|
   - Photo via Ministry of Tourism -
|
||
 You
Might
Also Like    
     |
Published on Wednesday,
November
2, 2022
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff and wire services
William Rodriguez, Minister of Tourism, believes the country can anticipate visitor arrivals by diversifying destinations and using effective marketing, according to a Travel Pulse Magazine report. Projections for pandemic recovery predict the year 2024 or even 2025 as the time for returning to 2019-level of visitors. But Rodriguez is determined to get to those levels by 2023. So far this year, the number of visitors is 73% of 2019 but the numbers from the U.S. are only down 4% from the pre-pandemic period. Achieving those results is only one of three personal goals for Rodriguez. He also wants to launch an economic assistance program for tourism businesses, which he said are mostly micro- and mini-enterprises that are either family-run or otherwise smaller ventures. The third goal is to raise the profile of the social elements of Costa Rican tourism. According to the report, the government also has a five-year plan that includes diversifying promoted destinations and thus its appeal to visitors. While beaches are the top attraction in a country that has both Pacific and Caribbean coasts, it would also like to promote the country’s natural resources and its quality of life. The country has a marketing campaign called "Life’s Essentials" that highlights four attributes:
Wellness, which is more about well-being, connecting with oneself and adopting local principles that visitors can bring home to their friends and family and invite them to share Pura Vida Costa Rica’s long-established approach to its admired quality of life. Recent UN research showed Costa Rica is the happiest country in Latin America.
With a more nuanced appeal to selling the country than simply sun and beaches, travel advisors are key to promoting Costa Rica. “We understand,” he said, “that we have a destination that is best booked through a travel advisor,” Rodriguez said. “As a result, advisor education is being ramped up – and more fam trips are being planned because there is nothing like experiencing the destination.” Because of its diversity, Costa Rica has an unusually long average length of stay behind only distant Australia and New Zealand. Many visitors start on the beach, then venture into the mountains, rainforests and cities. It is easy because infrastructure – including connectivity – is of high quality throughout the country, Rodriguez added. That infrastructure includes hotels of every category – from bed and breakfasts to luxury resorts. There are four luxury properties under construction on the Pacific coast alone such as Ritz-Carlton, Six Senses, Waldorf Astoria and One & Only, all of which should be completed in two years. And the country is easy to get to. The third most U.S. airlines flying to the destination – after Canada and Mexico. And the coming cruise season is expected to be the best in years – stronger than even before the pandemic with 400 ships arriving on both coasts. Looking ahead, Rodriguez said Costa Rica will concentrate on the markets that have been producing visitors because the tourism authorities know those places. There will be concentrated campaign efforts in Canada, Mexico, the U.S. and six countries in Europe. “We are not going to develop new markets,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a time to be efficient and get the best of the markets we know.” The profile of visitors has changed. While 50% of visitors pre-pandemic were families, that mix is changing with a growing percentage of friends’ groups and younger travelers. That shift could change the way the country promotes. In addition, the U.S. market is growing. Pre-pandemic, it was 42% of total arrivals and it is now 60%. With all that it has to offer Costa Rica has one main attraction. Rodriguez explained that in a recent survey, visitors were asked the main reason they enjoyed their trip and 96% answered “Costa Ricans and the relationships we had with locals.” The increased travel campaign to Costa Rica has local authorities expecting a significant increase in tourism, especially for the 2022-2023 cruise season. This new season is expected to exceed the number of cruise ships that arrived in 2019. Just last year, over 1.3 million tourists visited Costa Rica.
-------------------              |
|
|