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Costa Rica Seeking More Investment from China

Written by Costa Rica Las Villas on . Posted in China, Costa Rica tourism, Government, Laura Chinchilla.

http://www.ticotimes.net/daily_paid/dailynewsarchive/2010_08/080210.htm#story4
By Chrissie Long
Tico Times Staff | [email protected]
Even as the Chinese are putting the finishing touches on world class soccer stadium in San José’s La Sabana metropolitan park – a gift to the Central American country – Costa Rica is seeking more investment by the Chinese in infrastructure and in clean energy.

On Sunday, during a visit by China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Costa Rica made a pitch to its Asian ally to invest in a $221 million highway that would connect the country’s northern plains with the Caribbean port of Limón, among other infrastructure projects.

The plea comes at a time when Costa Rica’s highways are crumbling under heavy rains and the weight of years of postponed improvements. Just three days before Jiechi arrived, part of the country’s main highway north, which connects the country with the rest of Central America, was closed when part of a bridge over the Rio Seco collapsed (see story, below).

But Costa Rica’s foreign minister, René Castro, said the relationship should be a two-way street.

“They also have some ideas for advancement relating to biotechnology, cultural exchanges and sciences that are being developed,” he said, adding that he is looking for “a mature, win-win relationship” between China and Costa Rica in years to come.

Following a working session at the Foreign Ministry’s headquarters at the Casa Amarilla, in downtown San José, the two diplomats signed a cooperation agreement, which is expected to bring $6.2 billion in infrastructure improvements to Costa Rica.

Jiechi spent time with President Laura Chinchilla, Vice Presidents Alfio Piva and Luis Liberman, as well as the heads of the Security Ministry, the Foreign Trade Ministry and the Transportation Ministry.

Formal relations between Costa Rica and China began in 2007 during the Oscar Arias administration. In addition to the soccer stadium, China is also investing in the state-owned refinery in Moín and has purchased $300 million in bonds, among other projects.

South Pacific Costa Rica Popular Vacation Destinations This Year

Written by Costa Rica Las Villas on . Posted in Costa Rica tourism, Osa Peninsula.

By Matt Levin
Tico Times Staff | [email protected]
http://www.ticotimes.net/daily_paid/dailynewsarchive/2010_07/073010.htm#story5
Costa Rica’s summer break vacation period saw many travelers heading toward the Central Pacific coast or to Monteverde, while fewer vacationers made the trip to Guanacaste, a traditional vacation hotspot for Ticos.

Ballena National Park, Uvita, Osa, Costa Rica
Photo: Nick Halverson. Ballena National Park, Uvita, Osa, Costa Rica

A survey conducted by the National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR) tracked the level of occupancy of hotels in nine different areas of Costa Rica during the last month.

The area with the greatest percentage of occupancy overall was the Central Pacific (65.4 percent), followed closely by Monteverde (64.6 percent) and the Southern Pacific (63.7 percent).

CANATUR said overall occupancy was a middling 56.1 percent.

Guanacaste, specifically its southern part (36.4 percent), saw the least growth. According to CANATUR, South Pacific hoteliers believed that opening the road to Caldera and the Costanera Sur highway from Quepos, attracted travelers to the area.

“We are very pleased because the occupation in the first half of July exceeded our expectations,” said Ulises Ramirez, manager of the Cristal Ballena Hotel in the Southern Pacific region. “Employers believe that hotels in this area benefited the opening of (the new roads), as this saved time for tourists travelling to the region.”

The northern parts of the country took in the most foreign tourists, with 76.9 percent of the total. The highest percentage of domestic tourists (45 percent) visited the Southern Pacific region.

Hotels in other regions attributed growth to mid-year promotions that pitched deals as last-minute options.

“The mid-year holiday season is important for the sector. However, this year was atypical because the promotions that the hotels offered served as last resorts in many cases. Poor weather also scared off tourists to the area,” said Luis Villegas, of the Hotel Montaña de Fuego, located in La Fortuna de San Carlos.

