From January to April 2019 the company Apple Vacations will be running a weekly charter flight between the airport of Liberia, Guanacaste, and Rockford in Illinois, United States.
The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) reported that the route which will bring 2,340 tourists to the country will have a weekly frequency.
The number of foreign visitors who arrived in the country during Easter Week increased by 33% compared to the same period in 2017, while domestic tourism grew by 21%.
Figures from the Guatemalan Tourism Institute detail that "...
In its new warning system for tourists, the US government included Panama and Costa Rica at the lowest risk level, Nicaragua at level 2 and Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, in the category "Reconsider Travel".
The US Department of State has announced modifications to its system of travel alerts and recommendations to citizens considering traveling to other countries.The new advisory system divides nations into four levels, according to the risks present in each country.
Between January and August, tourists' arrivals grew by only 1.3% compared to the same period in 2016, mainly due to a 3.4% reduction in the arrival of Americans.
While the Minister of Tourism attributes the reduced tourists arrivals to a change of government in the United States, private entrepreneurs think that part of the decrease is due to a reduction in the supply of seats on flights from US cities to Costa Rica.
Hotel entrepreneurs in Costa Rica attribute the decline in occupancy rates to a lesser flow of US tourists visiting the country, which in the first half fell by 2%.
According to the results of an occupancy survey carried out by the Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels among its affiliates, hotel occupancy fell by 5% in June compared to the same month in 2016, and projections for the coming months are not very flattering.
Last year 62,500 people arrived in the country aboard cruise ships, registering a 35% growth compared with the previous year.
Figures from the Nicaraguan Tourism Institute's Statistics Bulletin for 2016 reveal an increase in the number of tourists who arrived in the country aboard cruise ships, as well as other data relevant to the tourism sector.
Up to September 2016 tourist activities such as business, medical treatments and traditional tourism generated $3.624 billion, 16% more than the same period in 2015.
While traditional or vacation tourism is still the main source of revenue generated in the tourism sector, with 64% of total revenue up to September 2016, other activities such as medical tourism and business trips are gaining more and more strength.Revenues generated in the segment of medical or wellbeing tourism accounted for 13% of the total, while revenues generated by business tourism accounted for 15%.
The number of international arrivals to the country last year grew by 10% compared to 2015, reaching a record 2.9 million visitors.
During the year 2,925,128 international arrivals to the country were reported, and over 70% came in by air, which represents the main means of entry.2016 showed growth of 13.8%; in other words, almost 260 thousand more arrivals than in 2015.
Tourism entrepreneurs have suggested setting up a border post in El Naranjo in order to encourage the arrival of international tourists coming from Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
The announcement of the possible construction of a coastal highway in the Pacific, represents an opportunity for entrepreneurs in the tourism sectorto further enhance the development of tourism in the area and also provide a route for foreign tourists arriving at the Liberia airport in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
At the beginning of the peak tourist season entrepreneurs are optimistic about the withdrawal of the security alert that the US government had emitted.
The alert was issued by the US government weeks before the holding of presidential elections.Jose Adan Aguerri, president of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP), said that"...The decision came at an opportune time because it occurs in the high season for tourism in the country. 'In high season there is an increased flow of tourists, and it is very good that they are issuing this notice so that citizens can come''."
Improvements in promoting marine tourism could be the cause of the increase in the number of tourists arriving on cruise ships in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2014.
According to tourism entrepreneurs, the promotional strategy that has been implemented to increase cruise ship arrivals to the country is paying off, and explains the observed increase in tourist arrivals by air.