By Miguel Vieira FORCV Columnist

The number of tourists and foreign investors in Cape Verde has increased to impressive levels recently. One million is said to be a rough figure of the total amount of tourists who visited the archipelago in the last few years. According to figures from the archipelago’s National Statistics Institute published on April 18, "the demand for Cape Verde as a tourist destination rose 11.5 percent in 2007, against the previous year. Last year, 312,000 guests were welcomed to the country’s hotels, as compared 280,000 in 2006, generating 1.4 million overnights stays, or 4.7 percent more than in 2006." (www.macauhub.com.mo/en/news.php?ID=5235)

Whether it be for vacationing, real estate investments, or retirement, high-end tourists and investors do really see the CV islands as a fresh under-exploited version of the West Indies islands. Accordingly, they've dubbed it the "new Caribbean."

However, unlike the Caribbean nations,Cape Verde must take precautionary steps to insure that only the pros of its counterparts' tourism will manifest in its barely 'virgin' islands. To accomplish this important task, the following steps should be implemented.

First, CV officials responsible for tourism should make it explicitly clear to the tourists and foreign investors that their stay and enjoyment of our beautiful islands should also benefit, not harm in any way, the local people. And one definite way Cape Verdeans can take advantage of the country's new fame and popularity is by appropriately taxing the multinational companies that invest there. Specifically, the overly graceful tax incentives international companies get for investing in Cape Verde makes them see it as a cash cow of sorts right now. This must stop. To illustrate this issue, it is not reasonable that a multi-billion dollar company like the RIU Hotels conglomerate, owner of the RIU FUNANA resort Hotel on the Island of Sal, should get a five year tax exemption from the government of Cape Verde. Granted, tax exceptions can be useful in luring companies to invest in particular markets, but five years is overly excessive. A reduced rate, 50%, instead, should be implemented, and the years of exemption should be limited to no more than two tax seasons.

The second important measure that should be taken by the government to protect Cape Verdeans in the context of booming tourism and foreign investments is by clearly informing tourists and investors what Cape Verde's laws are and the consequences for breaking them. Tourists must know that they will not be treated any different than they would be in their home countries should they commit a crime in CV. Particularly, if a tourist is convicted of promoting or soliciting prostitution in the islands, he should suffer the same consequence he'd face in his country, that is, loss of his freedom. Several countries in the "old Caribbean" have had their images shattered because of lack of enforcement of prostitution laws. Cape Verde cannot afford to lose its hard-earned good image because of unsavory tourists.

The third measure that must be implemented to capitalize on Cape Verde's status as the "new Caribbean" is a stronger engagement on the potential of TACV, the national airline carrier. Foreign investors coming to Cape Verde don't have to fly aboard airlines other than TACV. On the other hand, this would require TACV officials to invest more on emerging routes such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, in particular, and Scandinavian nations. A direct TACV flight from Ireland should be commenced in the short-term to capitalize on the increasingly high numbers of tourists and investors from that part of the world that are looking at Cape Verde as an attractive destination. Moreover, Irish and English tourists as well as the German and Scandinavian ones would conceivably prefer to fly with TACV rather than other airline carriers provided that TACV offer equal or better services that its competitors; and it is not out of the realm of possibility for TACV to deliver competitive and quality service. With strategic marketing, a strict adherence to punctuality regarding arrivals and departures, costumer services befitting CV's morabeza, and implementation of more reasonable airfares, the national airline carrier of Cape Verde can and will succeed beyond expectations.

As a result, should these measures manifest themselves smoothly, the aforementioned tourists will be immeasurably satisfied, and they will verbalize their satisfaction to locals - in English.

Therefore, on a final suggestive note, the CV government should invest more ambitiously on quality teaching of English. Currently, English is taught only at the secondary level in the country, beginning on the first year of High School. Nevertheless, given its status as the most important international language, English should be officially promoted by the government and students should start learning it by the time they reach the 5th grade or even sooner. This will prepare Cape Verdeans to communicate more effectively with the Irish, the English, the Germans and the Scandinavians, the fastest growing tourism and foreign investment demographics in Cape Verde - predicted to soon outnumber their Italians, Spaniards and Portuguese counterparts.

I would agree in full with these suggestions - with the addition of putting higher pressure on investors to ensure that their investments are environmentally sustainable in the long term, as well as making a huge effort to improve the level of service here (even today, as one of many many examples, an employee of Praia Mar, supposedly the finest hotel in Praia, was incredibly rude to me and my son, for no reason at all). I have made similar points in previous posts on this subject. Also on the importance of language, I couldn't agree more. If CV wants to become a fully grown tourist nation, English is a prerequisite, whether one likes it or not.

English should definitely be a prerequisite if Cape Verde is to become a hub for tourism which will soon be dominated by tourists from England and Ireland and from Scandanavian nations such as Sweden.
And as for quality English teaching, "quality" should really be stressed. That is, only fluent teachers, those really fluent in writing and speaking, should be teaching English. At the very least, a would-be English teacher in Cape Verde should be as fluent as Victor Borges, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.