Archive for December, 2009
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
In response to a visit of the Governor General of Canada last week, the Canadian government has expressed interest in creating a consulate in Costa Rica and the National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR) of Costa Rica is looking to attract more Canadian tourists.
During Governor General Michaëlle Jean’s visit, she promised to take steps to remove the visa complications for Costa Ricans hoping to move to Canada. Without a Canadian consulate in Costa Rica, Ticos currently have to send their documentation to the consulate in Guatemala in order to have their visas approved.
“Part of my work here in Costa Rica involves simplifying the visa issues for the Costa Ricans hoping to come to our country,” Jean said. “We are, after all, friends and need to develop opportunities between the two countries.”
President Arias nodded in agreement and suggested a Canadian consulate should be opened in Costa Rica.
Other matters discussed by Canada’s highest-ranking representative of the head-of-state and President Arias included: maximizing the trading relationship in light of the 2002 Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement, improving the flow of tourism between the two countries, as well as working together on cultural and education exchange projects.
This week, CANATUR has defined how Costa Rica is looking to improve tourism between the two countries, indicating that there has been some exploration into establishing direct airline flights to and from Canada.
In his comments regarding the push for Canadian tourism, CANATUR President Juan Carlos Ramos said, “The year 2010 will be a period to make national tourism more convenient, and to promote activities to attract tourists from destinations like Canada, which represents an opportunity to help us recover in the tourism sector.”
Information from CANATUR reveals that, from January to September 2009, 75,790 tourists from Canada visited Costa Rica, accounting for more than 5 percent of the total visitors during that period. CANATUR also revealed that 287,705 Canadian tourists have come to Costa Rica from 2007 through September 2009. Canadian tourists are found to spend approximately $1,425 per person and have the longest average stay of any visiting population, at 18.7 nights.
“The Canadian visitor is relatively young, as 60 percent are younger than 44 years old,” Ramos said. “They find Costa Rica to be a destination with different options for the purpose of entertainment, beaches, mountains, diverse eco-systems and a place committed to the development of sustainable tourism.”
At the conference for Jean, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias had the following words to say about Canada: “I was once asked by a reporter what country I would like to belong to if I hadn’t been born in Costa Rica. The answer was Canada because of its sense of responsibility, solidarity and diversity. We can learn a lot from Canada.”
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Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
Arenal is one of the most exciting and sought after destinations for the ultimate Costa Rica vacation. Arenal and the nearby town of La Fortuna offer a wide range of hotels and activities that rival any top vacation destination. It is impossible to ignore the allure and majesty of the Arenal Volcano itself. The volcano and its abundant natural hot springs, provide the stunning backdrop that makes this natural wonder an absolute must-visit in Costa Rica. Considered extinct in modern times, this sleeping giant awoke with a vengeance on July 29, 1968 with a large eruption which destroyed three villages and killed 87 people. The current eruption period in the 7,000 year history of this picture-perfect conical volcano now produces daily displays of red-hot lava tumbling down the slopes with the signature rumblings and ash columns towering above. It is the youngest and most active of Costa Rica’s volcanoes, and is said to be one of the tenth most active in the world.
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica’s largest lake is a beautiful complement to the southwest slope, not only for its natural beauty, but for the array of activities it offers as well. Additionally, the post 1968 effect tripled the area of the lake which provides hydroelectric power for Costa Ricans. Sources site between 40% and 70% of all power produced in Costa Rica comes from Lake Arenal hydroelectric. (more…)
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Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
The new flagrancia court will be open every day over the Christmas holidays to handle those crooks caught in the act, said the Poder Judicial.
The judiciary will be going on vacation Dec. 21, but a summary Monday said that necessary services would not be affected. These include the flagrancia court that issues judgments on those caught red-handed. It will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., the Poder Judicial said.
Also open will be the Sala IV constitutional court where magistrates will share the duties of awaiting the filing of cases and appeals. The court will be open for the reception of documents 24 hours a day. The entire court could be called into special session if the case warrants that kind of emergency response, the Poder Judicial said.
The Judicial Investigating Organization, the morgue, the Ministerio Público where prosecutors work and the Defensa Pública also will be open with short staffs.
Those who have to pay child support will see no changes, the judiciary said. Monthly payments will be routed directly through the Banco de Costa Rica.
And the judiciary also will be keeping open the office where reports are given about crimes by victims. The vacation ends Jan. 4.
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Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
The Autoridad Reguladora de Servicios Públicos (Aresep) on Monday approved a hike in taxi fares of 24%, giving in to the pressures of the Federación Nacional de Taxis.
The taxi association argued that operating costs, like gasoline, circulation rights, salaries, etc, have all gone up, justifying an increase.
The new taxi rates that will take effect in January will see the first kilometer jump to ¢510 colones from the current ¢455.
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Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
Vanessa Jiménez is a young mother with only one wish on her Christmas list this year, that the United States government issue her a visa to travel to the US to visit her eleven year old daughter who is serious condition in a Florida hospital after suffering an accident.
Vanessa is making the public appeal after the US Embassy in San José denied her a visa, to be with her daughter’s bedside.
