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Published Friday, January 15, 2021
Tourism dropped 70% in 2020
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The arrival of tourists fell by approximately 70%, according to the most recent report from the Tourism Institute.
According to the institute, 1,011,912 tourists arrived in 2020, which represents almost a third of the 3 million-plus visitors recorded in 2019.
"The uncertainty and restrictions of the pandemic caused world tourism slowdown and the country received a third of the tourists that usually come to Costa Rica," Gustavo Segura, Minister of Tourism said.
The country closed the air and maritime border for five months, from March to August, as part of the government's plan to try to stop covid-19 infections in the country.
The recovery of the tourism sector will be gradual, Segura said.
According to the minister, an increase has been detected in the number of tourists arriving from the United States, however, this is not happening in the case of European visitors, due to the restrictions in those countries and the long distance.
In other words, for a European, it could be more expensive to travel from another continent to get to Costa Rica, than for a visitor of the American Continent.
Last year 547,466 tourists arrived from North America. In December alone, 45,641 arrived from the U.S. and 4,450 from Canada.
Last year 149,023 European travelers arrived from countries such as France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands.
"With the arrival of the vaccine, the increase in efforts to contain the virus, the opening and reactivation of tourist activity, we hope that the activity will show a rebound for the second half of 2021," Rodolfo Lizano, representative of the Tourism Institute said.
According to Segura, the challenge for this year is to maintain a safe border opening, and to keep promoting the country's brand as a safe destination in the main markets, such as the US, Canada, Mexico, the U.K., Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Another challenge is to bring relief to tourism service companies, so as many as possible can survive during the pandemic, said the minister.
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What should the government do to increase tourism? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com
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