Cape Verde on Unesco list?

When it comes to making places attractive for tourism, all manner of factors may play a part. Sun, sand and surf all help of course and Cape Verde is blessed with plenty of all these.

 But for many, taking a trip overseas is about much more than that. Culture, art, architecture and history form a large part of many an itinerary and being able to provide these in larger amounts could help Cape Verde to offer a wider appeal and with it bring in more tourists.

 What many destinations have is acknowledged by the United Nations Education and Science Council (Unesco), which lists a wide range of world heritage sites Once these had to be either man-made or natural - which ruled out those that were a mix of the two such as the English Lake District - but this rule has changed and the list has grown and grown.

 There are now 878 sites, of which 679 are cultural, 174 natural and 25 mixed under the new rules, with Unesco stating that the number will soon rise past 1,000. Among these are famous places such as the Great Barrier Reef and Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Great Wall of China, the historic heart of Prague, Robben Island, Venice and the Taj Mahal. The UK is in on the list too, featuring places like the Tower of London, Stonehenge and the Giant's Causeway (The Lake District is still not yet listed). This process began in 1978 and the 33^rd annual meeting - from June 22^nd to 30^th - is set to add to it.

 All of this may read like a who's who of places to see in the world. So far there are no such sites on Cape Verde. But this may be about to change.

 Cidade Velha, the first capital of Cape Verde, was founded in 1462. Located close to Praia, the site is now uninhabited, having been abandoned in 1770 on the grounds that it was too hard to defend against pirates, Afrol.com reports.

The article went on to note that the site is now on the candidate list for this year.

Should it be named, Santiago could become famous for something much more than the tropical sun and scenery. Afrol.com noted that the well-preserved churches and fortifications are already a tourist attraction, but a Unesco listing could take it - and Santiago - into the big league of international tourism.

This article has been brought to you be Sambala; the developer for Cape Verde Property.

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