According to the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT), revenues from tourism accounted for
Costa Rica Tourism is up 9% in 2010
6.8 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009 and over 7 percent in 2007 and 2008. In the last three years, earnings from tourism have averaged around $2 billion.
Through September of this year, the ICT reports that an estimated 1.6 million people have visited Costa Rica in 2010, a 9 percent increase over the same period in 2009.
Eighteen teams with members from 13 nations will compete in the race. Each team is made up of three men and one woman and will have only a map and a compass to guide them across the country. According to Miguel Andrades, the co-founder of Aventuras de Sarapiqui, one of the race organizers, six of the teams are composed of all Costa Ricans.
“Two of the Costa Rican teams are very, very strong, and should have a good chance to win it,” Andrades said. “All the teams in the competition are at a very high level. This race has attracted the best of the best.”
The winner of the Costa Rican Adventure Race will qualify for the 8th Adventure Race World Championship, which will be held in Spain from Sept. 30 to Oct. 9. Over 50 international teams are expected to compete for the World Championship.
The Costa Rican Adventure Race is being hosted by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT). According to Tourism Minister Carlos Benavides, Costa Rica hopes to host the Adventure Race World Championship in 2013.
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.
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