News about travel, vacations, adventures and retirement in Costa Rica
Posts tagged: Costa Rica Tourism
Although, according to the official sources, the number of tourists has not dropped significantly over the last year, the amount of money tourists leave behind has dropped drastically.
According to the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT), in 2008 each tourist left behind an average of $1.040 during an average of a 10 day stay, but in 2009, the average stay was only 9 and half days and the amount left behind dropped to $855. Read more »
It’s expected that 122 ships will dock at the Puntarenas/Caldera port until next June: an increase of 24 cruiseliners over the last year.
In September, the Island Princess will bring more than 2.000 passengers to Puntarenas/Caldera. In October the Norwegian Pearl, Infinity, Millennium, Coral Princess and Sea Princess are all expected to dock in Costa Rica. Read more »
According to the official numbers, the number of visitors from U.S. to Costa Rica dropped by at least 5%, according to the Carib World News newspaper.
The number of U.S. visitors to the Caribbean declined 7.3% for the first six months of 2009 (compared to last year).
The Internet newspaper said that the visitor statistics was based on air travelers.
Five participants (4 Colombians and 1 Brazilian), are in Costa Rica as winners of a contest partially sponsored by the Instituto Costarricence de Turismo. That contest revolves around the TV series "Lost". One of the hosts and the star of the show is Jorge Garcia. He plays Hugo. Read more »
The Turrialba volcano is one of two active volcanos situated at the east end of the Central Valley. The other one is Irazu. Both are practically joined at the bottom and are considered two craters for the same volcanic system underneath.
Turrialba as well as Irazu volcano is being closely monitored by electronic devices to detect any increase in activity.
The national emergency commission is taking steps to improve the escape route from the vicinity of the Turrialba volcano. Meanwhile, the commission and local officials are asking the Ministerio de Ambiente, Energía y Telecomunicaciones to close the park around the volcano to reduce the number of people who might have to leave in a hurry. The emergency commission is also doing a census of the population around the volcano and making plans for temporary housing if it comes to evacuation. Read more »
1500s The San Juan River served as an i mportant travel and trade route used by explorers, pirates, merchants and missionaries.
1820s The river became an important commercial asset as an export route to the Caribbean for gold and, later, coffee.
1858 The Cañas-Jeréz treaty was signed, defining Nicaragua’s ownership and Costa Rica’s navigation rights. The treaty was not only central to the conflict between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, but also to United States and England, which stood at either end of the dispute. Costa Rica (which sided with England ) was pressured by the U.S. to hand the river over to Nicaragua. At the same time, a clause was added granting Costa Rica the freedom to navigate the river for trade and fiscal purposes. Read more »
Millions of locals are getting ready for the “mid-year vacations”: schools in Costa Rica will be on vacation between July 4 and July 19.
This week ads for deals at hotels and resorts have been in all the local print newspapers, deals for rooms for only $30 a night in places like Manuel Antonio or $65 for a La Fortuna (Arenal) hotel, which also includes three meals with the room. Read more »
For many decades, Costa Ricans as well as tourists had to choose between a road that was filled with potholes and horrible bridges and the long route through the Cerro de la Muerte, to get from San Jose to Dominical.
The 42 kilometre trip between Quepos and Dominical takes more than 2 hours now, that’s when the weather is perfect. You’re facing potholes the size of your car, bridges that move as your vehicle passes, lots of rock and flooding of some parts of the road to name a few. Read more »
Ruta (highway) 245 that runs along the east side of the Osa Peninsula just got a $30 million face lift. 8 bridges were constructed from scratch to make an all-weather road of the 21-mile stretch between Puerto Jimenez and Rincon south.
The improved highway is good for tourism. Now motorists can use it to reach roads that go to Parque Nacional Corcovado in dry or wet weather conditions.
Have you checked the flight prices lately? If not, you’ll be pleasantly surprised! For example, a return flight from New York around Christmas/New Year will set you back ONLY $350. That’s twice less than it was just last year!
Even traditionally resistant TACA announced Wednesday that it will be reducing its corporate fares in light of the current economic circumstances.
Taca’s business class travelling to/from Costa Rica, will now be receiving discounts of up to 35 percent.
Costa Rican local airline NatureAir, has experienced increases in open seats as well. As Costa Rica tourist numbers drop, so does the number of travelers willing to pay for local flights.
So, may be it’s a great time to visit beautiful Costa Rica after all.
About 150 people gathered Wednesday at the Hotel Ramada Plaza Herradura in Escazú, west of San José, for the first in a region conference on sustainable tourism and businesses. The Central American Congress of Sustainable Tourism and Corporate Social Responsibility was organized by the National Tourism Chamber and leading conservation organizations such as Rainforest Alliance.
The National Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR) estimates 11 percent decline in tourism in the first quarter comparing the same period in 2008. Faced with economic crisis many businesses are tightening their belts and thinking about layoffs.
Long-term money-saving mechanisms will be the key for survival of businesses facing tough times, says Ronald Sanabria, vice president of sustainable tourism with Rainforest Alliance. “This is not the time to (throw in) the towel, but actually the time to take advantage of the investments you’ve already made in your company to make it more sustainable in line with trends in the marketplace,” Sanabria says.
This year Costa Rica has increased its global marketing budget from USD14m in 2008 to USD20m to promote the country as a C&I destination
Costa Rica Tourism Board’s Olman Hernandez Lobo said “We pay a lot of attention to the US and Europe, including England, Spain, Germany, and Scandinavian countries.” Among other things Tourism Board is planing on opening a new conference centre in the next five years.
Lobo added that Costa Rica’s hotel industry is also growing. “Many hotels chains are interested in building properties here, including Hyatt and Hilton.”
Hotel Indigo (brand owned by IHG) opened its Central American property launch in Costa Rica in April. The 100-room Hotel Indigo San Jose Forum offers two meeting rooms covering 95sqm, with capacity for 12 and 60 delegates respectively.
Guayabo Ceremonial Center, Costa Rica was built between 300 B.C. and 1400 A.D.. It is considered the main pre-Columbian archaeological site in Costa Rica. It is believed to reflect a bridge between the Mayans and the Incas.
The Guayabo historic site is situated in the province of Cartago.
The location was nominated by the Costa Rican Engineer and Architects College for its fascinating and still functional aqueducts and cobblestone roads.
This is only the second pre-Columbian site in the Americas to receive such a designation. The first one is Machu Picchu in Peru.
Source: asce.org (American Society of Civil Engineers)
Expotur is the country’s largest tourism advertising event. This year more then 250 foreign tourism wholesalers are expected in San Jose to negotiate some of the best tourism contracts that include lodging, all-inclusive deals, and adventure tours to mention a few.
President of Costa Rica, Óscar Arias Sánchez, is speaking tonight in the Teatro Nacional at the inauguration.
Source: www.amcostarica.com
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October 26, 2009 7:35 pm
Tourism
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