(CNN) — Looking to get away this holiday season? Who better to find the deals than agents catering to notoriously cash-strapped students?

We spoke with Patrick Evans of the student travel agency STA Travel, Danielle Carlson of StudentUniverse and Anne Banas of Smarter Travel, who offered recommendations for five places around the globe that offer an especially great value for trips from December 1 through January 25.

The first two weeks of December and the first week of January are known as “dead weeks” in the travel industry, and are the “absolute best time to travel in the entire year,” Banas said.

So why not follow college students during their winter break to visit awesome destinations at low prices?

1. Costa Rica

With an average temperature of 72 degrees during the winter, travelers will enjoy a wonderful climate during a holiday retreat to Costa Rica.

Visitors can explore tons of outdoor activities including beaches, canopy tours and national parks.

“Latin American countries are a great value right now because a lot of airlines are increasing service to these locations,” Banas said. Carlson added that Costa Rica is her company’s top selling Latin American location, followed by Buenos Aires, Argentina; Santiago, Chile; and Lima, Peru.

2. Lima, Peru

Speaking of Lima, why not spend winter break visiting the largest city in Peru?

Adventurous travelers can venture beyond the metropolis to explore the jungle, climb the Andes Mountains, and discover the lost city of the Incas.

“Air travel is great in Lima, with tons of low-cost carriers flying there,” Banas said.

Check out other great travel tips and destinations at Five To Go

3. Panama City, Florida

Panama City and neighboring Panama City Beach aren’t just for spring breakers. Indulge in shopping, helicopter tours, or spend a day at Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum.

With highs in the 60s even during winter, there’s always something to do in the area. Florida also boasts another destination with good values during winter break: Orlando, Carlson said.

Many of the major attractions in the area offer deals this time of year. You can avoid the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds right after the New Year’s holiday, when theme parks often reach capacity.

4. Boston, Massachusetts

“Boston is really, really cheap and affordable to get to,” Banas said.

While travel prices tend to be rising nationwide, it is actually getting less expensive to travel to Boston.

“Jet Blue is now using Logan Airport in Boston as a secondary hub,” Banas explained.

Additionally, AirTran has had a strong presence in Boston, and with Southwest just starting to fly into the airport last year, it makes Logan a powerhouse of low-cost airlines.

So if the cold doesn’t bother you, winter break would be the best time to come check out the museums and all this city has to offer.

5. London, England, and Paris, France

Wave at the Queen during a trip to London or visit Paris for some pastries and French berets.

“For Europe, we’re seeing a huge interest in flights to London, with Paris ranking second,” Carlson said. Additionally, London and Paris are among StudentUniverse’s top destinations in Europe for hotels offering a great value.

“British Airways is offering some crazy cheap hotel packages, with roundtrip flights from 20 major U.S. cities and two nights in a London hotel for $412 if you book by November 3,” Banas said.

London and Paris are year-round destinations, so why not visit during the off-season for tourists?

“During the winter travel months — excluding holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas — many of the European destinations are going to be just as beautiful as they are during the summer, but with less tourists you’ll have shorter lines for the sites and often find more welcoming local businesses since they aren’t overrun with tourists,” Evans said.

In fact, December is said to be the best time to visit France, as the already beautiful country is decorated with lights, holiday ribbons, and is full of Christmas markets.

Banas said the post-holiday deals are often posted right after Thanksgiving. Add that to your Black Friday shopping list!

Real Estate on Upswing

By Adam Williams
Tico Times Staff | awilliams@ticotimes.net

The consensus among realtors in Costa Rica is that the national real estate market is beginning to show signs of improvement.

Small, encouraging, but don’t-pop-the-corks-yet signs of improvement.

The property market is by no means back to where it was in the boom years of 2006 or 2007, but after demand plummeted during last year’s recession, the nation’s realtors report that buyers are beginning to express interest, or at least to seriously browse, again.
Inching Up: Builders, like these in western San José, can feel more confident that their units will sell, as the real estate market shows growing signs of life.
Nick Coté | Tico Times

“It’s no secret that 2009 was completely horrible for just about everyone, both buyers and sellers,” said Charles Wanger of Bienes Raíces Talamanca – Caribbean Real Estate, in the Puerto Viejo area. “In 2010, my website has had huge percentage increase in online activity. People are starting to ask again, people are starting to fly down again and realistic buyers are starting to look around again.”

He continued, “In 2009, I had about 35 showings. This year I’ve had over 100 showings. I don’t know if that means the economy is coming back, but I do think people are starting to gain a better understanding of where they are financially.”

