Costa Rica highlighted this week that the number of US tourists who arrived by air in September was 46,804, 93.3% of the amount registered in the same month of 2019, prior to the pandemic, which shows a robust recovery of the main issuing market for travelers to the country.
The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) indicated in a report that the figures reveal an improvement that could increase during the last quarter of the year with the opening of new air routes and the start of the high season.
Spearheading the recovery
“There is no doubt that the United States is the spearhead of our recovery. Another good news is that in that month of September Europe, whose recovery has been slower, shows a noticeable improvement since 14,748 people arrived the previous month and that is almost 70% of the Europeans who had entered in September 2019,” said the Minister of Tourism, Gustavo Segura.
The total number of international arrivals by air in September was 77,599, which means 70% of those reported in the same month of 2019, and by all routes (air, sea and land) it was 85,183 visitors.
Numbers may grow
According to the authorities, the number may grow in the last quarter of the year with the inauguration scheduled for next November of new air routes with the United States, such as that of American Airlines from the city of Chicago to the Juan Santamaría International Airport and the Daniel Airport. Oduber (North Pacific), linked to the Austin, Texas – Daniel Oduber path. Low-cost carrier Frontier will also fly from Orlando prior to the start of peak season.
In the case of Europe, Segura said that “the gradual recovery of markets such as Spain and Germany is especially noticeable.” For example, from Germany the entry of 2,236 tourists was registered last September, 65% of those who arrived in the same month of 2019.
While Spain is getting closer and closer to the numbers registered before the health crisis with the arrival in September of 4,220 people, that is, 80% of the number of visitors who arrived in the same period two years ago.
From January to September of this year, Costa Rica has received 878,574 tourists, of which 836,190 did so by air. Before the pandemic, this country of 5 million people received close to 3 million tourists each year.
