Footfall analytics helps to make critical operational and strategic decisions for any type of business, improving conversion rates, maximizing sales, optimizing costs and increasing brand positioning.
Thanks to mobility data, retailers can get a deeper insight into their business by analyzing changes in sales volumes and the consequences of fluctuations in footfall levels inside and outside stores. At the same time, they can measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, providing a clearer picture of what really works for a target audience.
Greater air connectivity is one of the factors that explains the increase in income generated from tourism activities in the first quarter in Costa Rica, when $1.182 billion was reported.
The travel category, in the exports section of the Balance of Payments, is composed mostly of the expense of foreigners who arrive for holiday trips, and the increase reported in the first quarter, which is the high season, is attributed to good promotion of the country and better air connectivity.
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.
Between January and September 2016 the Central American countries imported a monthly average of $11 million worth of new tires for light vehicles.
Figures from the information system on the tire market in Central America complied by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [Figure caption = "Click to interact with graphics"]
Suppliers and representatives from local hotels and Central Americans will be gathering together in Managua on October 21st to participate in conferences and business appointments.
As a result of tourism growth and increased demand for these services the first edition of the Feria de Nicaragua will be held in the convention center of the Crowne Plaza hotel. Over 150 suppliers and 300 hotel owners are expected to attend.
Among the requests made to new government sector by entrepreneurs is for long-term policies and for more attention to be paid to the internal market .
Attracting a larger number of airlines, diversifying supply routes and prices and promoting the range of regional products that Costa Rica offers are also pending tasks for the new minister, Wilhelm Von Breyman according to entrepreneurs.
On March 29th and 30th tourism companies from 10 countries will be taking part in business meetings with local companies.
Tourism businesses from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Chile, El Salvador, the USA, Guatemala, Panama and Venezuela will gather together on 29th and 30th of March in Nicaragua, where the Central American nation's second summer tourism fair will be held.
In 2013 the isthmus received 4.2% more tourists than in 2012, whereas global tourism traffic grew by 5%.
The visible recovery of the tourism industry in Central America is not as strong as in the rest of the world.
In the latest data on the tourism sector in 2013 presented by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Central America appears below the average percentage of worldwide tourism growth, with 4.2%.
Half of Canadian tourists and 30% of American ones come to Costa Rica via the Daniel Oduber Airport in Guanacaste.
Six years ago the ratio was 35% of Canadians coming into the country via the Daniel Oduber airport in Liberia. This air terminal also has become a favorite of U.S. tourists, as 30% enter through there whereas in 2007 the figure was just 20%.
During the first six months of the year 1.32 million visitors entered the country, while in the same period of 2012 it was 1.28 million.
The result is in line with the behavior of the international industry, as globally there was growth on average of about 4% between January and June, said Ruben Pacheco, president of the Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels (CCH).
Mexico, Spain and Poland are looking to position themselves as medical tourism destinations competing with the traditional ones such as India, Thailand, Brazil and Turkey.
From an article by the Costa Rican Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
Besides traditional competitors such as India, Thailand, Brazil and Turkey, new international players such as Mexico, Spain and Poland are now seeking to position themselves as medical tourism destinations. On the one hand is Poland, which through a government program is trying to promote itself as a good country in which to find health treatment, rehabilitation, diagnosis and aesthetics services and, through its participation in three consecutive fairs (Miami 2012, Moscow and Monaco in March 2013), has managed to be taken into account by the experts as a new player in this market.
The momentum in this sector needs more services and port infrastructure in order to consolidate and join the global growth of this industry.
The region needs to improve port infrastructure in order to be able to receive the new boats which are becoming bigger and bigger and with this take advantage of the 20% growth that is projected in the next season.
On 13 May, Costa Rican businessmen will meet at a business forum in which they will study strategies to position Costa Rica as a destination for the European market.
From a press release by the National Chamber of Tourism of Costa Rica (CANATUR):
The European region represents one of the main markets for attracting tourists to Costa Rica, which, according to figures from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), received 284,996 visitors from Europe, which means about 12% of total reported income in 2012.
Macro figures for tourism in Costa Rica have already exceed those of the years before the global crisis of 2009, but the results obtained by operators are low.
During 2012, tourists who came to Costa Rica spent $2.425 billion, 34% more than in 2009, but the increase in income has not generated higher profits for the tourism sector.
For example, Miguel Zamora, owner of Hotel Cerro Chato Eco Lodge, in La Fortuna, San Carlos, said that although most tourists now come with increased spending power there are factors preventing the situation from making a profit for them.