Tourism competitiveness in Cape Verde: the case of Tarrafal/Santiago

Resumo

The study of competitiveness has been constantly gaining importance in recent decades. Cape Verde Government elected Tarrafal as a development hub of tourism competitiveness. Since the empirical validation of competitiveness Cape Verde is still shortfall, so the current research aims to analyze the determinants of competitive advantage of tourism in Tarrafal. To achieve this goal, it was adopted a qualitative methodology based on a sample of the major key players in the tourism area and the creation of four working groups during Tarrafal Technical Days (1 and 2 July 2022) to better discuss these issues. The discussion of the final conclusions from each working group, allowed to systematize some major development alternatives to Tarrafal as a strategic tourism hub. Major implications for managers were also presented, such as the importance to develop and reinforce cultural traditions, reinforce entrepreneurship in order to maximize the tourism chain value through the implementation of better infrastructures (better roads, a maritime port as well as an aerodrome), diversify the tourist offer based on different segments (culture, nature, sports, events, remote working among others) and benefit other regions and municipalities around the county.