The government sent to Congress the General Law of Tourism Act and the Foster Tourism in Rural Communities Act.
Among others provisions, tourism will be declared to be in the "national interest," a National Registry of Tourism will be created where businesses with activities in this sector will be recorded, and the "rights and obligations of tourists" will be established.
To address the economic crisis that affects the region, the World Bank will contribute $3 billion this year.
Diariolasamericas.com publishes in its website: "The Bank will contribute ´$3 billion for Central America´ as part of the contingency aid to address the effects of the crisis in these countries that are so dependent on trade with the United States,´ said Cox."
The three State Banks, the National Bank, the Bank of Costa Rica and the Credito Agricola Bank, will introduce mechanisms for lowering credit rates.
Nacion.com reports on its website: "The National Bank is in the process of defining what will be the specific procedures and policies in order to deal with the most urgent needs of clients," said the manager of the bank, William Hayden, in brief written response to this paper."
The government added a reduction in telephone rates and an increase in the bandwidth of internet connections to the measures for dealing with the crisis.
The measure for the expansion of the internet connection bandwidth seeks to increase the competitiveness of micro, small and medium businesses in order to face the global crisis.
The article on Mipunto.com says that "the expansion of the bandwidth will benefit micro, small and medium businesses, as it "will allow them to improve their competitiveness," Arias said at a joint press conference with Pedro Pablo Quiros, president of the state-owned Costa Rica Institute of Electricity, which is in charge of telecommunications."
The Government of Costa Rica is putting emphasis on social spending and investment in public works as measures to deal with the contraction of the economy.
Labor flexibility, expansion of unemployment benefits, adjustment of rates for credit at state banks, the reduction of work hours, increase in pension benefits, are some of the measures announced in the "Plan Escudo" (Shield Plan).
The government will present a package of measures today which include economic assistance for those who have lost their jobs.
Nacion.com reports: "The requirements, the amounts, and the duration of the benefits are details that will be announce when the president presents the economic measures to deal with the effects of the crisis."
When it declared a National Emergency, the government of Costa Rica estimated that there were $100 million in damages caused by Thursday's quake.
Nacion.com reports on the press conferences and indicates that "just in damages to road infrastructure the figure was estimated to be $15 million by Minister of Public Works and Transport, Karla Gonzalez.
This week the program for informing business owners and other private organizations about the future of the FTA begins as a part of the preliminary stage before starting the negotiations.
According to terra.com "To this end, the technical team will analyze the characteristics of the China - Peru and China - Chile FTAs during a seminar that will be held this Wednesday in San Jose, and which will be attended by business owners and leaders from the private sector, the Nacion daily reported."
The strategy for entering the Asian market will start in 2009 with the negotiation of FTAs with China and Singapore, with the expectation of completing them before Mayo 2010.
"The first round with China will be held on January 19, and will be an important investment opportunity, while with Singapore it will be a parallel process with a partner that could draw us closer to other countries in the region, such as Malaysia and Thailand," indicated the Minister of Foreign Trade, Marco Vinicio Ruiz.
On Tuesday, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias and his counterpart, President Sellapan Rama Nathan of Singapore agreed to start the process, during a visit the Asian country.
An agreement with Singapore has been rumored for some months now, ever since the Minister of Foreign Trade (Comex), Marco Vinicio Ruiz, spoke of the possibility. However no government official had spoken of this formally.
Since yesterday, the XXXII Conference of the Central America and Caribbean Group being held in Miami will cover the challenges causes by the financial crisis in the region.
Leaders participating include the presidents of Costa Rica, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Panama and the Prime Ministers of Belize and Guyana.
According to the executive director of Caribbean-Central American Action (CCAA), Anton Edmunds, the somber scene generated by the economic crisis in the US affects key sectors in the Caribbean Basin and Central America.
The government of President Oscar Arias believes that the Constitution of Costa Rica, which has been in effect since 1949, "urgently" needs to be reformed.
The reforms are necessary in order to end the "legal paralysis" affecting the country, said the minister of the Presidency who is also the president's brother, Rodrigo Arias.
Arias argued that the current Constitution needs to be changed in order to eliminate a series of legal obstacles that prevent the Executive Power from moving ahead with its initiatives.
The initiative proposed by president Oscar Arias seeks to strengthen the sector and shield it from the global crisis.
The president said that the National Bank, the Bank of Costa Rica and the Agricultural Bank of Cartago have enough liquidity and that this is just a preventative measure.
President Arias will travel to Singapore with the hope of attracting investment for several sectors, especially for investment in the port.
The approach to Asian countries has become a priority for the Costa Rican president.
A government mission, which will include the president of the Republic, Oscar Arias, will visit Singapore from December 1 to 5 with the purpose of attracting investment for areas such as technology, ports, education and tourism.
The 25-year agreement was signed during President Hu Jintao's visit to Costa Rica, CNPC said in a statement.
The deal calls for the expansion of the Moin refinery in Costa Rica and the launch of feasibility studies for a new refinery with an annual capacity of 10 mln tons.
After the expansion, Moin's crude processing capacity will rise to 3 mln tons from the current 1.2 mln.