An exclusive plan composed of four fundamental axes will seek to guarantee the economic reactivation of the Tico tourism sector. That was the commitment that President, Carlos Alvarado, reached with representatives of the two most important chambers of this industry in the country.
According to the Presidents of the National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur) and the Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels, Rubén Acón and Javier Pacheco respectively, the four main points of the agreement that was reached with the Executive, revolve around:
Reactivation of the sector
Financial and Government Support
Tourist Security
Strengthening and Competitiveness
At the end of the extensive meeting on Monday afternoon, Alvarado ordered the Minister of Tourism, Gustavo Segura, to begin coordinating the plan as of this same week, Acón added.
Overall projected figures
The country’s tourism industry would be receiving during this 2021, at most, 30% of the travelers who entered Costa Rica during 2019, according to Canatur. In 2022, that figure would increase to 50%, in 2023 to 75% and perhaps in 2024 the levels before the beginning of the Pandemic will recover, calculated the International Air Transport Association (IATA, for its acronym in English) .
Visualizing reality is key
For his part, Pacheco thanked the head of the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) for the effort but recalled that his obligation is to be sincere. “We are grateful for their management, but not everything passes through their hands and authority, so it is our obligation to be honest and say that the help is not coming, that there is hunger among our collaborators, that there is depression, that there are doors closing for not to reopen,” the added.
Hardest hit
The tourism industry has been one of the most affected by the global pandemic caused by COVID-19. Official figures estimate the 2020 losses at about $ 3 billion. For those who are dedicated to this activity, which is estimated to produce around 665 thousand direct and indirect jobs, depending completely on national tourism is not an option. Before the crisis, the sector was 80% dependent on international tourism. For this reason, current demand does not allow reaching an economic balance point for the vast majority of companies in this industry.
