August 6th, 2015 (ICR News) The number of European tourists visiting Costa Rica grew 48% between 2009 and 2014 from 250,154 arrivals to 370,482, according to recent data provided by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT).
Europeans represent the third largest tourism market for Costa Rica, after the United States and Central America. The United States accounted for nearly one million tourist arrivals in 2014, while another 716,645 Central American tourists visited the country.
Of Europe, Spain and Germany provided the largest numbers of tourists, with 64,303 and 63,916 arrivals in 2014, respectively.
Beginning next year, the number of U.K. tourists is expected to increase significantly thanks to a new direct route between London and Costa Rica that British Airways will begin operating in May 2016. Some 30,000 passengers are expected to fly the new route annually. Right now only the Spanish airline, Iberia offers direct flights to and from Europe, flying from Madrid.
Gustavo Araya, president of the Chamber of Hoteliers, called Wednesday’s announcement by British Airways some of the best news for the tourism sector in years, adding that the airline boasts connections throughout Europe, including France, Germany and Holland.
To further help promote the country’s brand in Europe, Tourism Minister Mauricio Ventura said his ministry was close to closing a deal with a European public relations firm.