The Tico Times thanks everyone who responded to our reader survey in late 2006. Winners of the five one-year print-edition subscriptions in Costa Rica are Dirk Booij of Santa Bárbara, Heredia, north of San José, Matthia Knecht of Puerto Viejo de Limón, on the southern Caribbean coast, Ramon Schlabach of Heredia, Luke Rodríguez, also of Heredia, and Robert Richards of Abangares, in the northwestern province of Guanacaste.
Winners of the five one-year print-edition subscriptions outside of Costa Rica are all from the United States: Don and Paulina Autry of Okemah, Oklahoma, Cheryl Kern of Aston, Pennsylvania, Dean Howarth of Richforo, Vermont, William Tyler of Bokeelia, Florida, and Donna Cianciulli of Flagler Beach, Florida.
Here’s a look at the highlights of the responses:
_ The overwhelming reason for reading The Tico Times continues to be to get the best news in English of Costa Rica and Central America.
_ About half of the respondents live in the United States and half in Costa Rica. A small percentage live Canada and other countries.
_ The Tico Times is truly a national newspaper – of the readers living in Costa Rica, all nine provinces were represented.Nearly 10% of them are Ticos.
_ Our readers are highly educated – more than 85% have a University degree or higher.
_ Readers spend an average of 71 minutes reading each issue of The Tico Times.
_ The average annual salary of readers living in the United States is $86,800 and living in Costa Rica $41,000.
_ Of those readers living in the United States, 80% are men and 20% are women, while in Costa Rica 56% of readers are men and 44% are women.
_ Most readers living in the United States prefer political and environmental news. Those living in Costa Rica prefer political, business and economic and tourism news. Letters to the Editor are among the favorites of both groups.
_ Nearly 80% of our readers say they read The Nica Times, the eight-page publication with Nicaragua and Central America news on sale in Nicaragua and inserted in The Tico Times each week.
_ In the “Weekend” section, “Exploring Costa Rica” continued to rank a clear number one among all readers.
_ Readers who have our “Exploring Costa Rica” travel guide, provided free with a oneyear-subscription to the newspaper, said they find it very helpful. Respondents listed San José and the beaches – the Caribbean coast in particular – as their favorite destinations.
_ Part of the survey was about our Web site, wordpress-257819-2837440.cloudwaysapps.com. Our online readers continue to increase, and 40% of our print edition readers said they also read our Daily News page online.
The Tico Times recently revamped its Web site and added improved graphics, easyto-navigate menu bars and new features including a Letters to the Editor section. Based on the survey feedback, upcoming plans for the site include incorporating a photo gallery, discussion forums and inviting guests to “chat” with readers on topics of interest.
As we conclude our 50th anniversary year, we continue to be the leading English-language newspaper in Costa Rica and Central America. Again, we thank everyone who participated in the survey and encourage you to continue sending us your letters, news tips and suggestions. Your contributions help make us a better paper.
