Archive for July 16th, 2008
Wednesday, July 16th, 2008
Costa Rica is edging ever closer to becoming the 18th member of Petrocaribe, a Venezuela-led initiative that provides Latin American and Caribbean countries with favorable financing on oil imports, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The high-level Costa Rican government delegation that visited Venezuela this weekend to take part in the fifth Petrocaribe meeting concluded that conditions are favorable for Costa Rica to join the group.
Petrocaribe as launched in 2005 by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and the presidents of several Caribbean island states. (more…)
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 16th, 2008
From January-May 2008 foreign arrivals to Costa Rica increased 16 percent from the same period in 2007, according to the Ministry of Tourism in San Jose. The upswing represented an additional 133,000 foreign visitors over the period, taking the total to 987,000 arrivals.
The US remains the main country of origin, accounting for 54 percent of arrivals, followed by Europe with 17 percent.
The Ministry of Tourism stated that recession in the US had not affected the propensity of high and middle income earners visiting Costa Rica. Nor have increased airline prices dissuaded European travelers.
While the world economics forum has ranked Costa Rica as the number one nation in Latin America in terms of tourism – the second successive year that Costa Rica has occupied top spot. Costa Rica registered 1.9 million foreign visitors in 2007, generating US$1.92 billion in tourism receipts.
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 16th, 2008
Minister of Agriculture, Senator Joanne Massiah, will be in Costa Rica next week for the 2008 Forum for Leaders in Agriculture.
The event, which will be held during the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture (IICA) 28th regular meeting, is twofold and will be held over the period from 20 – 24 July.
From 20 – 21 July, participants will be engaged in the actual Forum for Leaders in Agriculture, a programme designed for newly-appointed ministers and senior executives of agriculture and rural life in the Americas, who wish to have an up to date view of “Agriculture and Rural Life in the 21st Century”.
Headquartered in Costa Rica with a branch office in Antigua, IICA is a specialised agency of the Inter-American System and it seeks to encourage and support the efforts of its members in achieving agricultural development and wellbeing for rural populations.
Subsequent to the forum, the Executive Committee Meeting will convene at the IICA headquarters from 22 – 24 July.
This year, the IICA Executive Committee will comprise Antigua and Barbuda, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Dominica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, St. Lucia, Venezuela and the United States of America. (more…)
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 16th, 2008
The Changing Dollar Exchange is Stirring up Costa Rica finance Once Again.
The dollar keeps going up and it is not looking as if this phenomenon is going to stop too soon. The banks had to adjust their selling and buying rates again. The selling price (the price you get when exchanging dollars for colones) went from 528.08 colones to 533.65 colones yesterday, July 15, accounting for a 5.57 colones gain. The buying price (when you turn in colones for dollars) went from 521.20 Colones to 526.73.
The increase is due to a higher demand of the U.S. currency, which could have been caused by the increase of imports, the slowing down of the exports due to the economic crisis and less growth in the United States, the transfer of investments from the colon to the dollar and also, the expectations of a higher devaluation.
While the Central Bank, the regulating authority over other Costa Rica banks, called this fluctuation normal and said they do not intend to intervene, the general mood in Costa Rica is not improving, and residents are beginning to bite their nails. This rise in the dollar means for them that they will need to pay more for goods bought in dollars, or that they will have to pay more towards interest on loans in U.S. currency. (more…)
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
