This week, the Tourism Institute's representatives attended the IMEX America tourist show in Las Vegas, United States.

 
According to IMEX organizers, the expo attracted over 2,300 tourist representatives from 200 countries.

 
The Costa Rican Convention Bureau and over 20 tourism firms were represented at the Costa Rica booth. 

Their goal was to promote Costa Rica as a meeting destination given its several advantages, including air connections, a strategic location, unforgettable experiences, a robust health system, an excellent tourist platform, good infrastructure for holding events, a high level of education, and the diversity of activities available in the country, according to the institute in its statement.

Costa Rica is a member of the United States Professional Convention Management Association to continue promoting Costa Rica as a destination for meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (or MICE tourism), in which large groups frequently plan their conference destination ahead of time.

The conference industry accounts for 22% of total tourism globally. The institute noted in its statement that conference attendees have a high income and spend three to four times more than regular tourists.

Participation in the IMEX fair is one more strategy to increase tourism.

Recently, the institute promoted Costa Rica as an idyllic destination in São Paulo, Brazil.

As of August, Costa Rica's principal international airport, Juan Santamaría (SJO), served approximately 4.3 million arriving and outgoing passengers, both tourists and residents.

Tourism is one of the most important economic sectors in Costa Rica. As of July, over 1.7 million tourists arrived via air, representing a 13.5% increase over the same period in 2023.

The country reported a new tourism record reached in 2023, with more than 2,4 million travelers.

The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), or Tourism Institute,  is the government agency responsible for promoting tourism in Costa Rica.


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