Costa Rica’s northwestern Guanacaste province

Despite sputtering regional economy, Costa Rica’s northwestern Guanacaste province is still attracting a large amount of tourists. According to recent statistics, Guanacaste observed a record number of tourists in 2007.

Guanacaste Chamber of Tourism carried out a marketing survey and found that people coming in the country through the Daniel Oduber Internation Airport increased by 13% compared to the previous year.

In 2008, the number of tourists grew even more. According to the Costa Rica Civil Aviation Authority, 156,028 tourists entered the country from January through March 2008. According to the study, 48% of the tourists questioned had visited Costa Rica previously and were fully satisfied by the country’s hospitality. This figure is 36% up in ‘year to year’ comparison with 2007. The research also uncovered that 74% of the total visitors were U.S. citizens. This means, a large number of Americans choose Costa Rica as their preferred vacation spot. However, the number of tourists started declining after March as rainy season came along. It will begin to go up again in December.

C&D Consultores, the firm that carried out the survey on behalf of Costa Rica Civil Aviation Authority, interviewed about three hundred passengers at the airport’ especially those who sat in the seats which had been selected in advance by the company.

Carlos Ricardo Benavides, country’s Tourism Minister recently spoke at a press conference where he declared amazing and encouraging figures, highlighting the popularity of Guanacaste in particular. Mr. Ricardo Benavides said, the recent survey carried out by the government indicates that about 96% of the tourists recommend the place to others when they go back. He added that the tourists normally recommend Guanacaste to a friend or family member.
   
Though the global economy is facing a set back at the moment; fun loving and adventure-minded people will always make pleasure trips in good tourist spots. As per the statistics and researches, Costa Rica will become more popular as a tourist destination in near future.

Costa Rica’s tourist sector is well backed by its good economical growth. For instance, in the first quarter of 2008, agricultural sector of the country grew 10% while export rose to $2.4 billion US dollar, compared to $2.2 in the previous year. In the last couple of years, big global names entered Costa Rica and are manufacturing computer parts and medical implants. Along with this, the service sector is growing and complimenting the tourism sector.

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