Cape Verde has raised almost one million euros in the first month of the year through mandatory tourist fees, double the amount in January 2022 and higher than before the pandemic, according to official figures.
According to the Ministry of Finance’s budget execution report for January, tourism contribution revenues amounted to 102 million escudos (925 thousand euros) in one month, which is equivalent to 10.7% of the budget set by the Government for 2023, which is 946 million escudos (8.6 million euros).
This value, the report highlights, has already exceeded the value recorded in January 2019, before the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on tourism demand, which was then 83 million escudos (752 thousand euros), according to a report from the Ministry of Finance. In January 2022, this tax brought in 55 million escudos (498 thousand euros).
The tourist tax was introduced by the government of Cape Verde in May 2013, with all hotels and similar establishments being required to charge 220 escudos (two euros) for every night of stay up to ten days for every tourist over 16 years old.
However, in January this cost increased by 25% to 276 escudos (2.50 euros) per night, as stipulated in the 2023 state budget.
“Given our commitment to eradicate extreme poverty and reduce absolute poverty, we understand that this can be a way to finance the MAIS fund, which will make it possible to make serious investments in the social sphere, in the construction of kindergartens. , places for young people, places for the elderly, and we understand that we could increase by 50 cents, that is, 50 escudos, the tourist tax paid by tourists when they stay overnight in hotels,” Tourism Minister Carlos Santos explained earlier. , about this increase.
“After doing research, we made sure that we are not going to have such a negative impact (…) Today, people, tourists, are more environmentally aware, but they also have a public consciousness about the impact they have and what they have in the visit they make to certain countries and in the case of Cape Verde, which is a poor country. And so, from what we have done, the analysis, we understand that this will not have an impact. MAIS Fund This is a fund established with the primary goal of eliminating extreme poverty,” he added.
The number of tourists who came to Cape Verde in 2022 exceeded 700 thousand, which is about 90% of the record 819 thousand in 2019, the Minister of Tourism and Transport announced at the end of January last year.
“According to our data, already received – and not yet confirmed by the National Institute of Statistics. [INE] – could reach 700,000 tourists arriving in Cape Verde, which means 90% of what we received in 2019, these are interesting numbers,” said Carlos Santos, adding that he hopes the country can surpass the tourism record this year .
According to a previous report from the Ministry of Finance, income from fees that tourists in Cape Verde must pay has halved from 2020 to 2021, renewing a minimum of 145 million escudos (1.3 million euros). In 2022, they rose to 735.1 million escudos (6.6 million euros),
In 2019, this tax guaranteed an all-time high of 992 million escudos (8.9 million euros).
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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