One of the concerns of the national authorities is to provide the country with tourist infrastructures that promote tourism with high added value, which presupposes the creation of specific tourist areas, as well as the elaboration and execution of tourist development plans that preserve and value natural conditions .
The creation of Special Tourist Zones (ZTE) was thus a strategic measure for the development of Cape Verde tourism.
Created in 1993 the Special Tourist Zones (ZTE) are classified in:
• Integral Tourism Development Zones (ZDTI) – Areas that, because they have excellent geographical conditions and landscape values, are especially apt for tourism and declared as such by the Government. So far, 3 Government ZDTIs have been created by the Government on the island of Boa Vista and 3 ZDTIs on the island of Maio.
• Reserve and Tourism Protection Areas (ZRPT) – This category of ZTE covers two different modalities: on the one hand, protected areas with high natural and landscape value, whose preservation is necessary to ensure the competitiveness of the Cape Verde tourism product ; on the other hand, areas that, having a high natural and landscape value, should be kept in reserve for later conversion into ZDTI.
The declaration of an area as ZDTI or ZRPT is done by Decree – Regulatory, therefore, by the state.
The declaration of an area as a Zone of Integral Tourism Development (ZDTI) determines:
1. The submission to the declaration of public utility of the expropriation of all the lands situated in said zone, even when they are of municipal ownership, as well as of the existing buildings there;
2. The absolute prohibition of any extractive activity in all the lands, coasts and beaches of the same, namely the extraction of sand, gravel and other inert;
3. The prohibition of any urban intervention without prior authorization of the competent authority.
The use and occupation of the soil of the ZDTI will be made according to the respective Tourist Planning Plans (POT).
The declaration of areas such as Reserve and Tourism Protection Zones (ZRPT) determines as an automatic effect the absolute prohibition of any extractive activity in all the land, coasts and beaches of the same, namely the extraction of sand, gravel and other inerts.
