Costa Rica Real Estate / Investment: CR tourism grows at three times the international rate: Posted by Roger Vlasos
Broker/Owner
Century21 At the Beach
Playas del Coco, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Website: http://www.century21incostarica.com
Email: roger@century21incostarica.com
(Infocom) — Despite the adverse conditions of the world economy due to the rise of fuel prices, the economic slowdown in the United States, the international food crisis and the ever-present threat of terrorism, Costa Rica continues to perform well in terms of the number of tourists coming here.
According to the latest World Tourism Barometer issued by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Costa Rica has experienced a very positive performance in terms of tourist influx, remaining in the two-digit growth level, despite the fact that international travel only attained a 5-percent growth average during the first four months of 2008 — one percentage point above what was expected at the beginning of this year.
Costa Rica’s exceptional numbers were highlighted by UNWTO in its June report, news that Tourism Minister Carlos Ricardo Benavides was glad to receive.
“It’s very satisfactory to us that as part of the positive worldwide growth that the tourism industry has posted in the first few months of this year, Costa Rica has remained among the group of countries with the most dynamic performance and the highest increases in the arrival of international tourists, in the two digits, and in our case, having three times the world median,” Benavides said. “This pushes us to continue doubling efforts to keep the current economic uncertainty due to high petroleum prices from impacting us as much as far as the tourism activity, but also allows us to see the coming months with a very positive outlook.”
As the time has gone by, Costa Rica has continued to venture into new tourism market niches with the objective of expanding its product supply and provide a wide range of options and services to visitors. The results are noteworthy: between 2003 and 2007, the country’s tourism activity posted a 56 percent growth, going from 1,238,000 to 1,926,000 visitors, which has contributed to an increase in the range of products offered by the local industry.
During the first five months of 2008, tourist arrival in Costa Rica grew by 15.6 percent, and estimates indicate some 2.1 million visitors will have arrived here by the end of the year — at least 200,000 more than in 2007, according to data from the National Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR). Such data also indicates that the main attractions sought by tourists are sun and beaches, nature and adventure, and ecotourism. However, rural tourism, congresses and conventions, and medical tourism and niches that have helped diversify the country’s tourism product, reaching more segments and sectors of the market.
Another factor contributing to the success of Costa Rica’s tourism in the midst of adverse conditions is that the country hasn’t faced reductions in flights, which has occurred to other nations in the region. According to the June UNWTO barometer, tourism growth was fastest in regions such as the Middle East, North-East and South Asia, and Central and South America. The report highlighted nations such as China, Japan, the United States, Costa Rica, Chile and Peru, among others, which have managed to post positive two-digit growth.
UNWTO believes that, although consumer confidence indices show an increasing degree of uncertainty, international tourism has proven to be resilient in similar circumstances in the past and able to cope with various types of shocks, including security threats, geopolitical tensions or natural and man-made crisis. Accounting for these factors, coupled with a slower but still positive economic growth, international tourism is as yet expected to keep growing at a solid pace in the mid-term, broadly in line with UNWTO’s Tourism 2020 Vision forecast long-term growth rate of about 4 percent.
Tourism market niches
One of the segments of the Costa Rican market that has experienced tremendous growth and recognition is medical tourism, in which visitors — in addition to schedule some sort of surgical procedure — also take advantage of the trip to visit various attractions the country has to offer.
Since 1995, the World Trade Organization has included Costa Rica in the list of top 20 countries with the best health systems and third with the highest life expectancy rates. This, in addition to the quality of health professionals here and the low cost of medical treatment, has helped position Costa Rica as a favorite destination for health tourism.
CANATUR President Gonzalo Vargas said this niche came about almost accidentally, as tourists who came here to relax began comparing prices for some health services and took note of the abysmal difference compared to prices in their home countries.
“Tourists have the option of coming to Costa Rica to vacation and, at the same time, have some sort of health or aesthetic treatment done. The cost of doing both activities is still less than having just the medical procedure done in their home countries,” Vargas indicated.
According to the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), some 95 percent of the people coming here for medical procedures are from the United States, where costly treatments such as plastic surgery are not covered by insurance. In Costa Rica, ICT claims, they can save between 50 percent and 70 percent on the costs of such procedures.
Vargas said that among the most sough-after treatments are dentistry and orthodontic procedures, plastic surgery and other aesthetic procedures. Additionally, “Costa Rica provides the great advantage that there are already hotels specializing in the attention of patient post-operation, which undoubtedly provides for better chances of a quick and complete recovery,” Vargas said. “Together with the travel component and the excellent prices, these factors differentiate the country and allow us to have a competitive advantages over other nations (offering similar services).”
The head of CANATUR indicated Costa Rica is a privileged country, where many different options can be exploited to attract tourists and cover well the different niches of the travel market. He added that the National Tourism Development Plan 2002-2012 has set a goal of attracting 2.3 million foreign visitors and 1.6 million domestic tourists on a yearly average basis, reason why it’s essential that the different types of tourism activities be executed in a sustainable and environmentally harmonious manner.
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