(TAN): Costa Rica witnessed a 4.1% year-over-year growth in foreign visitor arrivals to 3.1 million in 2019, reports said.
While tourism remained one of the chief contributors to the country’s economy, the growth surpassed the global average of 4% and that of 2% in the Americas, as per reports. The data was reportedly provided by the World Tourism Organization earlier this week during the signing of a declaration for the creation of the National Tourism Competitiveness Council.
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“These figures generated by tourism in the country are very positive and hopeful,” Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado was quoted by The Tico Times as saying.
“Costa Rica is a world leader in the field of tourism, which is a fundamental pillar for equitable development, economic activation and job creation,” he further said.
According to reports, Costa Rica’s Minister of Tourism María Amalia Revelo revealed that visitors stayed an average of 12.6 nights in the country, up one night from the previous year, and spent an average of USD 1,400. Revelo reportedly added that arrivals grew despite global turmoil including Brexit and British tour operator Thomas Cook’s bankruptcy.
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Arrivals by air, which went up 4.5% in 2019 from the earlier year, was the most popular way of entering the country, a report said.
The United States reportedly accounted for most of the tourists – the country sent nearly 1.3 million visitors last year. On the other hand, for the first time European tourists to the country crossed 500,000 in 2019, a report said.
The Central American country with coastlines on the Caribbean and Pacific, is famed for its beaches, biodiversity and volcanoes.