Average Occupancy by region during mid-year vacations:
Mid-Pacific 65.4%
Monteverde 64.6%
South Pacific 63.7%
Central Valley 56%
Northern Plains 56%
Caribbean 54.8%
North Guanacaste 52.9%
Puntarenas and Islands 51,7%
South Guanacaste 36.4%
Total: 56.1%

Satellite Tracking of Fishing Boats…Coming Soon

Written by Costa Rica Las Villas on . Posted in Costa Rica tourism.

http://www.ticotimes.net/daily_paid/dailynewsarchive/2010_07/072910.htm#story4
By Adam Williams
Tico Times Staff | [email protected]
The Costa Rican Fisheries Institute (Incopesca) announced Wednesday it aims to see a tracking device that can be monitored by satellite installed in all commercial fishing boats operating in Costa Rican within the next three weeks. Incopesca says the devices will assure the safety of boats and their crews.

During the upcoming weeks, the tracking devices will be distributed from Incopesca’s central offices in San José. Currently, Incopesca estimates that 6,600 fishing boats are operating in Costa Rican waters.

According to Antonio Porras, technical general director of Incopesca, the installation of the tracking devices does not indicate that national waters are threatened, but rather is an attempt to increase the security of national and international fisherman.

The initiative is an outcome of last week’s Global Registry of Fishing Boats Workshop held in the central Pacific port city of Puntarenas. Costa Rica will be the third Central American nation to install tracking devices on national ships. Honduran and Panamanian ships are also equipped with such devices.

Costa Rica Launches Aerospace Program

Written by Costa Rica Las Villas on . Posted in Aerospace, Costa Rica education, Costa Rica history, Costa Rica tourism, Government, Technology.

By Adam Williams
Tico Times Staff | [email protected]
http://www.ticotimes.net/daily_paid/dailynewsarchive/2010_07/072710.htm#story4
What the city of Houston, Texas is to space travel in the United States, the city of Liberia may soon be to Costa Rica.

On Sunday, President Laura Chinchilla announced that Liberia, located in the northwestern province of Guanacaste, will be the location for an initiative entitled “National Aerospace Development and Integration for the Central American Region in the Generation of New Technologies.” The presentation also included the unveiling of the Central American Aerospace Industry Chamber (CACIA), which will consist of numerous aerospace experts and companies in Central America. Chinchilla had mentioned further development of the national aerospace program as one of her priorities since her inauguration in May.

Liberia was selected as the site for the program’s launch because of its proximity to the headquarters of the Ad Astra Rocket Company, which was formed in 2005 by Costa Rican astronaut and rocket scientist Franklin Chang. Chang, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), spent many years working as a scientist and astronaut with the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Ad Astra is based in Houston, Texas.

The Costa Rican branch of the company, located 10 kilometers west of Liberia on the campus of EARTH University, focuses its research on the creation of the plasma rocket, known as the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR). Ad Astra in Costa Rica hopes to test one of their first plasma rockets in space by 2014.

“We want recognition for Costa Rica, so the country can enter this special industry,” Chinchilla said in May. “We hope that Costa Rica will be the first Latin American country (to enter the space industry).” (TT, May 14)

Of the various experts in attendance, several spoke on their ideas for the development of Central American aerospace, their plans to finance the projects, and explanations of how they will advance the use of plasma energy. According to Costa Rica’s foreign minister, René Castro, over 80 Central American companies have expressed interest in participating in the development of CACIA and the aerospace program.

Costa Rica Tourism Up Through First 6 Months 2010

Written by Costa Rica Las Villas on . Posted in Costa Rica tourism.

Source: http://www.insidecostarica.com

Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) – Costa Rica’s Tourism Board – has an optimistic outlook for this year, expecting to reach two million visitors for 2010. The optimism is based on the 3.96% increase in tourism the first half of this year as compared to the same period in 2009.

According to date by the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (Costa Rica’s immigration service) the number of tourist arrivals from January to June 2010 was 1.124.044. In contrast, during the first half of 2009, 1.025.460 tourist arrivals were recorded.

