Costa Rican Surf Attracts More Than 200,000 Tourists

TWENTY percent of those who visitedCosta Rica in 2004 came to ride the waves.According to Costa Rican Tourism Institute(ICT) statistics, 222,659 tourists came toCosta Rica last year with the express purposeof surfing, up more than 100% from2001, when 101,014 would-be surfers enteredthe country representing 12.4% of thatyear’s tourism, AP wire service reported.Antonio Pilurzu, president of the CostaRican Surf Federation, highlighted the importanceof the sport for Costa Rica’snational tourism, and told AP he predictsCosta Rica will attract more surfers in thefuture for reasons such as the political instabilityin Indonesia, the world’s top surfdestination, and this country’s relative security.The ICT statistics show that 55,009surfers came to Costa Rica in the firsttrimester of this year.