On November 13th and 14th Costa Rican entrepreneurs of hotel brands, investment funds and real estate developers will be meeting in Costa Rica to discuss sustainable investments in the industry.
The event is being organized by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) and will take place at the Hotel Real Intercontinental.
Coffee and tobacco farms in Panama increase their performance when they are used not only as farms but also as rural tourism destinations.
Agricultural production combined with recreation and tourist attraction has created additional financial income for Panamanian producers. According to statistics from the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA) released by Laestrella.com.pa, the number of agritourism farms in the country rose from 28 in 2014 to 220 in 2015.
The First Congress of Tourism Integration will be held on the March 22nd and 23rd in Panama City, with the objective of establishing a road map for the sector.
With this conference the Tourism Authority of Panama is aiming to bring together the different players in the industry in order to establish the roadmap for the sector.
"... Twelve workshops will be held, each relating to a market segment.The idea is that each workshop presents the current situation in its segment, holds a debate and draws conclusions which can be translated into action, " said Alfredo Motta, event organizer to Laestrella.com.pa.
Tourist companies believe that sustainability is not an easy process, however it can be a good idea if it is about doing business.
Katiana Murillo in her article in Baños, reviews the opinion of some companies who participated in Expotur 2013, regarding the question of whether sustainability can be good business for tourism entrepreneurs.
For example, Hotel Arenal Kioro (4 leaves from the CST) says that travel agencies support hotels with green policies, in Europe there are agencies that only work with sustainable hotels and in the U.S. there is a move in this direction.It is also a way to educate the customer and employees, which creates motivation and both of these have an impact on savings.
The bill being presented seeks to promote rural community tourism by granting concessions on the islands in the Gulf of Nicoya for up to 35 years.
In order to promote the social, economic and ecotourism development of the islands in Costa Rica's Gulf of Nicoya, a bill presented recently to the country's congress recommends establishing concessions to be awarded as a priority to Costa Rican's living on the islands in possession of the appropriate papers and permits from the local municipal government.
The Law on Development of Rural Community Tourism regulates procedures for companies in order to be eligible for tax exemptions, among other incentives.
With the publication of this Law in the Official Newspaper, the 250 Costa Rican companies dedicated to community-based tourism can initiate the process to choose a system of incentives and exemptions under Act 8724, in force since November 2009, designate rural community tourism activities as follows:
The first Agro-Tourism Fair Grounds will be built in a 25,000 m2 area located in Puntarenas.
Elfinancierocr.com reports: "Construction will begin this semester and will include the surveying of the land for buildings and the fair grounds. Later, it is expected that the earth works will begin, along with the fencing of the area, as well as the internal and external divisions of the property."
The course is given entirely over the Internet using the Virtual Classroom teaching model established and recognized by the Educational Portal of the Americas.
The Organization of American States (OAS), via the Educational Portal of the Americas (www.educoas.org), and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), via its Distance Training Center (CECADI), are currently training the first 96 participants of the "Agro-eco-tourism: Basic elements for implementing an innovative tourism project" course. The group is made up of citizens form various member countries of the OAS and include those individuals from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Barbados, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Uruguay y Venezuela.
Ecotourism and rural tourism are attracting 38.5% of the visitors to the country, according to the National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur).
"Just last year alone some 733,000 individuals carried ecotourism, an activity which promotes the conservation and sustainability of natural resources, as well as the inclusion and active participation of the local populations," Canatur explained.