Given these figures, the executive director of the Cámara Costarricense de Hoteles (CCH), Pablo Solano, despite the increase in tourist arrivals, the average occupancy rate reported by his membership has risen slightly over last year, averaging 60%.

Solano addedthat the hotel operators are positive that increase will continue due to the ongoing efforts by the Chinchilla government to attract more visitors to Costa Rica.

Tourist arrivals from the United States is still the most important market for Costa Rica, showing a 10% increase for this year, for a total of 468.172 visitors, 43.218 more than the first six months in 2009.

Medical Tourism in Costa Rica: Quality Seal of Approval

Written by Costa Rica Las Villas on . Posted in Costa Rica real estate, Costa Rica tourism.

Tourists coming to Costa Rica, attracted by the medical offers now have the ability to differentiate between the services offered.

That’s because on Wednesday, the Consejo para la Promoción Internacional de la Medicina de Costa Rica (International Council for the Promotion of Medicine Costa Rica) introduced the label called” “ProMED”.

The seal indicates the quality standards required in the United States, providing tourists security for the services they are purchasing.

Hospital CIMA in San Jose, Costa Rica
Hospital CIMA in San Jose, Costa Rica

Companies who want to obtain the label must comply with national and international legislation with a cost ranging from us$400 to us$7.000 annually.

Approximately 14% of Costa Rica’s 2 million+ tourists receive some form of elective medical procedure done while visiting. This new “seal of approval” will help differentiate between health care facilities and should be welcome by medical tourists.

Source: www.InsideCostaRica.com, Nick Halverson and ICT

Apple iPhone Approved for Costa Rica

Written by Costa Rica Las Villas on . Posted in Costa Rica development, Costa Rica real estate, Costa Rica tourism, Village San Buenas.

By Adam Williams
Tico Times Staff | [email protected]
http://www.ticotimes.net/daily_paid/dailynewsarchive/2010_07/072110.htm#story1

With the opening of the cellular telephone market to private participation approaching, the Superintendency of Telecommunications (SUTEL) has approved five new cellular phone models to provide service in the Costa Rican network. The five phones approved are the Apple iPhone, the Sony Ericsson U5a and X10 models, the Motorola A853 and the China Bird HK Ltda. B mobile model PL 72. Currently, only phones authorized by the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) can be used to provide cell service.

In addition to the telephones, SUTEL also approved three new Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, a datacard and a credit card verification device that can also be used as to provide an internet connection. Each of the approved items will carry the logo of SUTEL certifying that they can be used in the country.

Apple iPhone 4 will work in Costa RicaThe cellular telephone market was opened to competition when the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA) passed into effect on Jan. 1, 2009. Prior to the opening of the market, ICE had been the only provider of cellular phone coverage in Costa Rica. New competitors are expected to enter the cell market by the beginning of 2011. According to SUTEL, the process of opening the market has been delayed on several occasions due to difficulties in freeing up frequencies shared by telecommunication, phone and internet operators.
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With 3G towers located in San Buenaventura the ability to use the new Apple iPhone 4 is only months away within The Village of San Buenas.

North American Anglers: $600 million to Costa Rica economy

Written by Costa Rica Las Villas on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Tourism is Costa Rica’s top industry and new research shows North Americans traveling there in 2008 to fish generated $599 million – or about two percent of Costa Rica’s gross domestic product.

The study, conducted in 2009 by The Billfish Foundation, Southwick Associates and the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR), revealed 283,790 anglers visited Costa Rica and their economic impact even overshadowed commercial fishing. It was estimated 22 percent of those tourists visited the country for the exclusive purpose of fishing.

From that $599 million the study also showed sportfishing generated almost $78 million in tax revenues for Costa Rica and 63,000 jobs. In comparison, the effect of commercial fishing for the same species sought by anglers generated approximately $528 million to Costa Rica’s gross domestic product. Commercial fishing contributed $68.6 million in tax revenue and created 57,000 jobs.

