An industry award has put the spotlight on one of West Africa's most surprising hiking destinations. Groups Today has named the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) a 2026 Newsmaker of the Year, honouring its influence on group and adventure travel — and the work singled out is a week-long showcase on the Cabo Verde islands.
AdventureWEEK Cabo Verde was the island nation's first niche-specific market activation of its kind. It brought international adventure travel buyers, media and storytellers to three islands — Santo Antão, São Nicolau and São Vicente — all known for dramatic trails and strong local culture, from food to music. The week wrapped with a full-day marketplace where local tour suppliers met buyers and press face to face. ATTA president Gustavo Timo summed it up as a chance to show off the islands' trails, gastronomy, culture and people in a single week.
The numbers behind it are striking for a small destination. ATTA's post-event report projects the programme will generate around 7.2 million USD over three years, bring roughly 3,000 additional travellers, and create 23 new itineraries, plus video and written content aimed at both trade and consumer audiences.
Timing helps, too. Cabo Verde qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 2026, putting its name and flag in front of millions who had probably never heard of the archipelago. The country now has a rare window to convert sports-fuelled curiosity into actual trip bookings — and hiking is the product it's leading with.
ATTA frames this kind of work around what it calls the '3 Ds': diversifying products, dispersing travellers and deepening experiences. The idea is to spread tourism money beyond the usual resorts and beaches, attract visitors who respect the places they explore, and protect what makes a destination distinctive. Cabo Verde is one of several destinations where this playbook is being applied.
Why should a traveller care? Because Santo Antão and São Nicolau are exactly the kind of places worth visiting before the crowds work them out: ridgeline walks above cloud forests, terraced valleys, fishing villages and a genuinely distinctive Creole culture that blends African and Portuguese roots. Direct flights from Europe and no visa hassle for many nationalities make it an easy add to the adventure list.
