Residents’ Attitudes towards Tourism Development in Cape Verde Islands

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine residents’ attitudes and perceptions towards tourism development in the Cape Verde islands, a little-explored issue in the context of small islands’ developing states, especially in Africa. Since the country is in the initial stage of tourism development, it is intended to show that residents predominantly share a positive attitude, which supports previous research. It is also intended to understand whether attitudes are homogeneously shared or instead tourism is differently perceived by residents. To address these objectives, a survey based on 492 questionnaires was applied to national residents in five countries that represent the major tourist areas of Cape Verde. The findings reveal that, in general, residents are optimistic about tourism. Yet, despite the overall positive attitude towards tourism, different segments of residents according to the way the tourism impacts are perceived could be identified. These segments report significant differences concerning socio-demographic characteristics and the degree of involvement in the tourism sector. This analysis provides important inputs for the planning process and sustainable development of tourism in the archipelago.

Key Words:

• Residents
• attitudes
• Cape Verde
• segmentation

Acknowledgements

This paper is partially financed by FCT — Foundation for Science and Technology.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Manuel Alector Ribeiro

Manuel Alector Ribeiro is a PhD student in the Tourism Programme of the University of Algarve, Portugal. His current research interests include residents' attitudes and behavior towards tourism development.

Patrícia Oom do Valle

Patrcia Oom do Valle received her PhD degree in Quantitative Methods Applied to Economics and Business (specialization in Statistics) from the University of Algarve, Portugal. She is Professor at the Faculty of Economics, University of Algarve, and member of the Research Centre for Spatial and Organizational Dynamics (CIEO). Her current research interests include applied statistics and modeling in the areas of tourism and environment.

João Albino Silva

João Albino Silva received his PhD degree in Economics from the Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal. He is Professor and President of the Scientific Commission at the Faculty of Economics, University of Algarve, Portugal, and a member of the Research Centre for Spatial and Organizational Dynamics (CIEO). His current research interests include economics of tourism, regional development, and tourism destinations and sustainability and governance in tourism.