“We have already had the opportunity to present the results of this study to the incoming vice president and minister of tourism,” said Ellen Peel, president of The Billfish Foundation. “And we will be making a formal presentation to a wider cross sector of government and business leaders this summer. The leadership in Costa Rica had no idea that their country receives more benefits from a sustainable recreational harvest than from the subsidized excessive effort in the commercial fishery.”

The comprehensive study included interviewing tourists at Costa Rica’s major airports to estimate the percentage who fished while visiting. The research focused on the expenditures and economic impacts of marlin, sailfish, yellowfin tuna, wahoo and dorado; species that are the most frequent targets of commercial fisherman and recreational anglers.

It was estimated the 283,790 North Americans visiting Costa Rica in 2008 spent a total of $467 million. The survey revealed $329 million was spent on travel including lodging ($119 million), restaurants ($15.6 million), flights and fishing guides ($88 million) and land transportation ($6 million). These dollars then change hands multiple times in Costa Rica, creating significant benefits for the nation’s gross domestic product. In addition, visitors spent approximately $105 million outside of Costa Rica prior to arrival for airfare or other travel expenses, though these dollars are not included in the economic analyses.

About 3,700 of those visiting Costa Rica have their own boats in the country, whether permanently or temporarily, and they spent approximately $138 million for items such as fuel ($45.6 million), maintenance and repairs ($25 million), furniture and accessories for their vessels ($48 million), staff and crews ($2.8 million), marina fees ($16.6 million), and taxes and insurance ($1.8 million).

“TBF believes that only when decision makers understand the economic importance of good fishing opportunities for tourist anglers will billfish conservation get on the radar screen of government leaders charged with economic development as well as fisheries management,“ said Dr. Russell Nelson chief scientist for TBF. “And now thanks to the dedication of TBF members and generous donors who have supported our socio-economic research, we are making the point.”

Additional work conducted in the U.S. by Southwick Associates, Inc. estimated 7.5 million Americans fished outside of their country in 2009 with 3.6 percent of them traveling to Costa Rica. Among anglers vacationing in Costa Rica, 40 percent said they would not have visited the country if they could not fish. Those anglers, who represent 116,000 visitors per year and about $135 million in tourism income for Costa Rica, said the main factor in determining their satisfaction is “quality of fishing” followed by “relative peace and quiet,” and “fishing services, boat and crew quality.” The majority of anglers reported they visited Costa Rica to catch billfish including sailfish, marlin along with dorado. Inshore species such as snook and tarpon were less frequent targets.

“This was the first study done in Central America that compares the economic contributions of recreational and commercial fishing for the same species,” said Rob Southwick, president of Southwick Associates, who coordinated design and methodology, management and monitoring of this research and generated information regarding U.S. anglers’ international travel activities. “We’ve completed similar work for Los Cabos, Mexico, and the results produced almost immediate benefits to fisheries management and conservation.”

That study found the Los Cabos area benefited by $1.1 billion to the economy.

Based on the success of socio-economic research in Mexico and Costa Rica, TBF already has entered into discussions with the new administration in Panama to conduct similar studies in that country.

There is great offshore fishing 20 minutes away from The Village of San Buenas. Let us know when you are visiting and we can line up a trip for you!
Complete reports are available at: www.billfish.org

Nature Air: $5 Transfer Fee in San Jose (SJO) to Pavas

Written by Costa Rica Las Villas on . Posted in Costa Rica real estate, Costa Rica tourism, Village San Buenas.

Airport Shuttle Service

To facilitate travel for Nature Air passengers arriving at and departing from the Juan Santamaria International airport (SJO), Nature Air offers an affordable VIP Shuttle Service directly to and from the Nature Air terminal at the Tobias Bolaños International Airport (SYQ).

For just $5 per person, passengers can make the ground connection between the two airports. One of our reps will meet and greet you at the airport and assist you with your luggage. All you have to do is sit back, relax and enjoy the friendly air-conditioned ride.

