The number of tourists welcomed by Cape Verde in the first three months of this year increased by 17.2 percent year-on-year, to 190,653, the country’s National Statistics Institute has announced.

The figures refer to the aggregate number of guests lodged in the African nation’s hotels during the January to March period.

According to the statistics bureau, the number of overnight stays also increased in the first quarter. The country registered more than 1.1 million overnight stays during that period, up by 12.1 percent from the previous year.

Citizens from the United Kingdom accounted for 19.1 percent of Cape Verde’s tourists between January and March, the bureau added.