Mission Trip and Travel News

San Jose .- In the next six months Costa Rica as a tourist destination will be promoted in 19 fairs in countries like U.S., Canada, Spain, Germany, France, United Kingdom and emerging markets like Brazil, Argentina, Holland, Belgium and Russia , officials said.

Costa Rican Minister of Tourism, Allan Flores, said in a statement that participation in these fairs “represents a unique opportunity to reach our top prospects and arouse the interest of both wholesalers, airlines, travel agents and the general public in Costa Rica as a tourist destination.”

In total, Costa Rica will attend eight fairs in Europe, nine from the United States and Canada and two in South America from this week until March 2012.

The first show of the 2011-2012 seasons will be the Top Rasa, to be held in Paris this week with an attendance of 30,000 people.

One of the main objectives of the Costa Rican companies will be known as eco-friendly destinations thanks to the Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST), a standard developed by the country and recognized by the World Tourism Organization.

“A company CST offers visitors much more than quality standards, means promoting ecological and environmental awareness, learning about sustainability actions and involvement with communities, resulting in a unique and invaluable experience,” said Flores , who described this program as the “best presentation” of their country.

In previous fair season (2010-2011), about 80 tourist companies participated in these international events, including the Fair Wedding Salon, specializing in wedding segment in the U.S…

On the show this week in Paris, Flores said that this event “will allow a rapprochement with the French market, which represents the third most visited country in Europe to Costa Rica, after Spain and Germany.”

Tourism is the main economic activity in Costa Rica, the country receives each year about 2 million tourists, which generate foreign exchange of nearly 2,000 million dollars.