Our visit to San Jerónimo wasn’t just an opportunity to see the sights, swim the waterfalls, and hike the trails; it was a chance to live the rural mountain life in the company of a welcoming community, while engaging in an enriching cultural exchange.
The World Economic Forum ranked Costa Rica the fourth most tourism-ready economy in Latin America. Still, tourism sector leaders believe the country “can and should rank better.”
Despite Costa Rica’s international reputation as an adventure tourism destination for the last 25 years, the industry is lightly regulated and safety requirements are largely at the discretion of individual businesses, according to interviews The Tico Times conducted with business owners and industry and government representatives.
Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) confirmed to The Tico Times that a European tourist died of an apparent heart attack while hiking in the remote Corcovado National Park in the southwestern Osa Peninsula Sunday afternoon.
Costa Rica’s best known export, Real Madrid goalie Keylor Navas, has been named the country’s first official tourism ambassador during the FITUR tourism export in Madrid Thursday.
Tourism Ministry officials on Thursday reported that revenues from Costa Rica's travel sector last year totaled $2.6 billion, an 8.3 percent increase over the $2.4 billion registered in 2013, according to figures from the Central Bank.
Costa Rica’s Red Cross reported that 79 people died by accidents and other violent causes in the first 19 days of this month. That exceeds by 27 the number of deaths registered in the same period last year, when the Red Cross reported 52 deaths.
That beautiful Thursday morning quickly turned to tragedy when the Pura Vida Princess capsized, drowning three tourists and leaving more than 100 passengers and crew fighting rough seas off the coast of Punta Leona. As the Coast Guard tried to muster a response, nearby fishermen and other private boats were responsible for rescuing many of the survivors.
Despite what some see as a threat to Costa Rica’s preferred status with U.S. tourists between new offerings in Cuba and Nicaragua, Tourism Minister Wilhelm von Breymann said the land of "pura vida” does’t have anything to worry about.
