Costa Rica closed the Pacific cruise season this past Monday, which brought a total of 80 ships to the country, this after the reopening that began on September 2nd, 2021 after 17 months of the Covid-19 pandemic, an official source reported.
The Costa Rican Tourism Institute indicated in a press release that the cruise ship MS Queen Elizabeth, baptized by Queen Elizabeth of England, of the shipping company Carnival Corporation &Plc, anchored this Monday morning in the province of Puntarenas (Central Pacific) with 1,307 passengers and 913 crew.
“The reoPuntarenas, with opening of the cruise tourism season, which began after 17 months of closure due to the pandemic, concludes today in Puntarenas with the arrival of the MS Queen Elizabeth and with a total of 80 ships on the Pacific coast and 30,000 cruise passengers. The gradual reactivation of this segment has been carried out under strict sanitary protocols,”said the director of ICT Tourism Management, Gustavo Alvarado.
The ship arrived from Aruba, crossing the Panama Canal, and will be in the port for eight hours for passengers to visit tourist attractions such as the Monteverde cloud forest, Jacó beach, and Sarchí handicrafts, among others.
Economic boost
According to the authorities, cruise passengers activate the work of tour guides, artisans, as well as gastronomy, transportation, among other activities linked to the sector.
This cruise makes its complete 43-night itinerary departing from England, traveling through the Caribbean, crossing the Panama Canal, Costa Rica, Mexico, the United States and ending in Vancouver, Canada.
Starting strong
“Without a doubt, the Pacific ports started this cruise season quite strongly, despite the harsh pandemic that severely affected the cruise industry for more than 17 months with the closure of the borders to maritime tourism,” said the president. executive of the Costa Rican Institute of Pacific Ports (INCOP), Widman Cruz.
The visit of the boats allows the contracting of tourist services such as certified guides, land and sea carriers, entrance to national parks and tourist destinations, providers of adventure, cultural and recreational tourism services.
In the 2019-2020 season, the last without a pandemic, Costa Rica received 113 cruises in the Pacific and 84 in the Caribbean, with a total of 239,566 visitors.Tourism is one of the main engines of the Costa Rican economy.
During the pandemic, this was one of the sectors most affected by restrictions on movement and border closures.Before the pandemic, this country of 5.1 million people received just over 3 million tourists each year and tourism employed some 400,000 people.
