Punta Uva and Montezuma Beach, "The heart and soul of the Nicoya Peninsula," tourism is down and so are the airline tickets ... so what better time to take a vacation!
No doubt Costa Rica’s tourism is down due to the instability of the economy, particularly the US were Costa Rica gets a majority of their tourists. This in turn has also lead to the layoffs of 1000s of workers and off course the belt-tightening of businesses. However, all is not lost, and if there was a time to take a trip down south, this is the best time to do it.
Several things are happening, and the two big ones are, 1) Airline tickets, and 2) the tourism in general.
I have not seen airline tickets hit this low in probably a good 10 years. This week I surfed for round trip (r/t) to Costa Rica on www.expedia.com, www.cheaptickets.com, and www.orbitz.com and here is sample of some of the prices … all I can say is, “Wow!” because last year at about this time, the below prices were about 50-80% more!
Los Angeles: $320 r/t
New York: $340 r/t
Chicago: $270 r/t
San Francisco: $390 r/t
Dallas: $290 r/t
Denver: $300 r/t
Seattle: $460 r/t
Miami: $270 r/t
Toronto, Canada: $480 r/t
The second most interesting fact, Costa Rica, National Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR) said that even if first-quarter tourist arrivals dipped about 11 percent below the number of arrivals during the same period in 2008 and it did break 2 million mark for total arrivals, they are continuing to pump money into the industry. And have hyped some form of eco-allies for 100s of business.
For example: some eco-business are requiring their employees to undergo training with eco-groups like, Rainforest Alliance so the businesses will be more informative on ecology in general. Companies are taught that their investments in ecologically and socially sustainable practices will pay off.
Since Costa Rica is just now entering the green season (or rainy season) hotels, travel agencies, guides, sport fishing charter companies, one-day tours, private and charter transportation companies etc are lowing their prices.
Many of the companies are offering 20 to as much as 50% off, and that is something worth looking into, when thinking about your next vacation.
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