COSTA RICA NEWS – Curbing the drop in cruise ship arrivals is the focus of Costa Rica’s tourism board, the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT).
Tourism Minister, Wilhelm von Breymann, explained the formation of a committee that aims to strengthen cruise ship tourism, a fundamental piece of Costa Rica’s economic rebound.
According to ICT statistics, cruise ship arrivals have dropped 30% between 2008 and 2013.
“Since the beginning of this administration, we have visualized cruise ship tourism as a spearhead for tourism growth…” said von Breymann.
The ICT committee conducted this week the first seminar on cruises, and along with the Costa Rican Association of Cruise Industry ( Asociación Costarricense de Industria de Cruceros – ACIC), the goal of is to analyze the state of the industry and evaluate the actions to implement to attract more cruiseliners.
The ICT is also participating in a number of trade fairs, like the international cruise trade show – Cruise Shipping Miami – last March that took place last March and is working with the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), a not-for-profit trade organization composed of 15 member cruise lines operating more than 100 vessels.
The tourism board is also working on an agreement with the Junta de Administración Portuaria y Desarrollo Económico de la Vertiente Atlántica (Japdeva) to remodel the port infrastructure in Limón.
Source: La Nacion
