Costa Rica and Qatar sign Open Sky agreement

November 2nd, 2012 (InsideCostaRica.com) Qatar became the first country in the Middle East to sign an “open sky” agreement with Costa Rica. The agreement intends to increase the number of flights and encourage tourism between the two countries.

An “open sky” agreements, as they are known, aim to liberalize the rules and regulations of international aviation, by minimizing government intervention in air transport in order to create a more free market environment for the airline industries of participating countries.

Allan Flores, minister of Tourism, stated that this agreement would allow airlines from Qatar to operate routes in Costa Rican territory and perform layovers at Costa Rican airports.  Costa Rican airlines would have the same abilities in Qatar.

“This agreement consolidates the commitment to strengthen the tourism industry, through the attraction of new airlines. Today we make an incursion in a new continent, and open doors to an important market such as Qatar, in order to increase visits from tourists coming from this country,” said Flores.

Costa Rica has Open Sky agreements with countries such as Brazil, Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Costa Rica is also currently negotiating Open Sky agreements with Belgium, Chile, and China.