• New flights help bring in more UK tourists
(Infocom) — Thanks to the implementation of a direct flight from London to Liberia, Costa Rica has begun a stepped up promotional effort in the United Kingdom that is already paying dividends.
A marketing plan to sell Costa Rica as a top destination for British tourists, conducted mostly by English travel agencies, is doing the trick.
According to tourism businesses and representatives from UK travel agencies, the arrival of English tourists in Costa Rica has practically doubled in the past few months.
The growth became evident starting in May, when British airline First Choice launched its nonstop service from London to Liberia’s Daniel Oduber International Airport.
The flight, which arrives in Liberia every Monday and will continue to do so at least until August, motivated travel agencies to pitch Costa Rica to British travelers as an ideal vacation spot, complete with adventure destinations, tropical climate and lots of natural attractions.
On average, English tourists visiting Costa Rica are spending two-three weeks here, investing some $6,000 per family, per week, according to Maria Barquero, outreach manager at Guanacaste’s Hotel Punta Islita.
“The English are looking for destinations that offer them things different from what other places, such as the United States, usually offer. They want adventure and lots of nature,” said Richard Bexon, owner of the British travel agency Costa Rica Holiday, which markets tour packages in England from its San Jose office. “We serve customers from all of Europe, but now they are 90 percent from the United Kingdom, as the interest has grown a lot since the flight from London became available.”
The English businessman said that since May, the arrival of tourists from the UK — which includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — has grown 100 percent or even more. “Now there might be 100 tourists from the United Kingdom coming here in a bad month, and up to 500 during the high season (counting only those brought by Costa Rica Holiday),” added Bexon, who hopes the growing interest among the English and Scottish to know Costa Rica will motivate other carriers, such as British Airways, to offer new direct flights to the country.
Costa Rica Holiday promotes the country through the Internet and through tourism publications.
The company is also starting a new program in England, through its tour operators, that offers special packages to retirees who wish to spend the rest of their days in a quiet tropical country.
Other agencies that promote Costa Rica in the United Kingdom are Thomas Cook and First Choice itself.
Punta Islita’s Barquero said the number of British guests at her hotel has increased at least 50 percent since May. About a quarter of these visitors come here to celebrate their honeymoon, while half of them come to Costa Rica just for vacation, she indicated.
In addition to the new nonstop flight, Barquero said another aspect that has helped Costa Rica become better known in the United Kingdom is the fact that the country received the World Travel and Tourism Council’s investment award — which was covered by two of England’s most important newspapers, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph.
“United Kingdom tourists like responsible and sustainable tourism a lot, and also like to become involved with the community. They can find all of that in Costa Rica,” Barquero said.
According to a survey conducted by Costa Rica Holiday, some of the UK tourists’ favorite hotels are La Mansion Arenal, Punta Islita, Latitud 10, Peace Lodge, Aguila de Osa Inn, Lapa Rios, Grano de Oro, Four Seasons, Hotel Gaia and Makanda by the Sea.
Overall tourist influx in Costa Rica is expected to grow 4 percent this year, thanks to the increase in flights from airlines such as Iberia and Delta, in addition to the arrival of new carriers such as Air Comet and Frontier.
More: The Journal - August 1, 2007
