Costa Rica Tourism Report Q1 2010 - New
Report Published
After increasing from 2.06 million in 2006
to 2.29 million in 2007, the report expects
arrivals to have increased to 2.51 million
in 2008 before dipping down to 2.29 million
in 2009. Arrival numbers are forecast to
tick up again in 2010, and to grow to 3.5
million in 2014, at the end of our forecast
period.
Te majority of tourists visit Costa Rica during the peak season
(January-May) and come from the Americas.
Arrivals from the country's three most
important source markets - the US, Nicaragua
and Canada - increased steadily during 2004
to 2007. However, looking at the inbound
tourism data by region, although 2008
continued to trend upwards in North America
and Latin America, the report is forecasting
arrivals numbers from both regions to
decrease by 9.45% and 8.60%, respectively,
in 2009.
The next most important source markets in
terms of arrivals are, in order, Panama,
Mexico and Spain.
The main growth drivers for the industry are
ecotourism and health tourism.
Costa Rica has 32 national parks, eight
biological reserves, 13 forest reserves and
51 wildlife refuges. The industry is
estimated to suffer slightly in 2009 due to
the ongoing recession, particularly in the
US, and the H1N1 virus (swine flu), however
it is forecast to see relatively quick
turnaround beginning in 2010.
The continued expansion of the Daniel Oduber
Quirós International Airport in the north
(Liberia) and the growing amount of
chartered flights from Europe all have the
potential to drive growth in the market.
Furthermore, the planned development of the
Caribbean province, looks set to bring more
tourists to this less-developed Costa Rican
province. Indeed, already the province's
port has served as the finish line for the
Transat Jacques Vabre sailboat race in 2009
and the race is scheduled to finish there in
2011, 2013 and 2015 as well.
The port has also been added as a port of
call in 2010 to two luxury cruise liners'
schedules.
Costa Rica's tourism industry is a major
contributor to the economy, accounting for
about 7.8% of GDP in direct terms in 2008
and nearly 3% of total employment in 2006 -
49,000 individuals - according to data from
the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
However, the industry's contribution to GDP
is forecast to steadily decline, from 7.1%
in 2009 to just 4.6% in 2014.
Collective government expenditure on tourism
was an estimated US$29.7 million in 2008, a
4% increase year-on-year (y-o-y). Collective
government expenditure is forecast to slump
slightly in 2009 to 27.9 million, bouncing
back to 30.0mn in 2011. Expenditure is then
forecast to rise to 35.5 million by the end
of the forecast period in 2014.
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