As of November 1st, meeting centers and event halls, including hotels, will be able to accommodate business and academic activities for up to 150 people.
In addition, in the specific case of social activities such as tea baskets or weddings, the maximum allowed capacity will be 30 people, also without the inclusion of those in charge of attending the event, reported the Costa Rican Tourism Institute.
Attracting executives, pensioners and people willing to work remotely from Costa Rica, who extend their stay in the country for long periods, are some of the business opportunities that businessmen have detected in the current commercial scenario.
Although the sector is practically in the zero season, since the outbreak of covid-19 Costa Rica closed the borders to tourism, and during April and May there were practically no visitors to the country, the businessmen are beginning to prepare themselves to face the new commercial reality that arose from this abrupt change in the ways that people relate to each other on a global level.
In Costa Rica, 5% of people who show interest in traveling are attracted by adventure tourism, and about 40% of them are between 21 and 30 years old, and have a high level of purchasing power.
An analysis of consumer interests and preferences in Costa Rica, compiled by CentralAmericaData's Trade Intelligence Unit, provides interesting results on the characteristics of people who express an interest in travel. [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphics]
In 2019 the country will be the host of a meeting of the Regional Commission of the World Tourism Organization for the Americas.
From a statement issued by the Guatemalan Tourism Institute:
Paraguay, April 13, 2018.Today Guatemala was selected as the venue for the 64th meeting of the Regional Commission of the World Tourism Organization for the Americas (CAM), in the framework of the 63rd meeting of the regional commission, in which they will also be holding the International Seminar on the empowerment of women in Asunción, Paraguay.
In Costa Rica, hotels and companies in the sector are preparing themselves with expansions and new services in order to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the new convention center.
The recent inauguration of the new convention center, with 16 thousand square meters and capacity to hold up to 5,600 people at the same time, promises to boost the country's hotel activity, particularly in the Greater Metropolitan Area.
The administrator of the new convention center in Costa Rica plans to start operations in April, and in the next four years it is expected that 60 congresses will be organized, which will generate $180 million.
Nacion.com reports that "...The Colombian consortium, Heroica-Volio Trejos, is fine-tuning details such as the hiring of employees, the reception of the list of activities already sold by the ICT and some logistics adjustments in the building, in order to realise the opening of the National Congress and Conventions Center (CNCC by its initials in Spanish)."
The 60 congresses planned for the next five years in Costa Rica will bring together more than 32,000 people and have an economic impact of almost $180 million.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute:
December 6, 2017.The Costa Rican Institute of Tourism (ICT), confirmed the realization of 60 international congresses in Costa Rica, between 2017 and 2021. These events will bring together more than 32,000 participants and generate an economic impact of almost 180 million dollars.
The average european tourist plans trips less than a year in advance and searches and books tour packages via the internet, without using intermediaries.
A study by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute to identify best prospectsfound that"... generally Europeans decide on their holiday destination less than a year in advance and in most cases organize their trips independently i.e., without using intermediaries. It was also found that the most used methods of finding information include recommendations from friends, search engines and online travel agencies and websites promoting the destinations.
The goal of tourism authorities is to organize 950 conferences and conventions for 500 people each in the next five years, generating $1.3 billion in revenue.
The five-year plan presented by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) is based on the opening of the National Congress and Convention Center (CNCC), which is scheduled for the first quarter of 2018.
Up to September 2016 tourist activities such as business, medical treatments and traditional tourism generated $3.624 billion, 16% more than the same period in 2015.
While traditional or vacation tourism is still the main source of revenue generated in the tourism sector, with 64% of total revenue up to September 2016, other activities such as medical tourism and business trips are gaining more and more strength.Revenues generated in the segment of medical or wellbeing tourism accounted for 13% of the total, while revenues generated by business tourism accounted for 15%.
From June 19 to 23 companies working in convention tourism will be meeting in Antigua with international buyers and suppliers in order to develop business opportunities.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute:
Guatemala January 26, 2017.The Guatemalan Tourism Institute, INGUAT together with the Convention Bureau of Guatemala, announced that the City of Antigua Guatemala will host the Latin America Meetings and Incentives Travel Exchange, Lamite, from June 19 to 23.
The company's proposal states that in just two months it could start making tax
payments, putting to the test the responsiveness of bureaucracy against the speed of the real economy.
Airbnb, one of the leading global companies that is taking advantage of the momentum that the technological revolution has provided to the collaborative economy, has now created a housingsupply available for seasonal rental in Costa Rica which is equivalent to 18% of the supply of hotels.
The construction companies Van Der Laat y Jimenez, Estructuras, S.A., and Edica, submitted bids to build and equip a new convention center in Costa Rica.
Copa Airlines has announced two weekly flights between Tocumen and the International Airport Capitan FAP Jose A. Quiñones in Chiclayo, Peru, from June 28.
From a statement issued by Copa Airlines:
Lima, March 18, 2016. Copa Airlines {NYSE: CPA} a subsidiary of Copa Holdings, SA, and member of the global airline network Star Alliance, announced its new route between the historic city of Chiclayo and Panama City, from next June 28 2016, with two weekly frequencies. With this destination, the airline will increase the connectivity of northern Peru with the rest of the Americas.
Nature Air has announced that it will now fly twice daily between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, in order to meet the growing demand on that route.
The high demand of passengers between Nicaragua and Costa Rica has encouraged the airline Nature Air to raise the number of daily flights between San Jose and Managua to two (one in the day and one at night).