18 | TRAVEL & TOURISM WORDS | Geoff Hadwick
NEWS ANALYSIS
www.opp.org.uk | JUNE 2011
Cape Verde takes off T
he now completed 370- unit Tortuga Beach Resort will soon be dwarfed by its
neighbour, the 1,206-unit Dunas Beach scheme, which has a footprint almost two-and-a-half times as big. Tortuga was sold direct to cash buyers and Dunas is doing vey well via UK-approved SIPPs (self-invested personal pension schemes). In fact, Dunas has sold more than 80% of its units to date via SIPPs and more than 1,000 of the scheme’s units have already been snapped up this way. “We are thrilled with progress on the
two schemes,” Resort Group managing director Charlie King told OPP at the offi cial opening ceremony. “As an overseas property developer, we see Cape Verde as a big opportunity to do something different … on what we think is some of the best development land in the world.” King says that the Resort Group sells its schemes “as part of an investment plan for (its) buyers. Our aim is always to give a good return, and we are confi dent that Tortuga Beach will do that. Capital growth rates here in Cape Verde are good, and have averaged around 10% on land and property in recent years. We tell investors that they can expect at least 6% per annum capital growth if they invest with us.” “And, having an excellent hotel and
resort operator on board like the Sol Melia Group means buyers should be able to achieve rental returns of at least 8% to 9%. Combine the two, and you can see why we sold all of Tortuga Beach off-plan so easily and so quickly.” The 25-year deal with Sol
Melia is expected to drive occupancy rates in the hotel rooms and villas in order to give owners and investors a good return. The global hospitality group will also be strategically useful in drumming up visitors from all around the world. Only four of the Tortuga Beach units were purchased by buyers from outside the UK. “We want to get more visitors in from other countries,” says King, “and Sol Melia think in very global way. That will be a big help to us.” Indeed, The Resort Group is increasingly
keen to sell its new Dunas Beach project into other territories and it is “actively looking” for new sales partners overseas.
“Dunas has sold more than 80% of its units via SIPPs and 1,000 units have been snapped up”
King says that the company is keen to spread its network into countries like France, Germany, Portugal and Spain. It already has a new partnership in Italy about to get underway. Prices for Tortuga Beach started at €130,000 says King, and units will be available on the forthcoming Dunas Beach Resort from €134,000. “We can offer 50/50 deals too,” he adds, “so people can get involved for as little as €65,000.” The third phase of the project will be a
new Sol Melia hotel built on sea-front land between Tortuga and Dunas, called the Llana Beach Hotel. Construction contracts are being negotiated now. The resort will also offer the island’s only modern meeting and
conference facility. The latest generation of audiovisual technology and two meeting rooms with capacity for up to 240 people are designed to host all types of meetings and events. Leisure options at the resort include different food and drink options via the Aqua Italian restaurant, the tex-mex O Grille Beach Club Bar & Restaurant, the My Grill Sports Bar & Restaurant, or the Sway Lobby bar. There is also a Sol Melia branded Yhi Spa and treatment centre. The accommodation options are: • Four bedroom villa: The 4 bedroom
villas enjoy a spectacular location on the ocean front. 153 square metres with a master bedroom with en-suite bathroom, 3 individual bedrooms, two bathrooms, a fully-equipped kitchen, open-plan lounge and dining room, terrace with private garden and pool. • Three bedroom villa: The 3
bedroom villas are built on two fl oors and measure 115 square metres. They provide two double bedrooms and a third bedroom with two single beds, and a private garden and pool. • Two bedroom suite: The suites have
different layouts but always provide a spacious bathroom, fully-equipped kitchen and a large lounge with terrace or balcony. The main room has a king size double bed and the second room has two single beds • Family suite: These suites can either provide one or two bedrooms. They have a spacious bathroom, like the 2 bedroom suites, as well as a fully-equipped kitchen, lounge/dining room and terrace or balcony. • Meliá rooms and Meliá premium
king size bed: Located in the main hotel building, these suite-style rooms measure
The Resort Group offi cially opened its completely sold-out €85 million Melia Tortuga Beach resort on the Cape Verdean island of Sal this month and simultaneously unveiled its neighbouring Dunas Beach resort … currently under construction and scheduled to open in the fi rst half of 2013. Why are they doing so well?
42 square metres, 52 in the case of the premium room, and provide a luxury bathroom as well as an outdoor terrace. Hotel partner Sol Meliá was founded
in 1956 in Palma de Mallorca (Spain) and is one of the world’s largest resort hotel chains, as well as Spain’s leading hotel chain. It currently provides more than 300 hotels and 78,000 rooms in 27 countries on 4 continents under its brands: Gran Meliá, Meliá, ME by Meliá, Innside by Meliá, Tryp by Wyndham, Sol and Paradisus. Its product and service portfolio is completed by Sol Meliá Vacation Club, the only Vacation Club operated by a Spanish company. It is the most widely recognised hotel company in Spain and its brands achieve average satisfaction levels of 80%. The company’s rewards loyalty programme has 2.3 million members, the largest in Spain.
Solmelia.com is the leading hotel website in Spain with more than 2.2 million subscribers. Tortuga is one the world’s most
popular beaches for sea turtles to lay their eggs and the development plans to work hard to maintain the area and encourage eco-tourism in an environmentally sensitive way. The operation will protect the egg-laying areas of the coast and allow visitors to sponsor individual turtles. The current visitor profi le to Sal is
26% from the UK, 15% from Germany, 13% from Portugal, and 12% from Italy. Sol Melia and The Resort Group are also going to investigate the possibility of future developments on the neighbouring island of Boa Vista.
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