Because of the restriction measures decreed in the country due to the covid-19 outbreak, between March and April of this year the average hotel rate for two people decreased from $160 to $120.
Friday, May 8, 2020
According to the "Monetary Policy Report" prepared by the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR), in the face of the health crisis, hotel occupancy in the country has plummeted in the first four months of the year, from 90% in January to 15% in April.
Data from the BCCR indicate that Guanacaste and Puntarenas are the provinces where hotel occupancy has fallen the most. See the full official document.
Rubén Ancón, president of the National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur) told Nacion.com that "... an occupation of between 10% and 15% is technically a closure, more so when they are establishments with 400 rooms."
According to Flora Ayub, executive director of the Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels, "... 'there are regions of the country that live off tourism like Tortuguero. There all the activity is linked to this activity. Or La Fortuna, where there are small and medium sized family establishments closed due to the current situation."
According to forecasts from CentralAmericaData, the sharp drop expected in the income of the tourism industry in Central America will be partly explained by the decline in hotel activity and tourist marinas.
For specific forecasts for your country and your business sector, see the interactive report "Information System: Covid-19 and Business Outlook".
Due to Costa Rica's estimated average hotel occupancy rate of 52% by 2020, well below the 95% recorded at the end of 2019, businessmen in the sector expect that in this context of crisis there will be no peak seasons next year.
The tourism sector is one of the hardest hit by the economic crisis generated by the outbreak of covid-19, because mobility restrictions, the closure of air terminals and the fear of tourists to be infected, have influenced the drastic fall in tourism activity.
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.
One of the most relevant sectors for the Costa Rican economy is declared in "Total Emergency and State of Calamity", as it is the first time in the "zero" season that total income ceases.
The Board of Directors of the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) stated that all State institutions, Powers of the Republic, Autonomous and Semi-Autonomous Institutions, as well as Municipalities throughout the country, are required to collaborate in the broadest and most expeditious manner within the framework that the serious reality demands, in order to alleviate the situation of the Private Tourism Sector.
The hotel industry ended the year with an occupancy rate of 65.5% in December, below expectations of 70%.
According to a survey conducted by the Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels, the low occupancy rate was recorded both at the beach hotels as well as mountain resorts.
"As usual, the most sought after hotels are on the beach. Occupation in this sector was 84%, although in 2011 it reached 97%.
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