Gustavo Segura, Costa Rica’s Tourism Minister, wrote an op-ed for the Spanish-language site Panorama in which he offered some details about the institution’s 2021 goals.
You can read his original piece here. We have translated it to English below:
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The year 2020 will be forever engraved in our memory. The global pandemic has disrupted our daily acts, changed the world and left a deep mark on our country’s tourism sector, with an incalculable impact on thousands of families and businesses. Each person, each of us, carries on his back the sacrifices and wounds that this crisis has left, especially if it has taken loved ones. That void, that of absences, nothing can replace it; my first thought, encouragement and consolation is for all the families that this year have lost a loved one. My deepest condolences.
It seems distant that beginning of last year where all the indicators indicated a time of economic prosperity with the best tourist forecasts in history. Costa Rica exceeded the barrier of three million visitors and the country consolidated a path characterized by sustainability and diversity, supported also by the intrinsic values of a society committed to democracy, education and respect. And then came the coronavirus, and the world we knew and all the plans we had made just a year ago were truncated. Tourists stopped arriving, the borders of all countries closed, the world economy collapsed and fear spread to every corner. We confined ourselves, but our values remained more present than ever and are our joint strength, that of everyone’s effort, the main engine to face recovery.
Six months ago, I took the reins of the Costa Rican Tourism Institute at the worst moment in the history of an exemplary institution with 64 years of history and a trajectory that has served, throughout all this time, to promote a tourism model that is a model for the world. Six months in which all the people who work in this institution have striven every day to help and provide solutions for a sector, where beyond macroeconomic figures and data, there are people that we will not leave behind. Faced with an exceptional situation, we have reacted in the best possible way, advised by the best professionals and institutions in the country and keeping our doors open at all times. In record time, we have created alliances with the private sector, promoted legislative changes, national and international campaigns, promoted the cost-reduction of aircraft fuel and ensured a safe reopening of all tourist activities. To this day, the vast majority of airlines are flying back to Costa Rica, a vote of confidence for the strength of the tourist destination. In the Legislative Assembly, economic relief measures are still pending, and we trust in their support for the tourism sector.
The country’s personality and our values give Costa Rica a considerable advantage on the road to recovery compared to other destinations. From the ICT, we will dedicate all our efforts to make that happen as soon as possible. Recovering together, with the help of all, the sector and improving the life of the Costa Rican population will be our wish and our main objective in 2021.