Vanessa told Telenoticias that her daughter is in a coma, suffering an accident while vacationing in the US with the father.
The woman in a television interview related her reaction to the news of her daughter’s accident and her experience at the US Embassy in San José in her attempt to get a visa to be with her daughter.
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Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
The prediction is that American tourists will regain confidence in the economy and begin once again to visit Costa Rica during the 2010 “high” tourist season, which is between November and March.
A study by Deloitte shows that 45% of the 2.000 people interviewed would come to Costa Rica to vacation.
Juan Carlos Ramos, president of the Cámara Nacional de Turismo (Canatur), said this is good news for the local tourism sector.
The Deloitte study revelas that 59% take int account value when seeking out a vacation spot. Ramos said that Costa Rica is in a good position to take advantage to attract more tourist.
During the first nine months of 2009, a total of 601.830 American tourists chose Costa Rica, 6.9% lower than for the same period in 2008, representing almost 41% of income by the tourism sector.
The largest single group of tourists to Costa Rica are from the U.S.
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Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
BNamericas reports that Costa Rica’s state-owned telecoms monopoly ICE has signed an agreement with the environment, energy and telecommunications ministry Minaet which paves the way for a much anticipated mobile spectrum auction. Costa Rica is due to be one of the last countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to liberalise its mobile telephony market, as required by the Central America and Dominican Republic free trade agreement with the US (CAFTA-DR). President Oscar Arias is expected to now instruct telecoms regulator Sutel to launch an auction, possibly before the end of the year: Digicel, Cable & Wireless, America Movil, Millicom and Telefonica have all expressed interest in entering the market. Some 100MHz of frequencies in the 850MHz, 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands will be up for grabs. The new licences are expected to be awarded by June 2010.
In related news, ICE said it has already sold 2,377 3G connections since the new network went live last week. In addition, some 1,711 TDMA customers had migrated to the new network, retaining their numbers.
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Monday, December 21st, 2009
The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) had announced that it would start selling its data-cards and net-books beginning today, Monday, December 21, that takes advantage of the wide band internet capabilities of the 3G cellular network. However, don’t be disappointed if that does not happen.
ICE officials said over the weekend that there may be a delay in marketing the technology, a first in Costa Rica.
Jaime Palermo, the director of the División de Clientes, said that all ICE agencies have already been getting the equipment, but there is the slight problem of certification, which could delay the program.
The service will allow users to connect to the internet with the portable computers or net-books purchased from ICE, over the 3G cellular network, with speeds from 512Kb to 1.5Mb.
For a perspective, a typical dial up connection over a fixed line is 56Kb at best, and over the GSM network at 128Kb, down to 64Kb is the phone is being used simultaneously in a call.
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Monday, December 21st, 2009
In an effort to keep the bloodshed on the nation’s highways and bi-ways to a minimum, the Policía de Tránsito (Traffic Police) will be out in full force and with a zero tolerance policy during the holidays.
Germán Marín, director of the police force, assured that the entire police force is on full operation, 24 hours a day, since Friday night when the holiday vacation period began. The intensive police operation will continue until January 4.
This year, at least 800 Tráficos will be working the streets on three shifts around the clock, now that the police force has grown with the addition of 400 new police officers.
Marín said the focus will be on drinking and driving, the major cause of most of the fatal traffic accidents.
Different this year, said Marín, is the daytime spot checks.
Costa Ricans are accustomed to not seeing a police presence, other than regular patrols, along the country’s highways during the day and certainly not a spot check.
Some of the hot spots that Tráficos will be keeping a vigil eye are especially the General Cañas, the major route to Guanacaste and the Pacific beaches and resorts.
Areas like the Cambronero, San Ramón, the area surrounding the international airport will be of importance, said Marín.
In addition to the patrol cars and motorcycles, the Policía de Tránsito, will have its tow trucks on hand to two vehicles of drunk drivers and be assisted by the Fuerza Pública (police) to haul away the drivers to jail.
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Monday, December 21st, 2009
In an unprecedented action, police were called in to the Mélico Salazar theatre in San José to ask the musicians of the Orquesta Filarmónica (Philharmonic Orchestra) to hand over their instruments for an inspection.
The Orquesta Filarmónica is a private group and the Ministerio de Cultura suspects that the musicians were using instruments belonging to the state, which is a crime.
A ministerio official was on hand at the end of the performance Friday night and in the company of six officials of the Fuerza Pública (police) asked each and every musician to hand over their instruments for an inspection. The official said the action was to discard that the group was using state owned instruments.
The egg on the face, however, was that of the Cultura minister when no state instruments were found in the possession of the musicians, nor in the theatre.
The official, identified only by his last name, Goñi, refused to answer questions of the press that had been called by the Orquesta Filarmónica to witness the uncalled for public display.
Marvin Araya, director of the Orquesta Filarmónica and his musicians vowed to take the case to the end.
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Monday, December 21st, 2009
With a choice like that it is not too hard for the traveler who has not been to either country to make. Panama is usually second choice for travelers to Central America in the first place because of the years of eco-marketing Costa Rica is famous for. From my experience in hospitality, most people traveling to Panama on vacation have already experienced Costa Rica.
