President Carlos Alvarado and the Minister of Tourism Gustavo Segura, signed the Law for the Promotion of Tourist Marinas and Coastal Development, a regulation that modernizes the conditions in which the country's marinas operate.
The law, signed on April 5, authorizes foreign-flagged vessels and their crews to carry out lucrative activities related to aquatic transportation, recreation and tourism within the waters of the national territory, allowing the hiring of national captains and sailors to carry out these practices, informed the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT).
Due to the outbreak of covid-19 worldwide and restrictions on passenger transportation, only 1.01 million visitors arrived in the country during 2020, 68% less than what was reported in 2019, when 3.14 million tourists arrived.
Although the fall in tourist arrivals was generally resounding, during the last months of 2020 a more favorable behavior was reported.
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.
As a result of the covid19 outbreak, Costa Rica closed its borders to tourism and during April and May practically no visitors entered the country, a situation that will persist in the coming months due to the slow reactivation of the sector.
In order to mitigate the advance of the virus, by means of a government decree the authorities ordered that as of March 18 only Costa Ricans and residents could enter the country.
Refinancing the debts of tourism companies, reviewing the exchange rate policy so that the country is not a very expensive destination and recovering the category of aviation security are some of the actions that the government should focus on to prevent the bankruptcy of this sector.
In addition to the millions of investments that have been made in this sector, it is very important for the country because according to official figures for 2019, its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product amounts to about 7%.
New health and hygiene protocols in the establishments and the commitment to attract national tourists in an environment where short trips will be preferred, are some of the trends predicted in the new "normality" that will come after the quarantine period.
Given the quarantines decreed by most governments worldwide, it is anticipated that the habits of tourists will change dramatically in the short and medium term, as the crisis of covid-19 will leave consequences among consumers.
Within the framework of the national emergency declared by the government due to the crisis of the covid19, the decision was taken to suspend from March 19 to April 12, 2020, the entry of foreigners to the country.
In the case of flights, a decree instructs that from this Wednesday March 18 from 23:59 until 23:59 Sunday April 12, 2020 only Costa Ricans and residents may enter the country, explains a statement from the Ministry of Health.
Some of the most notable effects caused by the spread of covid-19 is the cancellation of at least 8,000 hotel nights in Costa Rica, and the interruption by Iberia of its flights from Madrid to Guatemala and San Salvador.
Businessmen in the region agree that due to the virus that has been spreading from China, supply chains have been interrupted, which is combined with a drop in the transit of people, causing losses to the tourism sector.
Because of the country's economic situation, between 2017 and 2018 there was a 2% drop in the number of Costa Ricans who left from Juan Santamaria Airport and 4% in total expenditures abroad.
Aeris Costa Rica figures detail that between 2017 and 2018 the number of national departures from Juan Santamaria Airport went from 793,000 to 780,000. Regarding 2019 data, up to September the figure reaches 579,000.
During the first semester of 2019, foreign tourists in Costa Rica spent $2,228 million, exceeding by 3.8% what was reported in the same period of 2018.
Data from the Central Bank of Costa Rica indicate that between January and June 2018 and the same period in 2019, tourist spending increased by $81 million, from $2,147 million to $2,229 million.
During the first half of the year, 1.73 million visitors arrived in Costa Rica, a figure 3.9% higher than that reported in the same period in 2018, behavior that is explained by the rise in the arrival of tourists from North America.
Figures from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute specify that only during June of this year, the arrival of 249 thousand visitors was registered, 11% more than those reported in the same month of 2018.
Although between 2017 and 2018 the average spending of tourists in Costa Rica fell 14%, businessmen estimate that the country has the capacity to absorb more demand.
Figures from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) specify that in the last two years the average expenditure made by tourists who arrive in the country decreased by $226, going from $1,561 in 2017 to $1,335 in 2018, and the stay per person remains around 12 nights.
After nearly 100,000 Mexican tourists visited Costa Rica in 2018, this year the authorities plan to intensify the country's promotion in Mexico's main cities.
According to the latest estimates, this year about 508,000 Mexicans would be considering vacationing in Costa Rica.
Visits by foreigners to undergo medical procedures in Costa Rica last year generated $437 million, 5% more than was registered in 2016.
According to figures from the Central Bank of Costa Rica, medical tourism revenues have shown sustained growth, as in 2015, 2016 and 2017 there were reports of increases in relation to each of the preceding years of 9%, 16% and 5% respectively.
An agreement with two Guanacastecan municipalities promises to improve conditions to strengthen this market niche, where the average tourist stay ranges from 16 to 25 nights.
The National Bird Route consists of 12 nodes or sites from which specific observation sites can be accessed which have high diversity of birds.Some of these nodes coincide with the Tourist Development Centers that are made up of several local communities, reserves or national parks, which extends the potential for tourist experiences associated with the route.
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