Friday 14 November
2008, San José, Costa
Rica
President Arias
Hails Ties With China
Arrival of Chinese
President Sunday Will Be
Chaotic For Traffic
Protesters Impede
Arrival Of Cruise Ship
Hotel Tax
Out, Airfare Tax In
Rich Collection of Costa
Rican Flora Hits The
Web
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Protesters Impede
Arrival Of Cruise Ship
A cruise ship carrying
1,300 passengers that
was scheduled to arrive
at Costa Rica's Pacific
port of Puntarenas had
to be diverted to Panama
because of a protest by
fishermen that left
three people arrested
and caused an estimated
us$250,000 in losses,
Costa Rican authorities
said Thursday.
The detainees, according
to a statement by the
Ministerio de Seguridad
(Security Ministry),
were captains of small
fishing vessels who
barred the entrance of
the Coral Princess in a
protest over a new law
banning shark finning,
the controversial
process of removing
shark fins - often while
the animal is still
alive - to provide the
ingredients for the
popular Asian dish of
shark fin soup.
Fishermen now must
unload the whole shark
at docks to comply with
the law.
La Nacion on Thursday
reported that the
Princess Cruises cruise
line sent a protest note
to the Costa Rican
Tourism Institute over
the incident, which,
according to National
Tourism Chamber
President Gonzalo
Vargas, could result in
as much as us$250,000 in
losses.
Tourists could have
spent that amount on
handicrafts made by
local artisans, food at
restaurants, and guided
tours offered by local
tourism companies, he
said.
During Costa Rica's
cruise season, from
October to April, some
125 vessels carrying
140,000 passengers are
expected to arrive at
Costa Rica's Pacific
ports of Puntarenas and
Caldera and an equal
number at Atlantic port
of Limón.
A country with just 4.5
million inhabitants,
Costa Rica last year
received 1.9 million
international tourist
arrivals and the revenue
generated by
international tourists
reached a historic high
of us$1.9 billion.
Most of those visitors
arrived by plane to
enjoy the natural beauty
of the Central American
country, which is home
to 4.5%of the planet's
biodiversity. |
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