After foreign exchange revenues from tourism in Costa Rica fell from $4 billion to $1.343 billion between 2019 and 2020 due to the closure of borders and airports, it is projected that the sector will remain in the red during 2021.
March 2020, when most countries began to register Covid-19 cases, was the month in which revenues began to fall. Statistics from the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR) show that in this context of pandemic, between April and October of last year, the Costa Rican tourism industry practically did not earn any foreign currency.
The amount of visitors arrivals to Central America and the Dominican Republic shows a downward trend since 2016, which was consolidated in 2019 and worsened in 2020, a phenomenon that is explained by the events recorded in the extra-regional market.
Between 2015 and 2019, the countries of the SICA region, the average growth rate of visitor arrivals was 4.9%, where only in 2019 there was a negative rate of -0.2%, highlights a document of the Secretariat for Central American Tourism Integration (SITCA) published in January 2021.
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.
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.
Between October and November, the number of visitors from the US quadrupled, from 6,000 to 24,000, a rise reported in the context of the economic reopening and the reactivation of commercial flights.
The 24,606 Americans who arrived in the country during November, represent a little more than a quarter of the visits from the US registered in the same month of 2019, informed the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT).
As of October 1st, citizens and residents of Mexico may enter Costa Rican territory by air, under the condition that they comply with the sanitary requirements imposed by the authorities to contain the outbreak of covid-19.
As part of the process of reactivating air connectivity, Jamaican tourists will also be able to enter and the authorization for California residents will be reconfirmed.
As of September 1, the authorities will allow the entry of U.S. residents from the states of Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, and as of September 15, tourists from Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Colorado will also be able to arrive.
The current scenario of reactivation of commercial flights and tourist activities, are an opportunity for insurers to increase their sales, since the hiring of a policy is a mandatory requirement for tourists to be allowed to travel.
Products that offer a refund in the event of having to cancel the trip due to illness, as well as coverage at the destination if the person becomes ill, both for medical expenses and for lodging in case a quarantine is needed, constitute a great opportunity in this context of the spread of covid-19.
As of September 1st, Costa Rica's tourist marinas will be authorized to receive foreign visitors, who must comply with all the requirements established by local authorities.
As a result of the covid-19 outbreak and the closing of the borders decreed by the government, the arrival of foreign tourists to Costa Rican marinas was restricted for more than five months.
Because Costa Rica requires foreign visitors to take out a local policy, which costs more than $275 for a two-week stay, tour operators are asking that insurance taken out abroad be accepted as an incentive for tourist arrivals.
After more than four months of the country's borders being closed to tourists, commercial flights resumed on Aug. 3 with the arrival of an Iberia plane carrying more than 200 passengers from Spain.
Local authorities confirm that sanitary measures for the entry and exit of passengers have already been approved, and so far the plan is to reopen the Juan Santamaría and Daniel Oduber international airports as of August 1.
Civil aviation officials confirm that the first flights that would be authorized to arrive at the air terminal in the Costa Rican capital would come from the U.S., Canada and Europe.
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%.
Adapting spaces in the restaurant area, selling themselves to tourists as a clean and safe establishment, are some of the strategies that hotel sector businessmen plan to apply in order to adjust to the new commercial reality resulting from the health emergency.
The spread of covid-19 has forced health authorities to restrict the mobility of people and to close several establishments, with hotels being one of the most affected.
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