Santa Maria is a city located on the south coast of the island municipality of Sal, Cape Verde. The city is located about 16 kilometers south of the Amilcar Cabral International Airport and 20 kilometers south of the island’s capital, Espargos.
Historically, Santa Maria was established in 1830 to produce salt. The annual production of salt from this area reached 30,000 tons. A port was built in the area of Ponta de Vera Cruz to transport the salt to the pier, as well as a railway line.
Most salt was exported to Brazil, but this ceased in 1887 due to Brazil imposing a high tax on imported salt to protect its production.
After that, the city practically fell into disrepair, but its restoration began in 1920 thanks to the investment of a Portuguese entrepreneur who resumed salt mining. This activity continued until 1984. In 1935, Santa Maria was rebranded from a village to a city.
In 1967, Belgian industrial entrepreneurs and engineers Georges Vinquier and Marguerite Massard opened the first resort hotel on the island of Cabo Verde called Morabesa.
After 1986 tourism became an important industry for the island and many resorts and hotels were built on the south and southwest coast near Santa Maria. As of 2017, almost half of all available hotel rooms in the country were located on Sal Island.