Wanger’s outlook on the market is shared by most local realtors interviewed by The Tico Times this week. Interest in Costa Rican homes, condominiums and property is slowly picking up. Potential buyers are sniffing around, agents’ phones are ringing, e-mails with questions about properties regularly arrive, and sales, for the first time in about 20 months, again seem possible.

“We are starting to see more interest now without a doubt,” said real estate broker Les Nunez of First Realty in Playa Hermosa, in the northwestern province of Guanacaste. “Numbers aren’t up yet, but it seems that serious buyers are again out there.”

Improvement Across the Board
Corporate Announcements
Tica Bus Gives Back

Costa Rican bus company Tica Bus is treating more than 200 underprivileged schoolchildren to a free trip…

This guarded optimism was echoed in a report released last week by the Costa Rican branch of the international commercial real estate firm NAI.

The firm, which monitors monthly activity in residential, commercial, construction and investment markets, found that the Costa Rican real estate market is “recuperating well” after stumbling through late 2008-2009. The report found that markets for housing, offices, retail space and land have all shown signs of improvement through the first half of 2010.

“The Costa Rican market has suffered the last two years, including an almost complete paralysis of big projects outside of the Central Valley, in the area of Guanacaste and other coastal areas,” Carlos Robles, business director of NAI Costa Rica, told The Tico Times. “At the end of last year and the beginning of this year we started to see a slow recovery that is projected to continue in the remaining months of this year. The majority of markets are starting to look more and more positive.”

The NAI report indicated that recovery in the industrial market is playing a vital role in real estate prospects. The study showed a more than 95 percent occupancy rate in warehouses and free-trade zones, that national office space is about 90 percent occupied and demand for retail property is up, as evidenced by the 60,000 square meter expansion of the Multiplaza Escazú shopping mall, the leasing of 6,000 square meters of office space at Avenida Escazú, both west of San José and the construction of the “Momentum” shopping complex on the east side of the capital.

Credit: Foreigners Need Not Apply

Robles points to another facet of the recovery: this time around, local buyers and developers have better access to financing.

Real estate has picked up in large part because national banks have reopened credit lines that were closed in 2009, he said. By unlocking credit, new developments were able to acquire necessary financing and stalled developments were completed. This also has put money in the hands of Costa Rican buyers.

But this has provided little assistance to foreign buyers. Along the coastal region in Guanacaste, the Central Pacific and the southern Caribbean, most potential buyers hail from the North America.

“Foreign buyers are not getting any sort of financing,” said David Karr, a realtor with Coldwell Banker in Jacó. “We’ve always been a cash market with foreign buyers. More than ever right now, we have a market for cash-only buyers. That is another reason the market has been so difficult. A few years ago, people were using equity lines of credit and U.S. buyers had access to bigger amounts of financing. That doesn’t exist today.”

Big Bangs and Bottom Feeders

As financing in the U.S. dried up in the recession, the number of interested buyers in coastal areas in Costa Rica diminished. Squeezed by lessened demand, sellers are forced to decide if they will drop prices to entice purchases or hold firm until the market rebounds. This game of tug-of-war is prevalent in areas popular with foreigners.

“I had some people come in a few weeks ago and ask to see the $1 million homes,” Nunez said. “After they saw them, they offered $500,000 to buy. That’s what we in the real estate business call ‘bottom feeding.’ Bottom feeders are people who know the market is down and can still go out there and pay cash. They are looking to strike at the right time and get a lot of bang for their buck.”

With buyers looking to score a deal, most sellers have lowered asking prices to meet demand. Many realtors mentioned that selling prices are down considerably, though there continues to be resistance by some still looking for 2006 prices in a 2010 market.

“Prices went nuts a few years ago,” Nunez said. “We had rising demand in real estate for a four-year run until 2008. Then the market started sliding. People are still hoping to get those same values. It’s not happening. If the U.S. sneezes, we catch a cold here.”

Quepos’ Pez Vela Marina Raises Its Sails

After a slow start, the marina’s boosters hope for a stiff breeze

By Adam Williams
Tico Times Staff | awilliams@ticotimes.net

QUEPOS — Harold Lovelady’s retirement plan isn’t turning out like he thought it would.

Lovelady, who retired after a career in telecommunications in the U.S. state of Texas, arrived in Quepos, on the central Pacific coast, 11 years ago with a boat and dreams of spending his post-career years fishing in what he considers to be “the best fishing location in the world.”

He soon realized the need for a marina in the small, sweltering port town; so he looked into building one.

And build one, he definitely has.

