Climate Risk Perception Among Investors in Marine and Coastal Tourism in Cabo Verde

Marine and coastal tourism represents the most significant economic activity within the Blue Economy, particularly in terms of trade volume, contribution to global GDP, and employment generation. This sector assumes an even more critical role in the economies of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), many of which are highly dependent on tourism as a primary engine of growth. Ironically, while SIDS contribute minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions, they are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Sea level rise, coastal erosion, algal blooms, and increasingly frequent extreme weather events pose substantial risks to their tourism industries—threatening jobs, household incomes, and public revenues. In this context, fostering a climate-resilient tourism sector is essential for safeguarding livelihoods and ensuring sustainable development in SIDS. A key stakeholder in this effort is the community of private investors operating along the tourism value chain. Their decisions—regarding where and what to invest in, how to design and construct tourism infrastructure, and how to operate it—have profound implications for climate adaptation and resilience. Therefore, understanding how tourism investors perceive climate risks and how these perceptions influence their investment decision-making is crucial for designing effective public policies that promote resilience. This chapter presents the findings of a study conducted in Cabo Verde, a tourism-dependent SIDS located in West Africa. The study aimed to assess the level and characteristics of climate change awareness among investors in the country’s marine and coastal tourism sector and to identify the factors influencing this awareness. Employing a sequential mixed-methods research design—combining a structured survey with in-depth interviews with key informants—the research reveals that while general awareness of climate change is relatively high (particularly among larger, more experienced, and non-Cape Verdean investors), this awareness has not yet translated into the systematic incorporation of climate risk considerations into investment decisions. These findings offer important insights for policymakers seeking to steer tourism investment toward greater climate resilience in SIDS and across Africa. The study also highlights the need for further research to understand how investor awareness and engagement with climate risks evolve, what behavioral and contextual factors drive such engagement, and what role information dissemination and institutional communication can play in this process.