Costa Rica launched a campaign aimed at North America, France, and the United Kingdom, to promote a new tourist identity that highlights its culture, traditions and the warmth of its people, not forgetting its natural beauties.
The Costa Rican Tourism Minister, Mauricio Ventura, told Efe that the initiative “Costa Rica: My Choice, Naturally” (Costa Rica: My Choice, of course) will be launched in the United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom and France.
“The message is broader, that Costa Rica transcends its natural beauty, is a step beyond. We are expanding the fan and adding more attractions of the country such as the cultural part, Costa Rican traditions, tico, and gastronomy and of course the part of nature and adventure that has made us recognizes ourselves in the world, “said Ventura.
The initiative, which has an investment of 1.8 million dollars, was born thanks to an agreement of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) and the company CNN International.
This last one was in charge of the creativity, production, and filming of the announcements, that will be published in social, digital and televising platforms.
“They are several ads where experts are telling a story,” said Ventura.
According to the Costa Rican authorities, it was important to reach these markets, due to the opening, in the last year, of direct flights to France and the United Kingdom with the airlines Air France and British Airways respectively, as well as with the United States. And Canada is the main emitters of tourists, while Mexico is a large destination.
“We are covering more than 420 million homes and hotel rooms around the world and additionally we are in the United States airport network. It is the most ambitious program that presents Costa Rica from a broader perspective, “said the minister.
Costa Rica set a record last year by receiving a total of 2,925,128 tourists on all routes, up 10% compared to 2015.
In that period, the United States was consolidated as the main emitter of tourists with a total of 1,233,277 arrivals 14.5% more than in 2015. In addition, the United Kingdom visited the country 71,392 people for a growth of 50.3%.
Ventura said that now that these figures are positive for the country must continue positioning Costa Rica in the international markets.
“When things are right, it’s when you have to push harder. In this industry there are ups and downs, we must take advantage of this high to get the most out and leave Costa Rica much better, “Ventura said.
According to the authorities, this is the first time that Costa Rica has carried out such a comprehensive and global campaign. In the United Kingdom and France, 50% of the investment will be allocated to these markets (30% and 20% respectively), 20% in Mexico, 10% to the United States and Canada, while the remaining 20% will be for The network of airports and CNN Domestic.
The campaign “Costa Rica: My Choice, Naturally” can be seen for the remainder of 2017.
Tourism is one of the main engines of the Costa Rican economy in this Central American country, home to about 4.5% of the planet’s biodiversity, which is one of its main attractions.