Lovelady’s original idea 11 years ago resulted in the creation of the Pez Vela Marina, a 40-acre, state-of-the-art marina that opened in June, just north of the old United Fruit Company pier in downtown Quepos. Heading south, after the coastal road crosses Quepos’ main street and veers west, the mammoth development appears to the right, bordered by thousands of short, stout concrete plugs that deflect the tide and allow the marina’s inner ring to remain untouched by the Pacific waves as they march towards shore.

“It started as a small project, but as more people expressed interest in a marina, we had to redesign the original plan to accommodate the potential demand,” Lovelady said. “It was evident we needed to make a larger, world-class marina. So that’s how it turned out.”

The Pez Vela Marina, which officially opened its 97 docking slips two months ago, is still in the first phase of development. In coming years, the marina will build a total of 303 slips, a boatyard for maintenance and repairs, a shopping center, condominiums and a hotel, all within the confines of the marina’s lot. In the marina’s first months, the slips are being rented or bought by visitors from around the world. Boaters from Russia, South Africa, Europe and the U.S. have floated into the Pez Vela, either to spend a few days in Costa Rica, or to fill-up their tanks before returning to sea.

“I never really knew how much fuel a boat needed until they started coming in and getting their tanks filled,” said Eduardo Morúa, an employee at the Marina. “The tanks hold thousands of gallons and cost thousands of dollars to fill. Some of the boats come to fill up before setting out to sail around the world. The amount of fuel they need is astonishing. You need a lot of fuel to make it around the world.”

Lovelady said that if a large yacht comes in to fill up, for example, somewhere between 10,000-50,000 gallons of diesel fuel is pumped into the boats. The marina also charges an environmental fee on top of the cost of fuel for a fund to clean up potential accidents or spills.

The Rumble of a Boom

The residents of Quepos, a port city originally built by the United Fruit Company to export bananas and administer surrounding plantations, do not yet seem to know what to make of the Pez Vela. While there has been continual monitoring of the construction of the marina by the townspeople, the expected financial and tourist boom, and attendant job opportunities, have yet to be seen. Currently, only about 20 people work at the quiet marina, and, given it’s fenced-in nature on the edge of town, it has yet to cause much stir in the town whose narrow streets are lined with restaurants, pulperías and small merchandise stores.

But looking out into the vacant, crescent-shaped marina, growth seems inevitable. Only a handful of slips are currently rented or owned, but, according to Lovelady, inquiries about owning a slip or investing in the project are pouring in. Some people have purchased a slip in hopes of renting it out, while others will use the slip a few months of the year and rent it out when they’re away.

As more boats nestle into the marina, anticipation is beginning to stir in the Quepos and Manuel Antonio area. According to Lovelady, at the completion of phase three – the hotels, condos and shopping center – an estimated 3,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created by the marina.

Hotel owners in the tourist-dependent area on the road between Quepos and nearby Manuel Antonio National Park, a few kilometers down the coast from Quepos, hope many of the marina’s visitors spill into the area’s estimated 2,000 available rooms.

“Initially there was a lot of resistance, but now it’s clear sailing,” said Harry Bodaan, owner of the Mansion Inn Hotel in Manuel Antonio and president of the Quepos and Aguirre Chamber of Commerce. “Everybody recognizes the fact that a marina the size of Pez Vela is going to bring an enormous amount of business to Quepos. A lot of investors have come to Manuel Antonio because of it … The development of Pez Vela will change the face of this part of the central Pacific.”

According to Lovelady, what could potentially boost boat arrivals, aside from the slips and the attraction to sport fishing, is the marina’s boatyard. When finished, the facility, which will service and repair boats of all types, will be the only existing one of its kind south of Mexico, and the only one on the Pacific coastline of Central and South America.

“The boatyard will have five-ton and 200-ton travel lifts. Between the two of them, it will allow us to pull a boat out of the water up to about the length of 135-feet.” Lovelady said. “We will be able to fix anything that’s broken on anybody’s boat that comes in.”

Lovelady said that the majority of boats coming into Pez Vela are expected to be tourist yachts and sport fishing boats. A recent study by the nonprofit Billfish Foundation found that in 2008, fishing tourism netted $599 million for the Costa Rican economy, which accounts for about 2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The study also estimated that 63,000 people were directly or indirectly employed by the sport fishing industry in 2008.

