The market study “Perception of Costa Rica as a tourist destination in target markets” that Promtur presented today reveals that Costa Rica is the fourth country in the Americas with the highest probability of visiting in the next twelve months and the sixth in recent visits, despite the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The destinations with probability of visiting in the next twelve months are: Miami (32%) (US), Mexico (23%), Puerto Rico (18%), Costa Rica (17%), Dominican Republic (14%), Peru (13% ), Panama (12%), Colombia (12%), Ecuador (8%) and Guatemala (8%), in their respective order.
The study, which was presented by Denise Miller, Executive Vice President of Smaringhts, with more than 25 experience on the subject, was based on an online survey of 4,146 consumers from nine countries. 1,199 people were surveyed in the United States, in Colombia 401, Brazil 400, Costa Rica 246, Argentina 399, Canada 300, Spain 399, Germania 403 and France 399.
The study also specifies that “the image of Costa Rica can be better developed, although it does not currently have a negative image.” But “there is a lack of familiarity with the all country’s tourism product,” which means that there is no current point of differentiation from competitors.
The survey asked different questions about how people are familiar with Costa Rica, if they had already visited the country, and how likely they were to visit again soon. Regarding familiarity with the destination, of the total surveyed 10% answered that they have only heard the name, 30% say they know little about the destination, 40% know a lot about this destination, and 20% know a very good amount about this destination. “It is not bad news, it is simply news with many opportunities,” Miller said of these results.
Another fact that the analysis revealed is that the Country’s image is above average, with some facts to distinguish it from its key competitors. In terms of the product, its competitive advantage is being “an ecotourist destination.” Another the good news is that it does not have great weaknesses. Other attributes that Costa Rica offers as a tourist destination to the visitors stand out: beauty, history, nature, recreation, and adventure.
The survey participants were over 18 years of age, vacation and leisure travelers, responsible for decision-making in their homes. The international providers in the sample deployed the survey to collect all representative responses. Sampling was done with the objective of representing visits to Costa Rica and for this, the data from where the visitors came from were observed.
