Costa Rica tourism

Southwest Executive Vice President Robert Jordan said that customers can expect fares as low as $130 one way from Baltimore-Washington International Airport and that the company’s discount reputation would hold true abroad with fares on average 30 to 40 percent lower than their competitors.

Tourism Police Director Xinia Vásquez told The Tico Times in a telephone interview that crimes against tourists have shown a downward trend since 2010.

High operating costs, especially electricity, threaten Costa Rica’s reputation as an affordable tourist destination, industry representatives tell The Tico Times.

The Prosecutor’s Office and the Judicial Investigation Police have opened an investigation into the causes of the Pura Vida Princess catamaran accident to determine whether or not the ship’s captain was negligent, Tatiana Vargas, spokeswoman for the Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to The Tico Times.

Early Thursday morning, 99 vacationers boarded the Pura Vida Princess, a 100-foot catamaran, in Playa Herradura on Costa Rica's central Pacific coast for an all inclusive day trip to Tortuga Island. Roughly 30 minutes later, at about 8:40 a.m., the ship issued a distress call and quickly sank in high winds and rough sea off the coast of the beach town of Punta Leona. Three passengers died.

Increasing purchasing power and fewer travel restrictions has made of Chinese travelers one of the most coveted demographics for tourist destinations. China has become the world’s largest source for international tourists, who spent $129 billion on travel in 2013, according to the World Tourism Organization.

The campaign hopes to attract a segment of overworked and overstressed North Americans who “increasingly are refusing to take time off and relax.”

Microsoft’s search engine Bing on Monday released its annual list of search trends for 2014, and Costa Rica tops the list for “most popular vacation destination among US holidaymakers.”

Following the announcement last week that Costa Rica’s $29 airport exit tax will be rolled into the price of airline tickets beginning Dec. 3, Bancrédito officials have clarified that they will continue collecting the tax at airport counters for at least 90 more days to facilitate travelers who already purchased tickets.

It is no secret that most tourists – even intrepid backpackers – flee San José as soon as they can. But Michael Miller makes a compelling argument that San José is worth exploring.