In addition to jobs catering to sport fishing, the marina will provide work for government officials, as members of the Finance Ministry, Health Ministry, Public Works and Transport Ministry and immigration will all work out of an office near the boat entrance to Pez Vela. Government officials will check the boats and passengers as they come in, monitor for illegal merchandise, conduct safety inspections, and ensure that the vessels carry proper documentation. In a nod to the potential health and environmental hazards of the marina, slips at Pez Vela are equipped with a waste water pump that transports boat waste to a marina treatment plant, where wastes are broken down and the water reused.

So while Lovelady believes that his retirement plan has its bases covered, many of the residents of the sleepy town of Quepos hope that their ship is about to come in.

“All the development at Pez Vela is positive for this municipality,” said Oscar Monge, the mayor of Quepos. “Members of this town will be trained to work at the marina, which means there will be more education, more jobs and more investment. The people of this town will soon begin to see the benefits of having a world-class marina.”

awilliams@ticotimes.net

http://www.ticotimes.net/businessarchive/2010_08/082710.htm

Best Places to Retire Abroad
Costa Rica

The Central Valley’s outlying towns boast temperate, dry days, natural beauty—and so much more.

by: Barry Golson | from: AARP The Magazine | September/October 2010 issue

*  Best Places to Retire Abroad (COSTA RICA)

Jason Varney

Costa Rica is where you go to live the lush life. It is lush with nature—misty rain forests, extraordinary wildlife, active volcanoes, and fabulous beaches—as well as such comforting amenities as malls, supermarkets, restaurants, museums, and social clubs. U.S. retirees have flocked here for years, drawn by its mild climate, its prosperity (relative to other Central American republics), its literacy rate, its health care, and, significantly, its stable government—with no army. Another plus: Costa Rica’s commitment to a thriving natural park system that is second to none in Latin America. This is as biodiverse a country as you’ll find anywhere.

Whereas many beach-loving expats have settled in the resort towns and villages along the Guanacaste “Gold Coast” on the Pacific, the majority opt for the Central Valley, which is home to the capital, San Jose, and 70 percent of the Costa Rican (or”Tico”) population. The outlying towns and villages of the Central Valley offer temperate, dry days and natural beauty, as well as the culture, hospitals, and shopping of nearby San Jose. (Regarding the weather, expats here like to brag that they can fine-tune their micro-climates by moving up and down the hills.)

Though not the bargain it was a decade ago, Costa Rica continues to draw moderate-income retirees to affordable Central Valley expat havens such as Grecia and Atenas (which claims “the world’s most perfect weather”). In 2007 Army vet Ron Keller, 64, moved from Washington State to Atenas, where he designed and built his own house in a gated community. “I wanted a change in my lifestyle,” he says. Keller reports living comfortably on his military pension and Social Security, and is happy with his move: “Would I make the same decision again? Without question.”

Texas retirees Skip and Donna Anderton, 63 and 58, moved to Costa Rica in 2009, and are renting a three-bedroom house in the town of Magallenes de San Ramon while building their own home. Skip says that they do nicely on $2,000 a month and praises the “excellent and economical health care.” Their one frustration? They didn’t learn Spanish (but are taking lessons now). Nevertheless, he says, “There are a lot of Ticos who speak good English, and those that don’t go out of their way to communicate in some way There is a lot of sign language and a lot of smiling. Everyone is most helpful.”
What to Expect in
Central Valley, Atenas
Climate

Two distinct seasons, rainy (May to December) and dry (January through April); variations between mountain and lowland regions, but generally warm temperatures and tropical humidity.
Expat Community

An estimated 50,000 Americans live in Costa Rica; approximately 15,000 of them are legal residents.
Cost of Living

Higher than other Central American countries—and the government has pulled back somewhat on its once-fabled retiree benefits—but still affordable. Expats report living comfortably on $2,000 a month. Domestic and garden help: $2 to $3 per hour. Dinner for two: $30.
Housing Costs

Attractive houses can be found for $100,000; a three-bedroom, two-bath house in a gated community costs about $200,000 (prices much higher on Gold Coast). Rentals: Year-round rents can be as low as $500 per month or as much as $1,000 per month, depending on location and size.
Health Care

Excellent. Costa Rica is known for the quality of its health care. Many doctors and dentists have trained in the United States or Europe. The private hospitals Cima San José and Clinica Biblica in San José are accredited by the United States’ Joint Commission (JCAHO). Residents can belong to inexpensive CAJA, the national health service, but private insurance is widely used.
Culture and Leisure

Abundant outdoor activities, from rain-forest hiking, zip-lining, scuba diving, and fishing to golf and bird-watching. Nightlife, theater, concerts, and museums in San José.
Access to the U.S.

Excellent. There are nonstop flights from San José to major cities on the East and West Coasts.

Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica

The turn-on: The air hangs heavy under a dense jungle canopy as she peels off first one layer, then another. She’s down to her bikini top before a glint of sapphire breaks through the wall of green. You both emerge from the trees onto a powder-white beach framed by knotted bluffs and churning surf. This is Manuel Antonio, a national park on the southern coast of Costa Rica, edged by the Pacific Ocean. Here, howler monkeys and iguanas, macaws and armadillos, populate the thick rain forest, and boho beach bums trade backpacking stories over Imperial beers at night.

Hot bodies: Free-spirited hippie chicks and Aussie surf bums mix with trustafarians in Tracy Feith resortwear.

Bed down: After a night rumpling your 500-thread-count sheets at Gaia Hotel & Reserve, a modernist hilltop hideout set in a private 14-acre reserve, have some morning-after java on your private balcony overlooking the rain forest and ocean.

Two foreign studies put in interdiction the image of Costa Rica as ecologically sustainable, paradisiac destination and up to exotically, due to the impact of the property development that experiences the pacific coast.
Jacó, in the province of Puntarenas, is one of the examples where the nature is mixed by enormous buildings. Jorge Umaña
Two analyses, the same conclusion ‘ I Dissent from the publications ‘
This one was the principal conclusion at which they arrived so much the magazine Traveler – of National Geographic-, as the Center of Responsible Trips (Crest, for his initials in English), organization assigned to Stanford’s University in The United States.
In one of his last editions (December, 2009), the magazine published his ranquin of 133 better destinations of the world.

Traveler was located to the countries in five categories: them better qualified, that they are nice, which are in the tightrope, which have problems and worse qualified.

Costa Rica was located in the third category (in the tightrope).

” The green reputation of this country has achieved that the panelists were supporting it in the first places. Other factors influence the punctuation (62 of 100): ‘ hotels of great scale ‘ that rise on the coast of the Pacífico “, it aimed at the publication of trips.

Crest’s study equally questions the raising of big hotels and residential complexes in the provinces of Guanacaste and Puntarenas.
In agreement with the study – which direction here was at the expense of the environmental consultant Érick Vargas-, these real-estate developments generate a pressure and an impact in the natural resources of the zone, such as the availability of water, the soil and the air, but also in the flora and in the fauna.

One of the zones where the development is demonstrated by worry is Osa, because the thick mountains are mixed gradually by the cement, as he has warned the Environmental Court.
Information of the Federated College of Engineers and of Architects indicates that in both provinces little more than 2,5 million square meters were constructed in 2008, in plenary session boom real-estate.

This number represented little more than 40 % of the total constructed in Costa Rica in this year.

Reactions. Alfio Piva, the first vice-president of the Republic and coordinator of the environmental sector, it admitted the existence of a territorial “disorder” in the coastal zones of the Pacific Ocean.” The Pacific Ocean it is necessary to arrange it. If one tries a harmonic development, to all it they goes better: to the owners it revalues the land and the tourism would put on the batteries… We would have nice beaches, not as Tamarind that is ugly, for disordered “, he argued Piva.

The Vice-president urged to the municipalities to assume his responsibility in the step and approval of permissions. Stood out the need to possess regulatory plans.

Luis Centeno, president of the Chamber of Tourism of Dares, it endorsed Piva’s position as for the almost excessive growth in some coastal zones, but he assured that the country does important efforts for protecting his natural resources.
One of these initiatives, it exposed Rye, it is the one that 96 members carry out to the Chamber (between hotel managers, owners of restaurants, real-estate developers and tourist guides), those who promised to realize all his activities of a sustainable way at the longest in 2012.

” We want that there come companies that generate employment, but that simultaneously help in the philosophy of the conservation, and that the current ones follow for the path of the environmental conscience “, it demonstrated.

Wilfrid Aiello, general manager of Horizons, travel agency of tourism that possesses the highest qualification in sustainability given by the Costa Rican Institute of Tourism, said that the way of the country not to lose his ‘green’ image is hard but not impossible.

” We do not want to be like a Cancún (Mexico) or a Punta Cana (Dominican Republic). Our fort is in the development with responsibility, and this it is our hen of golden eggs “, it added. Irene Vizcaíno collaborated

1. Results

A coutry with excellent geographical location, stable and without army,that shares citizen’s right with its visitors,in wich large companies such a Procter and Gamble, Coca Cola,Intel, HP, Sykes,Sony, Amazon, Western Union , Dole and others, invest.

