information about the beautiful Cape Verde islands.

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Flights from East Midlands to Boa Vista Go on Sale

25 January 2011

The positive outlook for the future of tourism to Boa Vista has received a further welcome boost with the announcement that Thomson are to run direct, scheduled flights to the island from East Midlands airport. The new flights, set to begin in November 2011, will provide UK holidaymakers with another route to this magnificent island. Direct flights currently run from Manchester, London Gatwick and Glasgow. With tourism numbers already on the increase, the future looks bright for Boa Vista.

See this link for more details ( www.capeverdeexperience.co.uk/Cape-Verde-News/2011/01/1/236/New-East-Midlands-to-Boa-Vista-flight-on-sale.aspx )

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Leading Spa Operator Close to Announcement

13 January 2011

We are very close to announcing the leading, global operator who will run the spa at the Santa Mónica Beach Resort and Spa. This is fantastic news as there is no better spa operator and this cements another cornerstone of the range of facilities at the resort.

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Santa Mónica Detailed Planning Permission Imminent

13 January 2011

The Santa Mónica Beach Resort and Spa is being built on Government owned land with the benefit of full outline planning permission. We have now received written confirmation from the government that our planning submission fully complies with their requirements and we expect final approval imminently following the formal submission of one final set of documents on the 27th January.

This is excellent news for all buyers on the resort. Preparation is already underway for the fencing of the site and the building of the first beachfront show villa.

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Cape Verde Tourism Continues to Soar - Boa Vista Now Leads The Way

1 December 2010

Hotel occupancy soared 22.7% in just half a year between the third quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2010. In addition, an additional 14,500 tourists arrived in the third quarter of 2010 versus the same period in 2009.

www.asemana.publ.cv/spip.php?article58399&ak=1

What is even more interesting is that Boa Vista has now overtaken all of the other islands in terms of having the largest share of tourists of any of the islands with 38.6% of all tourism checkins. In addition, Boa Vista took pretty much exactly 50% of all tourism night stays.

What is interesting is the more established, but over-developed Sal Island lags behind Boa Vista, showing that, given a choice, there does appear to be a substantial biasing of tourism demand towards Boa Vista and its stunning beaches, provided the accommodation is available.

Santa Mónica Beach Resort and Spa will be the highest quality and most exciting resort on all of the Cape Verde islands and with it being on Boa Vista this bodes incredibly well for tourism numbers and investment returns for buyers on the resort given that people already prefer the island even before this stunning resort opens.

Even more importantly Boa Vista shows a 90% hotel occupancy rate versus Sal Island at just 48% showing how wise it is to invest into the best tourism island in Cape Verde, Boa Vista.

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Santa Mónica Sales Storm Ahead

21 November 2010

With the resort launched only a few weeks ago to early-bird Investors, the first phase is 10% sold with 20% forecast for Christmas. This is stunning progress and is a direct result of the careful planning that has gone into the project, it's stunning contemporary architecture and being on the best beach of all of the Cape Verde islands.

If you don't want to miss the early bird investor discounts then be quick as the units allocated to this promotion will run out soon.

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Development on the Beach Progresses

18 October 2010

The RIU hotel nearby to the Santa Mónica resort is well on track to open in six months time and the photo below shows progress and the location of the Santa Mónica Beach Resort and Spa itself. They also show the stunning beach !

The road to the resort is also well on the way to completion as is the the other infrastructure.

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Land Contract Signed for Santa Mónica Beach Resort and Spa

10 October 2010

We are pleased to confirm that the land contract for approximately 400,000 sq m of prime beachfront land has been signed between Island Resorts LDA and the Government to acquire the full building-permissioned site.

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6% GDP Growth Predicted for 2010

8 October 2010

Following on from the recent positive endorsement by the IMF, the Cape Verdean Finance Minister, Cristina Duarte, has estimated GDP growth of around 6 per cent for 2010.

Macauhub, a news service for Portuguese-speaking countries, has recently reported on her comments. (Read the full report here: www.macauhub.com.mo/en/news.php?ID=10201 )

Speaking at a celebration of the Banco de Cabo Verde’s 35th anniversary, Ms. Duarte highlighted that fiscal revenues have risen this year in year-on-year terms, while exports increased and the flow of tourists shows signs of major improvement. "There was an increase in direct foreign investment and the country is achieving a good rate of implementing the investment programme," she added.

Confidence has risen due to measures such as reduction of the tax burden "to preserve families’ buying power", reduction of the corporate income tax and by keeping the external debt at low levels, among others, she said.
Despite the international crisis, the economy grew by 6.5 per cent in 2008 and 4.5 per cent in 2009, she recalled, insisting that in 2010 the economy will grow by a further 6 per cent.

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Positive IMF endorsement for Cape Verde

8 October 2010

The outlook for the Cape Verdean economy has received a further boost with another positive endorsement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). An IMF mission, led by Ms. V. Cerra, visited the islands during September and met with the Finance Minister, the Central Bank Governor, other government officials, labour unions, representatives of the business community and development partners. At the conclusion of the mission, Ms. Cerra made the following statement:

Cape Verde’s economy shows clear signs of recovering from the global crisis and is well positioned for strong growth over the medium term. A wide range of indicators, including business confidence indices, tax receipts, and import data, point to a broad-based rebound in economic activity, which is gathering steam through the year. The tourism sector stabilized in the first half of the year, and is poised for solid growth in the second half. Inflation has remained low and foreign exchange reserves continue to grow. This favorable economic performance is due in large measure to prudent macroeconomic management, including strong counter-cyclical policies.

