Data from the General Directorate of Immigration and Foreign Affairs, analyzed by the Costa Rican Institute of Tourism (ICT), shows that during the first 6 months of this year, the country registered the entry of 362,435 American tourists by plane, half of those registered in 2019.
During the first half of 2019, 734,509 tourists arrived in the country from the United States, and so far this year the country has 497,449 tourists who traveled by air (the best option for entering the country). According to ICT, 14% of those who came abroad were travelers from European countries.
On the other hand, ICT stressed that June was the “best month of the year” in terms of visits. In June, 117,527 international air arrivals were registered (60% of June 2019 figures). Of this number, 94,750 were American tourists (80%).
June was also excellent in terms of arrivals at the Daniel Oduber Kiros Airport in Guanacaste, which showed a recovery of 92% compared to the same month in 2019. In the case of Juan Santamaria International Airport, the recovery was 50%.
The resumption of cruise flights will have a positive impact on the economy of the tourism sector
“These are not minor achievements, but very significant for the country. We are very proud that the figures reflect the intensive work done for the development of our tourism industry with the involvement of airlines, strategies to promote areas with limited budgets, health protocols and excellent quality of services provided by our private sector, “said Gustavo Segura. Minister of Tourism.
In addition to the resumption of cruise tourism in 2021-2022, Segura announced future changes that will not only strengthen the achievements of the first semester, but also increase the influx of tourists in the second half of the year.
ICT recently announced that from September the country will resume cruise tourism for 2021-2022. The requirement for cruises will be to have a fully vaccinated crew and 95% of passengers at the age of vaccination.
“The revival of this tourist activity will benefit the ports of Limon, Puntarenas, Caldera, Quepos and Golfito. Each cruise passenger spends an average of $ 137 a day, which has a significant impact on the recovery of the local coastal economy, ”said Segura.
Many important cruise companies have already included Costa Rica in their itineraries, including Windstar, Lindblad, Sea Cloud, Seabourn Quest, Celebrity Millennium, Carnival Pride, Crown Princess, Diamond Princess and Seven Seas Mariner. Five of them will arrive in the port of Limon, and the rest – in the ports of the Pacific Ocean.
Domestic tourism will significantly improve performance
On the other hand, the American airline Avianca opened on July 1 a direct flight to San Jose Miami with a flight (AV690, which carries 150 passengers) from Juan Santamaria International Airport.
Avianca has confirmed that flights will be operated on Airbus A320 aircraft, which is equivalent to 8,000 seats per month on seven weekly flights.
On the same day, the budget airline Frontier also opened a flight to Orlando (Florida), which had 130 passengers on board. On July 2, the company began operations on the Orlando-San Jose route.
Segura stressed the importance of both operations for the recovery of the industry: the first because of its potential positive impact on rural areas, and the second – because of the ease of entry of tourists from an important source market.
On June 28, the Legislative Assembly approved the first draft of a project to attract digital nomads with an income of more than $ 3,000, which is another area of activity of the industry to promote this area.