A country that invests in infrastructure for the success of its business and tourism, that have a qualified labor workforce, that favors business through incentives, and that invests in its nature. Costa Rica is praised by the media in different parts of the world. It is increasing income. It is Costa Rica (rich Coats, in English).

2. Awards

Costa Rica was ranked #448 in human development by the UNDP Report in 2009.  It ranked among the 10 more ethical tourist destinations according to the Ethical Destinations List.The New Economics Foundation, a British Organization,listed it  as the “most happy country in the world”, based on their happiness index; and it was considered the safest destination of Latin American by the Latin Business Chronicle in 2009. In 2008, a study carried out in 149 countries by the  universities of Columbia and Yale, assigned Costa Rica the fifth place as the cleanest country in the world (EPI). The city of San Jose was among the cities with the best quality of life in Latin America according to The Economist Intelligence Unit in 2005, and ranked number one in Latin America in the Worldwide Bussinnes Trip Index in 2006.

Costa Rica was called by the FDI Magazine in 2007-2008 as the Country of the Future in Central America; according to the World Economic Forum (2006) it was the second more competitive country of Latin American and the Caribbean, and the fourth in exporting high technology in the Caribbean, and the fourth in exporting high technology in the world(UN 2007). It had first place in the report on tourist competitiveness among countries of Latin America according to the 2009 World Economic Forum and was the best tourist destination in Latin America in 2007 according to the Travel Weekly, US tourist industry. Costa Rica  also received the Travelage West Award as destination that provided highest satisfaction to its customer in Central and South America in 2008, and the Readers Choice Award as best destination in Central and South America in that same  year.

3. Incentives

A) Hotel Service:

1. Exemption of all taxes and surcharges leived on imports or local purchase of articles required for the operation or installation of new companies.

2. Accelerated depreciation of assets.

3. Granting of municipal permits required for business operations.

B)  International and national air transportation of tourist:

1. Accelerated depreciation of assets.

2. Preferential fuel price.

3. Exemption of all taxes and  surcharges leived on import or local purchase of articles requiered for the operation of aircrafts.

C) Aquatic transportation of tourist

1. Exemption of all taxes and surcharges leived on imports or local purchase of articles required for the construction, expansion or remodeling of piers and other facilities used for  embarking and disembarking tourist, as well as for the construction and maintenance of marinas, resorts and aquiariums for tourist.

2.  Accelerated depreciation of assets.

3. Exemption of all  taxes and surcharges, except custom duties fixed in twenty per cent (20%), on imports or local purchase of aquatic vessels  destined exclusively  for the transportation of tourist passengers.

D) Travel Agencies:

1. Exemption of all taxes and surcharges, except custom duties on importing vehicles for collective transportation.

2. Renting of vehicles to national and foreign tourists.

3. Exemption of 50% of the total amount derived from the application of current taxes on importing vehicles to be  used exclusively for rentals to tourist.

4. Human Resources

The population in  Costa Rica as of July 2006 was of 4.33 million inhabitants, of wich 34.2% was aged 15-25, labor force in that year reached 2 million, open unemployment was 4.9 %,3.8% visible sub-employment and 3% invisible sub-employment. Social Security has coverage of 87.5% of the population, and there are 290.9 health professionals per each 10 thousands inhabitants.

5.Tourist Attractions

Costa Rica has 1.33.250 hectareas of protected wild areas,wich harbor 238 species of mammals,850 species of birds, 66800 species of insects,182 species  of amphibian and 225 species of reptiles. It have also 1400 different orchids and 2000 differents species of trees.

The main tourism products are: community rural tourism,health tourism,cruises,eco-tourism,cruises,eco-tourist,adventure, sun and  beach tourism.

The main markets are North America, particularly USA and Canada, Europe, in particular Spain, Germany and Great Britain, South America, Argentina,Colombia and Venezuela.

6. Infrastructure

This beautiful country has electrical service  and drinking water in 99% of its urbans areas and  92% of the urban areas. Regarding to telecomunications, there are 34.3 fixed telephone lines per 100 inhabitans,926.390 mobile phone suscribers, and 9333.63 intenert users per 10 thousand inhabitants.

Costa Rica has international ports and airports, 2 marinas in operation, 2 in construction, and 5 projects that have already been approved.

EPA Health Services Coverage is 61%.

7.Investments and Sustainability

Investments in tourist projects in 2008 in areas such as real estate development,hotels,golf courses and marinas, were 696.8 million dollars, a growth of over 100% compared to 2007.

Tourism in Costa Rica is planned based on the characteristic of its different regions with an aim to preserve its natural attractions by applying corporate responsability programs andf involves goverment, communities and private sector. These programs are designed to protect the environment, provide tourist with an experience of quality and promote competitiveness.