The mission supports the authorities’ strategy to temporarily accelerate its public investment program and its policies to protect the most vulnerable segments of the population from the negative impact of the global slowdown. The authorities are wisely using their window of opportunity for obtaining external loans on highly favorable terms and increasing investments to help alleviate constraints on electricity generation and water supply as well as provide much needed infrastructure in ports and airports, which will also benefit the tourism sector. Although the stock of debt has risen over the past two years, the loans have long maturities and grace periods, thus debt service ratios will remain low. The main challenge over the next few years will be to efficiently execute the public investment program while preserving debt sustainability. The authorities’ economic program that will be supported under the successor PSI will emphasize reforms to strengthen public debt management, further improve transparency and equal treatment in the tax system, enhance development of financial markets, and safeguard the financial system.

Read the full IMF release here: www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2010/pr10360.htm

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New direct flights between the UK and Cape Verde

13 September 2010

New direct flights between the UK and Cape Verde herald a new era for the destination!

For the last couple of years, Thomson, the tour operator, has been alone in offering flights directly from the UK to Cape Verde. Thomson currently offer flights from Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham to Boa Vista, with Glasgow - Boa Vista to be added next summer. However, the tourism industry in Cape Verde and Boa Vista has received a further boost with the news that Cape Verde Experience plan to run flights from Stansted and Bristol.

The sister company of Gambia Experience will also add flights between Cape Verde and Banjul, Gambia, opening up possibilities for multi-centre holidays, combining Cape Verde with Gambia and neighbouring Senegal. The announcement has come as good news to those hotels not featured by Thomson and will give visitors from the UK more choice and flexibility, adding to the overall appeal of Cape Verde as a holiday destination.

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Cape Verde - The World's Next Investment Hot Spot

13 September 2010

Cape Verde is rapidly attracting visitors and investors alike looking to capitalise on what promises to be the world’s next property hot spot. Nestled 400km off the coast of West Africa, the Cape Verde islands boast a year-round temperate climate, meaning there’s no low season, leading to exceptionally high occupancy rates and rental yields for investors.

With miles of spectacular white sandy beaches, alluring turquiose waters and a 12 month holiday season, it’s not difficult to see why many experts are tipping tourism in Cape Verde to grow massively over the coming years. Europe’s closest tropical islands (just 5½ hours flight from London), rich in colonial history, natural beauty and ecological wonders, Cape Verde has many selling-points. As the islands have remained an unexplored secret to boh tourists and international property investors until recently, Cape Verde is currently in the early stages of development, an ideal time to invest. Demand for quality tourist accommodation is by far outstripping supply, thanks to the islands’ appeal to a wide demographic (sun and beach-lovers, watersports enthusiasts, wildlife tourists, eco-tours, scuba-divers, and more).

Very strong public and private investment, large infrastructure improvements and a welcoming investment environment with no civil or political unrest mean Cape Verdean tourism is set to blossom in the near future. Despite the economic downturn, GDP growth for Cape Verde held up at 4% for 2009 and is expected to increase to 7.1% growth by 2013 (IMF Report - December 2009). The IMF has praised the “prudent management and strong economic foundations” undertaken by the Cape Verdean government, which have allowed the country to “resist the impact of the global crisis well” (IMF Report - December 2009). Growth is expected to pick up and inflation remain low (IMF Review - July 2010). These strong economic foundations, coupled with the fact that the contribution of tourism to Cape Verdean GDP is expected to rise from 21.9% in 2010 to 30.1% in 2020 (World Travel & Tourism Council), are helping to create an excitement surrounding the islands’ potential for huge tourism expansion.

The daily telegraph shares our view that Cape Verde shows huge potential for future growth. ( www.telegraph.co.uk/property/expatproperty/7935256/The-idyllic-islands-of-Cape-Verde.html )

The bottom line for investors is that with an all year round season, yields and occupancy are going to be very high, in fact already are with global resort occupancy averaging 68% or so but Cape Verde hotels achieving 80-90% year round occupancy.

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Santa Monica Infrastructure Being Constructed

24 July 2010

The infrastructure for the Santa Monica Resort and Spa has started to go in. The new dual carriageway from the airport is underway and will also go to the new RIU hotel as well as our own site.

In addition the second water desalination plant is going into the Santa Monica district to supply the new RIU hotel and our resort. Works are shown on the video link below, taken in June 2010.

www.santa-monica-resort.com/video.htm

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New World-Class Resort Launching Soon

14 July 2010

A new beachfront hotel, spa and holiday home resort is launching soon on Boa Vista island, Cape Verde.

The Santa Monica Beach Resort and Spa is located in the centre of the Santa Monica beach on the south of the island and was stated to possibly be the best beach in the world by The Telegraph. The resort is designed to be the highest quality destination on all of the Cape Verde Islands and is around one third of the build density of schemes on Sal Island for example.

The style is one of contemporary, modern design but with a Portuguese colonial twist utilising the best elements of the rich Portuguese style to be found throughout the Cape Verde Islands from its days as a former Portuguese colony. Clean modern lines and white render, use of wall-to-wall glass to bring gardens and views inside the property combined with the indigenous bassalt cobbled paths and roads, colonial style dark wood decking and shutters and handcarved stone elements such as bathroom bowls and staircases within villas.

The resort has already received substantial letters of interest from leading global hotel operators to manage the hotel and residential real estate and is set to be an outstanding success.

The official launch is expected in September but investor opportunities are available prior to this date.

www.santa-monica-resort.com

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