A liberal, LGBT-friendly and eco-conscious African holiday destination

British travel retailer Holiday Hypermarket has said that Cape Verde is continuing to be overlooked by many as a possible destination for LGBT travellers, despite being one of Africa’s most liberal countries.

“Typically, South Africa is named the most LGBT-friendly country on the continent. Elsewhere though there are not many options – cities such as Tangiers and Cairo are often cited as having active LGBT nightlife, but the fact remains that it is still illegal to be homosexual in both Morocco and Egypt,” said Holiday Hypermarket representative Ian Crawford.

“Cape Verde on the other hand legalised homosexual marriage 11 years ago, making it one of the only fully LGBT tolerant nations in Africa today. Cape Verde even held a Gay Pride Week in 2013, making it the second African Nation behind South Africa ever to do so.

“We’re seeing big growth in visitors to Cape Verde, but awareness of all this seems to be very low. We think that is a real shame.”

Meanwhile, it is not just in the field of LGBT rights that the country is leading the way. Experts from Ethicaltraveler.org declared Cape Verde to be the world’s most ethically and eco-conscious tourist destination of 2015.

“Accessibility to human rights, social welfare and environmental policy – these are all areas where Cape Verde is excelling too,” says Crawford. “There are many preconceptions of Africa in general, particularly around these themes, so we think it is really important to highlight countries that show that things are not always how they seem.”