The community of Guaitil in Santa Cruz Canton, Guanacaste inaugurated its Cultural Center to boost tourism.

The place was built by the Guaitil Development Association. It includes a tourist and cultural information office, a market of craft handmade souvenirs made by artisans who still use ancestral techniques in Chorotega indigenous, traditional local foods and performances by folk dance and music groups.

The center was declared a site of tourist interest by the Institute of Tourism to be promoted in hotels, by tour guides, and tour agencies.

The place is an excellent window that shows visitors that Costa Rica is a complete destination with culture, history, gastronomy, crafts, cultural traditions and nature that distinguish the country as a destination and make us competitive," Gustavo Alvarado, Minister of Tourism, said.

According to the institute, the community of Guaitil is better known as the “seed of Chorotega crafts.” Its residents are dedicated to making their products using their ancestor's techniques. Their ancestral legacy is still preserved in Chorotega crafts made with raw materials from the land. Precisely, on August 12, 2013, this craft was granted a declaration as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Guanacaste.

Seeking to boost tourism, last year, another artisan market was opened at the Puntarenas Beach Port, where about 60 local artisan shops sell crafts, jewelry and clothes among others.

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