Hitting a tourism milestone the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT), has announced that over one million North Americans will have visited Costa Rica by the end of this year. On December 18, Costa Rica welcomed its one millionth U.S. visitor, a family of five from Washington who will be enjoying a family vacation.
Costa Rica offers families the opportunity to reconnect while exploring, learning and experiencing a close encounter with nature. Families can strengthen their bond and create a lifetime of memories from learning about the country’s culture to enjoying fun activities, such as whale watching, zip lining, and parasailing.
“We are very excited about this accomplishment, and we hope to continue sharing with people from around the world Costa Rica’s pura vida lifestyle,” said Mauricio Ventura, Minister of Tourism. “This achievement reflects the quality and authentic experience Costa Rica offers in such a competitive field.”
According to Ventura, Costa Rica has experienced a seven percent increase in U.S. arrivals by air in the past year. With over 1 million visitors in 2015, the United States is the main source of tourists into the country including 21 cities that offer flights to Costa Rica and a total of 9,924 flights between Costa Rica’s two international airports, Juan Santamaria International Airport in San Jose and the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia.
The country attributes the increase in North American tourism to several marketing initiatives including several international fairs, new partnerships, activities in cities with the highest concentration of best prospects and the popular “Save the Americans” campaign. As the country’s first inter-species campaign, Costa Rican animals warn Americans that their hectic work habits are endangering both their minds and bodies. One of the campaign’s main concerns is the loss of family vacation time, as studies by Expedia.com show Americans leave over 500 million vacation days unused every year.
A number of travel companies offer excellent packages including Costa Rican Vacations 7 night all-inclusive beach vacation package from $1,787 that includes all meals and drinks, accommodations at the The Westin Resort and Spa, transfers, Palo Verde National Park tour, and more.
Costa Rica Tourism Board, www.visitcostarica.com
