Cabo Verde Has Made History at the World Cup. Can It Convert Attention Into Bookings?

Cabo Verde was hailed as the underdog story from this year’s World Cup after it became the smallest country in tournament history to advance to the knockout stage.

Suddenly, the roughly 550,000-person island nation off the coast of West Africa is finding a new audience among millions of World Cup viewers. Interest in the destination spiked as the nation’s team remained undefeated, with Expedia, TUI, and Google all tracking a surge in searches.

Regardless of how it fares in its Friday match against Argentina, the global attention could help diversify the island nation’s tourism industry, which has yet to truly crack source markets outside of Europe.

While tourism makes up roughly a quarter of its GDP, it is largely dependent on European travelers visiting just two out of nine inhabited islands. Most travelers book all-inclusive packages from foreign operators like TUI and Spain’s Meliá, keeping much of the tourist spending inside