In 2008 tourism produced US$2.144,2 million in foreign currency. 2089000 tourist entered the country, and occupied 41759 hotels rooms (7-7,5% of total offert). This also represents 7,2%GDP and 22% of total exports of the country wich means  11.2% of the average growth between 2003-2008.

8. Rights and Duties.

Foreigners in Costa Rica are free to conduct business and own property. They have equal right and duties according to the constitution and have freedom for mobilizing capitals. Laws related to intellectual property observe World Trade Organization’s guidelines.

9.Political Stability and Safety

Costa Rica has a tradition of peace and stability as a result of the abolition of the army in 1948, and in 1987 it received the Peace Nobel Prize. Its democratic goverment (since 1821) is divides in three independent branches and has a presidential regime. Elections are held every four years, and presidents may be reelected.

10. Geographical Location

Costa Rica, located in  the center of Central America, has over 20 flights departing from its  airports to USA every day, and over 14 daily cargo flights departing toward different destinations. It is at a 2:50 hours flying distance from Miami. The main carries have operations in Costa Rica and provide 2-3 days delivery of freight. Over 24 carries lines depart from the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbeab Sea. It observes the Central Standard Time (-6 GMT).

Llorona, Quepos.

The Government inaugurated yesterday the Quepos-Sunday section, the last Coastal south stage of the road complex, with which the whole corridor of the Pacífico of the country remains joined by an alone road.

The distance is limited and put up signs in its entirety. Alonso Mata B.

The new route will allow to cover the distance between San Jose and Golfito in four hours, instead of six current hours.

In addition, the trucks proceeding Guanacaste’s that go to the south zone already will not have to deposit San Jose.

The project Coastal south was designed in 1962 by the Central American Bank of Economic Integration (BCIE), but it was put it in stand by for diverse Governments.

The whole complex road Coastal south cost 51 $ million. The resources were contributed by the BCIE. The road begins in Barranca, Puntarenas, and ends in Barú, Perez Zeledón, where one connects with the Inter-American south one.

” For many years, the absence of this road was dividing our Pacific coast in two parts, to which it was coming near for opposite routes: for the mount of the Avocado or for the hill of the Death.
” Today, the tourists can have breakfast in San Jose, have lunch in Puntarenas, take coffee in Manuel Antonio and have dinner in Uvita.
The Pacific Ocean already is not divided in two incommunicado poles “, said the president Óscar Arias, who yesterday took part in the inauguration.

Asphalt. The distance Quepos – Sunday consists of 42,1 kilometres and a cost of 33,6 had $ million.

Meco- Santa Fe, and Sanchez Carvajal was at the companies in charge of the work. The route possesses two rails asphalted surfaces and bridges of two routes, and is limited in its entirety.

Previously, the roads was of ballast and alone vehicles with double traction could cross it, with a duration near to two hours and a half between both points. Now, on the other hand, the time of tour will be 40 minutes for any car.
Pedro Castro, vice-minister of Public Works, said that the only thing that he needs to the Quepos-Sunday distance is to finalize the final details of the bridge on the river The Perla, whose works suffered lags for legal hobbles with the expropriation of areas. While, to the complex road Coastal he still has south hanging the reinforcement of the bridge on Tárcoles’s Big river.

On the other hand, the Government also inaugurated yesterday the asphalted surface of the route that communicates Corner with Port Jiménez, whose value was of ¢ 20.166 millions. The route, of 32,1 kilometres, was constructed by contributions of the BCIE and of the MOPT.

By Clair-Maríe Robertson
Special to A.M. Costa Rica

Friday is a big day at Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio, the crown jewel of the country’s park system.

Not only did officials come to celebrate the park’s 37th anniversary, but there was the little matter of the toilets and washrooms. Finally the park has facilities that are not polluting the area.

Attending Friday were Allan Flores, minister of Turismo, Jorge Eduardo Rodríguez Quirós, the minister of Ambiente, and María Luisa Ávila Agüero, the minister of Salud.

Manuel Antonio is Costa Rica’s most popular national park and received more than 300,000 visitors in 2009. But its existence has not been without controversy. The health ministry threatened to close the park in January 2009 when high levels of contamination were found on its coastline, this pollution was largely attributed to inadequate facilities for tourists and staff.

