English
Costa rica rose five places in the “competitiveness report 2015 travel and tourism, the world economic forum.”
The country noted for its tourist infrastructure and security; but it went wrong qualified by air and port delays.
The country managed to move from position 47 in 2013, to place 42 in the report this year from 141 nations evaluated.
With the rise, Costa Rica was among the main destinations of the region, surpassed only by Brazil, Panama and Mexico. Spain took first place in the biennial report of this international organization.
The evaluation of the World Economic Forum produces 90 indicators for each country in 14 different areas analyzed.
In Costa Rica, the best scores were achieved in development of tourism infrastructure; safety and security of visitors, and government prioritization in promoting tourism.
However, the country failed on issues such as developing cultural and air and port infrastructure.
In these three categories they note below 3 were obtained on a scale of 1 to 7, where seven is the best rating.
The study was based on tourism results in court to 2013. In addition, he analyzed the evolution of tourist arrivals and revenue generated countries for this economic activity.
Reactions. Mauricio Ventura, new Minister of Tourism, interpreted the results of the measurement of the Forum as a call for improvement in fields directly or indirectly associated with this industry.
From the report and analysis of countries in better positions, Costa Rica could consider a program leading to the rise in the index, he recommended the hierarch.
"The important thing, he added, is to put goals in the areas that are controllable for the country and especially for the tourism sector."
Pablo Abarca, President of the National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur), any advance is important, but it’s time to make good decisions, especially in infrastructure.
The businessman added that Costa Rica needs to diversify its offer to new niches such as tourism convention, as the regional competition is very dynamic.
Gustavo Araya, president of the Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels, was more severe in the analysis of the results.
"It’s poor be in position 42, as the country has conditions to enter the top 20," he said Araya.
In addition, he complained that, as a nation, the same problems have dragged for years.
In the last year, Costa Rica achieved an increase in revenues from tourism and visitation rating, according to data from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT).
The foreign exchange earnings from the activity increased by 8.3% last year, compared with 2013, it rose from $ 2,433 million to $ 2,636 million.
Also they increased by 4.1% in international arrivals, which increased from 2.42 million visitors, 2.52 million, when comparing the two years, according to official figures.
