Q COSTA RICA – Costa Rica kicked off this week with the start of the tourist season for charter flights from Puerto Rico, something that hasn’t happened in over a decade and a half, according to the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) – Costa Rica’s Tourism Board – on Monday.
Swift Air will be taking off from the San Juan Airport in Puerto Rico (SJU) and arriving at Juan Santamaría International Airport near San José, Costa Rica (SJO), connecting directly and non-stop to the travelers interested in visiting Costa Rican tourist attractions.
“In these moments of economic reactivation of the sector and always with the premise of increasing the connectivity of Costa Rica with other destinations, the operation of these direct charters from Puerto Rico add up and contribute so that Costa Ricans dedicated to tourism and the population in general have new sources of employment and a better life”, said the Minister of Tourism, William Rodríguez.
Marbella Tours, a wholesale travel company, in charge of taking care of visitors coming to Costa Rica said Puerto Ricans come to Costa Rica to explore volcanoes like the Poás and Irazú, have some fun with adventure tours like rafting and ATV rides, observe wildlife, and of course, visit beaches and national parks like Manuel Antonio.
The general manager of Marbella Tours, Wally Sibaja, spoke about the importance of the direct charter flights from Puerto Rico, which take about two and a half hours – non stop – to get to Costa Rica.
He hopes that the experience will be pleasant so that the same flights can be done again next year.
The ICT pointed out that this type of flight hasn’t happened in about 15 years. The official numbers from the ICT show that Costa Rica welcomed 2.35 million visitors from all over the world in 2022.
That’s over a million more than in 2021.
Tourism is a major component of the Costa Rican economy. Before the pandemic, it was receiving over 3 million tourists annually.
