Praia, Jan. 27, 2024 (Lusa) - Passenger traffic at Cabo Verde's airports hit a record high in 2024 when it reached three million, according to data from the Civil Aviation Agency, Lusa saw on Monday.

The total surpasses the pre-pandemic figure of 2.7 million in 2019, which had been the highest ever.

Both international and domestic passenger movements have been increasing since 2021, but movements between islands have yet to surpass the 2019 figures.

In 2024, international passenger traffic totalled around 2.4 million and domestic traffic was close to 614,000.

In 2019, there were 1.9 million international passengers and 821,000 domestic passengers.

More than half of the passenger traffic was on the islands of Sal and Boa Vista, the main destinations for foreign tourists.

Tourism is growing in Cabo Verde and the government has brought forward to 2024 the target of 1.2 million tourists, previously set for 2026, pending official figures.

In 2023, the government awarded the public airport service concession to Cabo Verde Airports, a company belonging to the Vinci group, to expand and modernise the four international airports (Boavista, Praia, Sal and São Vicente) and three aerodromes (Fogo, Maio and São Nicolau) with a 40-year investment plan.

LFO/ADB // ADB.

Lusa