I just returned from a two day trip to Costa Rica and had the experience of traveling through their international airport on my way home. It was clean, tidy and efficient and looked very tourist friendly with photos of nature all around. There was an abundance of gift shops, coffee shops and restaurants and even free internet. What I found unattractive was the line to get the dreaded exit stamp which required a payment of $26. A big sign was on the back wall showing a breakdown of the various institutes getting their share of the income. I listened as a number of people grumbled about this fee to leave the county. It really felt like a stick up!
Of course on top of that fee you have the various airlines fees such as fuel surcharges, baggage fees, airport taxes and other sundry fees. When you add it all up it amounts to a great deal above the cost of your actual ticket. I have posted recently about Panama eliminating the $5 tourist card and upping their fees of departure to $40 a person. If Costa Rica charges only $26 to get out of the country how can Panama compete charging $40 especially when adding it to the price of the airfare before the tourist arrives? This will make traveling to Panama much more expensive than it already is. For a family traveling on holiday this adds significantly to the cost of a vacation. I know many will say, what’s the big deal, but for most traveling in these more difficult economic times the decision on where to go on holiday will come to “chump change” like this. At least Costa Rica is smart enough to hit you up on the way out where you have no choice and have not experienced the sticker shock of high airfare. And by the way, Costa Rica is really feeling the ravages of this recession. I saw first hand how the tourism industry is way down from previous years. (more…)
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Monday, December 21st, 2009
The Costa Rican Health Ministry announced here on Friday that A/H1N1 flu death toll in the country had reached 47, while the number of the flu infected patients rose to about 1,500.
Costa Rican Health Minister Luisa Avila, in an interview with Xinhua, also said that the Costa Rican government has established a special commission to review the records of the dead who had the symptoms of the disease.
Avila said 69 death cases have been analyzed, nine deaths were ruled out by lab tests, 13 were associated with other conditions, while 47 were confirmed positive for A/H1N1 flu, six more than the last report.
The minister also said as no more cases pending for review, the death toll of A/H1N1 flu will stand at 47 by the end of 2009.
He said the health authorities expect the second wave of the pandemic will hit the country between next January and February, but with weakened impact compared with the first one.
Costa Rica has requested for a total of 1.8 million vaccines, 200,000 of which will arrive during the first week of January and 400,000 in the following week.
Avila said pregnant women and people with diabetes, hypertension and asthma will be given priority in vaccination, adding that the vaccines will be available only at the public health centers.
Costa Rica is capable of tackling the A/H1N1 flu like a developed country. “We have good hospitals, specialists and our citizens are educated,” he said.
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Saturday, December 19th, 2009
The country’s largest and most attended fair is set to open Christmas Day and workers of the Municipalidad de San José are working feverishly to put the finishing touches before the Ministerio de Salud (Health ministry) inspection.
The Zapote Fair is a tradition in San José and Costa Rica, as hundreds of thousands of fair goes visit each year.
The fair grounds are Zapote, on the east side of San José, across from the Registro Nacional. The fair runs until January 3.
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Friday, December 18th, 2009
With only 9 banking days to go, some 600.000 vehicle owners (or 60%) have yet to pay their 2010 Marchamo. The 9 banking days is based on banks being opened on Saturday and closed Sundays and December 25.
The 2010 Marchamo is due on December 31, after which date the Policía de Tránsito (Traffic Police) can fine the driver and/or confiscate the vehicle license plates and the vehicle itself.
In the case of a plate or vehicle confiscation, only the “registered” legal owner of the vehicle can reclaim the vehicle from the “patios” of the Tránsito (impound lots).
The Marchamo can be paid at any bank – state or private, at the INS offices and your local insurance agent authorized by the INS.
Payment can also be made on line at the INS website, as well as some banks, like the Banco de Costa Rica (BCR), with the marchamo sticker being delivered to your home or office.
It is important to note that the Policía de Tránsito will be in full force until January 3, keeping a close eye on drinking and driving and with spot-checks around the clock.
One of the items that a Tráfico (traffic official) will ask for is the vehicle registration. On the other side, you may be the holder of a ticket (fine) or having walk home if the 2010 Marchamo has not been paid on the vehicle.
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Friday, December 18th, 2009
Two Americans will be guests of Costa Rica for some years and all at the expense of the Ministerio de Justicia, after being found with some 3.8 Kg of cocaine hidden in their underwear, while leaving the country at the Juan Santamaría (San José) airport.
The first of the two was detained by the Policía Aeroportuaria (airport police) when passing through the x-ray machines, when officials noticed something strange in the abdomen area of the traveler.
The 26 year old woman was only identified by her last name, Daniels.
Moments later, the airport police saw something strange in two other Americans, keeping a close eye on the tow as they moved about the boarding gates.
Moments before boarding the flight, police moved in and after an exhaustive personal search came upon the illicit drug. The woman was identified by her last name Cooper and is 27 years old. The other person was set free when agents did not find anything on her person.
The two women detained for drug smuggling may spend from 8 to 20 years in a Costa Rican prison.
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