Fogo: “Tourism is today the greatest factor for people’s mobility between countries” – José Gonçalves

Tourism is today the “greatest factor” in people’s mobility between countries and, in 2018, more than 1,400 million people crossed borders in search of tourist destinations, said Minister José Gonçalves today.

The holder of the Tourism portfolio, who presided over, on the island of Fogo, the opening of the 10th Meeting of CPLP Tourism Ministers, declared that the growth trend of tourism worldwide is projected beyond 4 percent (%) to year, constituting one of the “main sectors of economic activity on a global scale”, justifying the definition of development strategies and policies by States that see this sector as an “important axis” of their growth and development.

“For Cape Verde, tourism is the main sector of the national economy. It contributes more than 20% to the Gross Domestic Product and around the same amount to employment, particularly for young people”, reinforced the same source.

José Gonçalve, indicated that too fast growth, in a developing country with “major challenges” in terms of physical and social infrastructure, archipelagic and with population asymmetries, engenders “serious problems”, especially in the social context of the workforce that transfers from one island to another.

For this reason, he added, the Government has as a “great priority” to work in close collaboration with the municipalities in urban requalification, in the improvement of the local destination and of the social conditions for a better adaptation of the people, committing to invest almost 60 million Euros in 2017-2021, half of which allocated to the country's 22 municipalities.

For the official, in Cape Verde, the strategy for the development of tourism aims at “diversified tourism with benefits for the whole country, resilient and sustainable”, with the aim of “improving people's quality of life”.

The holding of this 10th meeting on the island of Fogo, despite some logistical challenges, especially air and sea transport still to be resolved, according to the same source, involves the strategy of diversifying tourism to other islands with unique valences and offers.

According to the minister, this meeting followed on from the IX meeting held in 2017, in Brazil, taking into account the “challenges and opportunities” that the “enormous potential” of tourism holds within the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), that “it is important to promote, stimulate and exploit in a sustainable way”, so that it is a “vector of socio-economic development” of the Member States.

José Gonçalves also considered that among the objectives established in the Strategic Cooperation Plan of the CPLP (PECTUR-CPLP) three should require “special attention”, namely the sharing of knowledge and experiences, professional training and the mobility of technicians, specialists, researchers and tourism students, encouraging the use of new technologies by companies in the sector, creating startups and implementing smart tourist destinations, stimulating entrepreneurship, innovation and investment in the tourism sector among CPLP Member States.

The objectives of the 10th meeting, he continued, which are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, essentially aim to identify the opportunities and challenges that stimulate the development of connectivity and continuous travel between and to the member countries, and to propose measures of understanding common in the search for “proactive answers that support and stimulate” tourism.

“Despite being spread across four continents and several time zones, we are not far from each other as long as we are linked by common linguistic and cultural ties and imbued with a strong community spirit”, said the person in charge of Tourism in Cabo Verde, for whom it is necessary to continue to reinforce participation and foster partnerships without borders, as a driving force for the development of institutions that deal with the tourism sector

For José Gonçalves, the assumption of a shared vision of the sustainable development of tourism will serve as a guideline for the formulation and implementation of policies, noting that it is urgent to raise awareness among all and at all levels in favor of “sustainable” tourism, responsible coexistence , intelligent and respectful of the environment”.

“Sustainable tourism values cultural differences and contributes to strengthening peace in the world”, he said, indicating that when well managed the sector provides employment and income in harmony with the nature, culture and economy of the destinations, in addition to helping to open the doors to intercultural exchange and dialogue between peoples.

JR/AA