This service can be arranged and paid for in advance when booking your Nature Air flight by filling out the form below or directly at either airport with the Shuttle Coordinator, located at the orange Taxis Unidos stand in Juan Santamaria Airport or with the Concierge desk at any of Nature Air’s airports.

The shuttle departs three times per day from each location to accommodate most connections. For passengers arriving at Juan Santamaria, we recommend that you select an Airport Shuttle departure no sooner than one hour after your scheduled arrival.   Please allow for no less than one hour before your Nature Air flight is scheduled to depart when taking the Airport Shuttle from Juan Santamaria. Passengers looking to connect from Tobias Bolaños to Juan Santamaria should book the Shuttle 30 minutes or more after their arrival to Tobias Bolaños and three hours prior to your departure from Juan Santamaria for your international flight.

If your flight times do not correspond with the Shuttle schedule, or you prefer to arrange private transportation between airports, you may book this directly by contacting our reservations office: [email protected]

The Tobias Bolaños International airport is located just 5 minutes from downtown San Jose, and approximately 20 minutes from the Juan Santamaria airport.

Nature Air chose Tobias Bolaños as its main hub to best accommodate the airline’s average 74 daily departures and arrivals to and from San Jose. As the main air service provider at Tobias Bolaños, Nature Air also avoids the frequent delays you typically find at the Juan Santamaria Airport. Our passengers do not have to deal with long security lines and traffic at other airports, and our facilities include a restaurant and other services for the comfort of our passengers. Additionally, our convenient proximity to downtown San Jose allows us to better serve local clients.

Medical Tourism Expected to Rise

Written by Costa Rica Las Villas on . Posted in Uncategorized.

NOTE: Costa Rica’s healthcare is ranked above the United States’.

Costa Rica Developers Eye Health Care Centres
by Kevin Brass

The Costa Rican government is promoting a plan to help developers build projects centered on health care facilities for foreign retirees.

New developments would offer clusters of services, including nursing and research facilities, catering to senior citizens looking for an inexpensive alternative to medical care in their own countries

In the wake the global economic slowdown, health care centers are an opportunity for developers to “change strategy,” Minister for Competitiveness and Regulatory Improvement George Woodbridge told La Prensa.

Retirement communities generate “two to three times” the revenue of traditional tourism and real estate projects, Woodbridge said. A population of 10,000 retirees could produce 40,000 jobs and $340 million in foreign exchange, the government estimates.

Last year, medical tourism attracted 30,000 visitors to Costa Rica, according to government data. That number is expected to increase as health care costs continue to rise. The U.S. is expected to generate 1.3 million medical tourists in 2011, according to a report by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, which ranks Costa Rica in the top 10 destinations for medical tourism.

Until recently, most of the traffic in the past has been young people looking for cosmetic surgery and dental work, not seniors, Deloitte says.

“With health care at the center of attention in the U.S. this concept could certainly gain ground if implemented properly,” Panama developer Sam Taliaferro notes in his Panama Investor Blog. “If Obamacare gets legs one area that you can be sure will be left out in the cold is alternative health care practitioners. I bet they will head south with technology and skills.”

(For the record, the World Health Organization ranks Costa Rica’s health care system at 36th in the world, one spot ahead of the United States.)

Head to the clouds: Costa Rican cloud forest alive with birds, butterflies and orchids

Written by Costa Rica Las Villas on . Posted in Costa Rica tourism, Uncategorized.

MONTEVERDE REGION, Costa Rica — The Monteverde Cloud Forest is a treasure trove of botanical wonders. It’s also a major pain to get there.

Five miles of new paving on the Monteverde Road was just finished in December, adding to the seven miles already paved.

But the last 13-mile stretch is still an infamous 1 1/2- to 2-hour trip along a potholed, take-your-life-in-your-hands uphill road better suited for donkeys. Crawling along at barely 5 mph, vehicles weave up the mountainside, stones flying from the tires over the no-rail precipice.

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