A $300,000 donation from the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo has been invested in the construction of toilets and wash rooms with treatment facilities. These steps have been taken to ensure that visitors cause the minimum amount of environmental impact, officials said. The bathrooms have also been built in line with disability legislation and the environmental minister said that a minibus service would be made available for people with disability. In addition a $1 million investment was announced. This is for the construction of a staff building as well as the donation of a small speedboat and additional personnel to provide improved working conditions and enhanced marine protection and security.

With tourism figures to Costa Rica taking a dip, members of the community and local businesses have helped to push for improved facilities to prevent its closure.

“It is clear that we are moving in the right direction. The government promotes nature and sustainable tourism and this is why it is so important that MINAET and ICT continue to invest funds into the national park and encourage the controlled development of rural tourism in Manuel Antonio,” said the president of the local chamber of commerce, Richard Lemire.

A resident of Costa Rica for 18 years, Lemire was one of the key local figures who organized emergency meetings with representatives from the various ministries to provide possible solutions and prevent the closure of the park.

As president of the local chamber of commerce, he has encouraged local businesses to participate in cleaning up Quepos and Manuel Antonio. This includes the creation of The Malecón Gardens of Quepos, a series of mosaic decorated seats and flower beds that run along its coastline.

In addition Lemire helped raise funds to challenge
washroom
A.M.Costa Rica/Clair-Marie Robertson
This is the new facility that keeps the area uncontaminated at Manuel Antonio park

the environment ministry in the courts regarding the implementation of Law 8133 which saw the creation of a fidecomiso or trust in 2001. The law was created to ensure that owners of expropriated land would be paid via the funds that were generated from visitors to the park. After 37 years 98 percent of this debt has now been cleared.

Manuel Antonio National Park continues to grow. In 2002 its 537 hectares increased when Playa Rey was added with its 14 kilometers of beach. Today the park has nearly 2,000 acres of land and 55,000 hectares of marine extension. In addition, the park board has identified more than 18,000 hectares to be registered as state property.

Coopealianza has been assigned the task of selling entry tickets to the park. Recognizing the importance of protecting the area as well as the rest of Costa Rica, the trust currently has 2.5 billion colons ready to be used to purchase more land and extend the adjacent biological corridor.

Receiving over $2 million in revenue annually, a plan for Playa Rey is essential to connect Manuel Antonio Park and Playa Rey to the biological corridors of the areas rivers: Naranjo, Savegre and Portalón and to other protected areas such as the Zona Protectora Cerro Nara, Parque Nacional los Quetzales, the Reserva Forestal Los Santos and the central mountain range of the country. It is possible that this project will see the creation of the first Interoceanico corridor. The chamber of commerce is working on a first draft of the Playa Rey Project with the hope that the environmental ministry will help give an adequate budget for its implementation in 2011.

The chamber of commerce now forms part of the board of directors of the national park which is integral to ensuring it protection. For Lemire, the governments continued support is essential for its survival. He explained that although the newly opened facilities are a positive addition to the park, other concerns need to be resolved.

Unlike Parque Nacional Volcán Poás Manuel Antonio does not offer proper parking for its visitors. This has given rise to empty lots being used outside the park where guards are charging from 3,000 to 5,000, no matter the length of stay.

Costa Rica ranked number three out of 163 nations in the 2010 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), a biannual ranking system that is produced by Yale University and Columbia University. The index, released Thursday, gauges a country’s “environmental health” and “ecosystem viability,” and scored nations in 10 policy categories that are divided into 25 environmental indicators.

The aggregate categories include analysis of each nation’s performance in limiting greenhouse gas emissions, water management, forestry and biodiversity, to name a few, and build on information gathered before 2009 from international organizations, universities and the United Nations.

Costa Rica scored 86.4 percent overall and ranked behind Switzerland, at 89.1 percent, and Iceland, at 93.5 percent.

In a press release, analysts indicated that the 2010 rankings suggest that income is a major determinant of environmental success.

“Chile, where substantial investments in environmental protection have been made, ranks 16th while its neighbor, Argentina, which has done much less to improve its pollution control and natural resource management, lags in 70th place,” the release states.

By comparison, Nicaragua and Panama, Costa Rica’s two neighboring nations, ranked 93rd and 24th, respectively. The United States came in 61st place.

Experts acknowledged, however, that data gaps existed in the information they used for the index. Many of the statistics came from questionable government reporting, which in some cases “are not subject to any external review.”

“High quality data combined with appropriate statistical analysis can certainly help policymakers identify problems and trends,” said Jay Emerson, a statistics professor at Yale. “Conclusions that emerge are only as good as the underlying data.”

Costa Rica climbed from number five in 2008 and number 15 in 2006, the first year the indicator was published.