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Published Monday, May 18, 2020
Hotel owners begin
trainingfor reopening guidelines The Costa Rican Tourism Institute began a training for hotel-industry owners on specific guidelines for proper covid-19 safety measures needed to reopen. Rafael Soto, a representative of the institute and Flora Ayub, representative of the Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels, is in charge of the country-wide safety training. The first of the sessions began on Thursday, May 14, for business owners of hotels with less than 20 rooms. Because these small hotels were the first authorized to reopen to the public, according to orders by the Ministry of Health According to the Institute, the training was attended by more than 275 hoteliers who had also received documents with respective information on the reopening process. In Costa Rica, small hotels with less than 20 rooms represent 83% of the country's accommodations, the Institute said. On Friday, training was also given to all business owners of hotels with more than 21 rooms, where 600 hotel representatives were registered. The guidelines are essential for the safety of tourists that their chosen hotel is following sanitizing measures to prevent any risk of infection. The Institute announced that within the next few days they will be offering training courses to restaurants, adventure tourism companies, travel agencies and car rentals among others. For more information email protocols@ict.go.cr. As hotels prepare to reopen, the institute began a campaign based on local tourism, highlighting low prices to seek an increase in tourism after the pandemic comes to an end. According to the Institute, pushing for Costa Ricans to explore local tourism stimulates national tourism by bringing the sector out of paralysis due to the pandemic. Strategic alliances will be established with cooperatives, as well as associations and banks to promote discounts and payment facilities, as an incentive for people who live in the country to encourage them to explore local tourism. Think of the plan as a dry run before international borders open for tourists to make their way to the country to experience pura vida. The plan to incentivize tourism was presented to the six local tourism chambers and the National Chamber of Tourism, said the Institute. The main points of the plan are to focus on tourists, tourism companies, tourism employees, airlines, marketing, promotion strategies, and maritime tourism. The institute has developed a plan to deal with the return of international airlines when the health authorities allow it. They are renegotiating with airline's travel campaigns that were planned for 2020. Among the important points are the sanitary guidelines for passengers entering and leaving the country, and the analysis of the operating costs of airlines, said the Institute. The plan for the advertising campaign called “Only the Essentials” will continue, which presents Costa Rica not only as a place to travel but as a life-transforming experience. Public banks created a rescue program for tourism companies. The goal is to provide support for working capital and cash flow for small and medium businesses. There is one plan still in the negotiation phase with the Inter-American Development Bank, IDB, which is to develop an employment program for small tourism companies. In 2019, the tourism sector generated $3.9 trillion and more than 200,000 people work in tourism-focused companies, according to statistics from the Costa Rican Central Bank. --------------------- What are some good strategies to improve the tourism sector after the pandemic? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
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