Costa Rican Authorities are Pleased with 2003 Tourism Numbers
Costa Rica’s travel industry appears to be putting past hard years behind after closing the year 2003 with an 8 percent increase, a couple of percentage points above the previous 6 percent estimate. Tourism Minister Rodrigo Castro said that nearly half the total of visitors coming to the country hail from the United States for a double-digits growth in 2003, while the number of European tourists rose by 17 percent.
According to Mr. Castro, the good numbers stem from the implementation since early last year of a comprehensive tourism development plan that intends to notch a 6.6 percent annual average growth over the next ten years. A considerable chunk of the results is owed to the strategy of drawing more flights to the country, as many as 65 over the past 18 months.
In the same breath, the overshoot of travelers has egged on foreign investors to pour money into Costa Rica’s hotel industry.
That same all-embracing plan also includes the building of come 19,000 hotel rooms over the next decade, a move bound to generate 50,000 new full-time jobs in the business, Mr. Castro pointed out.
As to hoteliers complaints over heavy taxation, Mr. Castro explained their grumbling is completely groundless, chiefly taking into account that the country averaged a 55 percent occupancy rate. That proves taxes are not shooing travelers away, he said.
Though the figures put up in 2003 give enough reasons for celebration within the sector, Mr. Castro believes this year could close with even bigger numbers.
In achieving that goal, the Costa Rican Tourism Institute has started building a huge international conference center bankrolled by Taiwan- and is embarked on improving infrastructure at the countrys two major seaports, one on the Pacific coast and the other on the Caribbean.
(Caribbean NewsВ 88)
January 10, 2004
Posted in: Central America