Costa Rica commenced one of the most awaited seasons for its coastal areas: the cruise ships' arrival in the country.
This is great news for the country, especially for the port provinces since cruise tourism generates income/jobs for the local communities.
Authorities of the ICT-Costa Rican Tourism Institute are seeking to strengthen the arrival of large cruise ships and, at the same time, promote Costa Rica as the ideal destination for luxury liners and expeditions.
According to Gustavo Alvarado, director of Tourism Management and Consultancy of the ICT, Costa Rica’s goal was to advance the attraction of expedition and luxury cruise ships that came to Costa Rica. Those were ships with a smaller number of people, between 200-300, who stayed more days in the country and spent more.
COVID vaccination certificates and strict sanitary were left behind. With the relaxation of measures, it is expected that more vacationers will decide to take cruises and the number of tourists will increase.
One of the greatest challenges Costa Rica is facing is the deterioration of road infrastructure, as its roads in the Pacific and the Caribbean are currently affected. This is expected to hinder the transportation of tourists within the country.
The Director of Tourism Management and Consultancy of the ICT said they could not ignore that there were several important challenges; they had a delicate situation in terms of road infrastructure, both for the construction on the road in Limon, as well as what was happening on Route 1 & Route 27. However, all tourism operators were properly prepared to offer tours closer to the areas where the ships arrived.
During the past cruise season, a total of 150 ships arrived in Costa Rica: 78 docked in Golfito, Puntarenas/Puerto Caldera and Quepos, while the remaining 72 docked in Puerto Limon.
Image: Port of Quepos (Costa Rica)
Before the COVID crisis, in 2019, the cruise industry generated in Costa Rica an economic impact exceeding US$29.2 million and created 10+ thousand jobs in the coastal communities.