Cape Verde’s international airports are expected to see an increase in the number of charter flights throughout the winter season, with many new airlines operating direct flights between November and March, in order to keep up with increased demand for Winter Sun holidays.

In total it means 78 charter flights will operate every week to the Islands of Sal and Boa Vista.

Amílcar Cabral International Airport on the Island of Sal has already begun receiving flights from three new companies – Thomas Cook Belgium flies to the Island from Brussels, Condor from Frankfurt and Transavia from Amsterdam.

In total, 47 charter flights are landing on Sal every week, bringing tourists from all over Europe. In addition three new airlines are scheduled to begin operations at Aristides Pereira International Airport on the Island of Boa Vista this month – Tui Fly Nordic, which will fly from Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo and Helsinki, while Thomas Cook will fly from Brussels and Condor will operate flights from Frankfurt

Construction has now officially begun at Llana Beach Hotel after the ground breaking ceremony took place on Friday 28th September.

The event involved the first ceremonial brick being laid by Honorary Chairman of The Resort Group, Rob Jarrett and The Prime Minister of Cape Verde, José Maria Neves. VIP guests included members of the Cape Verdean Government, local business leaders, executives from Melia Hotels International as well as agents and clients of The Resort Group.

The ceremony also included speeches and presentations, including the Llana beach fly-through and an insight in to the continuing tourism success of Cape Verde.

Llana Beach Hotel is the third development by The Resort Group in Cape Verde, and the ground breaking is another significant milestone that has been achieved. It means that all Sal Island resorts are now either under construction or operational.

Dunas Beach Resort is at an advanced stage of construction and on track for completion, whilst Melia Tortuga Beach has been fully operational since its launch in May 2011. Llana Beach Hotel completes the spectacular beach-front of 'Ponta Preta' in Sal, which is being transformed into a world class holiday destination. The next development to be announced by The Resort Group will be White Sands Hotel & Spa in Boa Vista, to be launched later this year.

Construction on Llana Beach will now begin will initial preparation and general ground works prior to a full scale construction operation next year. See our Ground Breaking Gallery below for pictures from the event.

The Ground Breaking Ceremony

Due to its record breaking sales success, we are now preparing to break ground at Llana Beach Hotel as sales exceed the 75% mark, just 12 months after its launch.

The Ground Breaking Ceremony will take place Friday September 28th on site in Sal. It will mark the official start of construction, which will begin with the initial preparation and ground work stages, prior to an increased level of activity starting early next year.

This puts the project firmly on schedule. Llana will complete the three Meliá branded hotels on “Ponta Preta” beach, alongside Tortuga and Dunas, making it one of the most prestigious beach fronts in the world.

We have now sold 50% of Llana Beach Hotel since it was launched at the end of September 2011! This is another significant milestone achieved by The Resort Group.

Llana Beach Hotel is our most exciting and luxurious development to date and so it is no surprise it is selling out so quickly! We anticipate it will become our third “sold out” development by the end of this year. However, we still have a great range of luxurious hotels suites available for your clients.

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As the world largest resort based hotelier, Melia Hotels International are a key strategic partner for The Resort Group and the commercial success of our resort.  Recent figures released by Melia Hotel International highlight their financial growth and increased presence in the global market. The outlook for Melia is very strong as they continue to see growth in a number of areas and further enhance their reputation on a global scale:

• 2011 revenues increased by 6.8% and EBITDA* increased by 4.5%
• Revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased again with 7 consecutive quarters of growth, achieving an increase of 9% overall in 2011
• They have an active pipeline of 31 hotels and added 20 hotels (5,056 rooms) in 2011, approximately one new hotel every three weeks. The company currently has 354 hotels (in operation or in the pipeline).
• 2.5 million Members of its "mas" rewards loyalty programme. Members generated 22% of room sales for the year. Plus, half a million Facebook fans worldwide (only Hilton have more)

*Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation

Further good news from the Islands comes from figures published by HomeAway.co.uk, a holiday rentals company. They have revealed that Cape Verde entered its list of the top ten most popular holiday destinations for the first time in 2011, which is expected to further enhance the reputation of the islands for property investment.

According to the firm, an increase in the number of charter flights to Cape Verde, as well as a growing market for package holidays, have helped boost its tourism industry.

Regional director for HomeAway UK Andy Cockburn explained these factors could all result in more investors buying real estate in Cape Verde, as well as other hotspots like Dubai and Florida.

"For those looking for an alternative to Europe for property investment, these mid to long-haul markets provide good opportunities. Not only can properties at attractive prices still be found, but they have strong rental potential too," he stated.

Passenger traffic at Cape Verde’s airports and aerodromes rose 11.2 percent year on year in 2011, from 1.6 million to 1.78 million, the country’s airport management company, Empresa Nacional de Aeroportos e Segurança (Asa) said in Praia. According to the published figures, international traffic rose by 20.8 percent whilst domestic traffic rose by 2.8 percent.

This highlights the increasing number of visitors to the islands and the ongoing trend of increased tourism.

At Amilcar Cabral Airport, Thomsonfly was the airline that carried most international passengers and transported 75,000 passengers to Sal Island, followed by TAP – Air Portugal (69,000) and Cape Verdean airline TACV (55,000).

Officially launched in September, Llana Beach Hotel has become an instant success with 100 properties already sold!

That means over 16% of the hotels’ 601 luxurious suites have been sold in just a few weeks. They have been snapped up by savvy UK investors, who have been clearly impressed by the luxurious Master Plan for the development as well as the excellent investment returns on offer.

Most notably, investors receive a guaranteed 3% per annum on their initial deposit value for 3 years during construction or the completion of their property, whichever occurs first.

Once built the Hotel will be managed by the world’s largest hotel operator, MELIA Hotels international and they will utilise their global travel agent and tour operator network to drive high levels of occupancy to the Hotel. This offers an excellent opportunity for attractive rental returns and capital growth for all property owners.