Guanacaste consolidates its leadership as a destination desired by tourists visiting Costa Rica. Throughout the first half of the year, passenger traffic has grown steadily, and in June, the Guanacaste airport, operated by VINCI Airports, reached the volume of passengers registered in the same month of 2019.
“We are proud to see that our goal of placing Guanacaste as a premier destination has come true. These statistics are encouraging, a year ago we had an open airport with no operation, but today we have not only recovered the traffic of 2019 during this month, but it has been done while we work on the opening of new routes, adding greater connectivity to Costa Rica, thus enhancing the economy of our region, since each passenger represents the employability of Guanacastecans, and represents a boost in the economy of all those who work in the tourism industry”, said César Jaramillo, General Manager of CORIPORT – Guanacaste Airport Concessionaire.
Currently, all US airlines have returned their operations to the Guanacaste airport, with an increase of 14% in operations compared to June 2019, since they were able to increase the frequencies of flights and open new routes, such as American Airlines, United, and Jetblue.
Enhancing the tourist industry
“These numbers reflect the intense public-private work to raise our tourism industry from different fronts, the attraction of airlines, the strategies to promote the destination with a limited budget, the sanitary protocols recognized by the World Travel and Tourism Council and as an ingredient especially, the excellent quality of service that characterizes our private sector”, said Gustavo J. Segura, Rector Minister of Tourism.
The Guanacaste airport complies with the application of its sanitary protocol and also with the implementation of ‘Protegiéndonos’, a VINCI Airports campaign to protect the health of all visitors and collaborators. These measures were recognized by the Airports Council International (ACI), by granting the Airport Health Accreditation that certifies the high level of health protection measures at airports.
A preferred world destination
According to the Study on the Perception of Safe Destinations, published by The Blueroom Project in Spain, Costa Rica is among the 5 world destinations with the best travel prospects, leading the preference in the American continent. This confirms that airlines and passengers trust our destination and that it is desirable due to its nature and cultural heritage. With a view to the second half of the year, the announcement of new flights from Denver, Colorado (Southwest), and Austin, Texas (American Airlines), starting in November, stands out.
