COSTA RICA TOURIST BOARD

COSTA RICA TOPS LATIN SECURITYINDEX AS SAFEST COUNTRY IN LAT-IN AMERICA ACCORDING LATIN BUSI-NESS CHRONICLESThe fourth annual Latin Security Indexproduced by FTI Consulting Ibero Americaawarded Costa Rica the number one spot forsafest country to travel to in Latin America.The index was published by the Latin BusinessChronicles and consisted of surveying 19countries by measuring the security for foreignmultinational and executives in Latin America.Read more...CNN TRAVEL: COSTA RICA RANKEDAS NUMBER ONE VALUE DESTINA-TION FOR WINTER TRAVELBargain savvy travel agencies used theirexpertise to give tips on winter travel and namethe top five places around the world for pennywisewinter travel. Costa Rica has a wonderfulclimate during the winter time with an averagetemperature of 72 degrees and Latin Americancountries are a great value right now becauseseveral airlines are offering increasing serviceto these locations said one expert. Costa Rica’sproximity to major hubs in the United States andthe multitude of flight options makes it easy fortravelers to vacation there. Costa Rica is a twoand half hour flight from Miami, a five-hourflight from New York, a four-hour flight fromDallas and a six-hour flight from Los Angeles.Read more...COSTA RICA OFFERS A POTPOURRIOF WINTER GETAWAYS OPTIONSThe Costa Rica Tourism Board and some of theleading hotels in Costa Rica for sustainabilitypractices have put together a broad variety ofvacation packages and discounts for this holidayseason. The promotion list includes over 70travel deals available throughout the first fewmonths of 2011. Whether someone is lookingto enjoy beautiful sun and beaches, relaxwith the family, explore nature, take a secondhoneymoon with someone special, or all of theabove, Costa Rica has something for everyone.Vacation packages and promotions will berunning across the country and in all of yourfavorite Costa Rica destinations These travelpromotions will only be valid for a limited time,so travelers shouldn’t miss out on the chanceto book today. For a complete listing of travelpromotions please click here: Winter GetawaysSpecial Promotions3 of 6Journalist SPOTLIGHTWhy did you want to travel to CostaRica?I first learned about Costa Rica whenworking on a branding project for aluxury hotel in Guanacaste. Originally,my Orbitz editor asked for coverage.Now I always want to go, because it’s oneof the most amazing places on earth.If you could describe Costa Rica inthree words to a potential traveler,what would they be? Why?Charming. Animals, Volcanoes!What is your favorite region of thecountry? Why?Arenal. I love volcanoes.Lena KatzSenior Travel Correspondentfor Away.com/Trip.com,JustLuxe.com, The HollywoodReporter, 1800FLOWERS.Founder of Zingi! Travel Pop1-310-435-2759lena@lenakatz.comWhat types of travelers would you recommend Costa Rica to?Why?All. It has a wonderful range of accommodations, activities andatmospheres. There are five-star resorts and dirt-cheap indooroutdoorbungalows, women’s surf camps and couples’ retreats, surfspots, all-inclusives…. I generally hate to use this expression, butCosta Rica is very close to offering “something for everyone.”How did you become familiarized with Costa Rica’s sustainablepractices?Had to research them when I was doing the branding project. Atthe time, it was very hard to get information about Costa Ricabecause they had no US tourism representative. Interestingly, theenvironmental policies were the easiest thing to learn, because theyseem to dictate everything else.What do you think is the biggest misconception about CostaRica?That it’s for retirees. And that seems to be your misconception. Myfriends all think it’s amazing, most have visited, and they’re mostlyunder age 35.As a travel journalist any insight to how travelers are pickingthe destinations they choose to visit and why travelers chooseCR?People are interested in CR. It’s a popular search term. UnfortunatelyI don’t think it stands out in their minds as being different or betterthan Hawaii, Belize, Puerto Rico, Riviera Nayarit. So they generallytend to visit when they’ve already been to Hawaii or PR and arelooking for something different. Or they go when they’re collegeage,to backpack around and surf, because it’s pretty cheap. Familiesare the ones least likely to visit Costa Rica, because they don’t realizethat they can have the Hilton/ Marriot experience like they would inMexico, or the all-inclusive style vacation.

location!location!location!Poás Volcano National ParkAs part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, it’s no surprisethat Costa Rica is home to 92 volcanoes – fiveof which are classified as active. The country’smost accessible active volcano is the Poásvolcano located in the province of Alajuela. ThePoas Volcano is must-see wonder for its recordas the second largest crater diameter in theworld: nearly 2 kilometers! Within the volcanolies an incredible blue lagoon that can be seenas the clouds part, particularly earlier in the day.The nearby La Paz waterfall and local coffeeplantations make the trip to Poas a beautiful andfascinating one year-round.unique experiencesDECEMBER 2010New Years Eve - December 31JANUARY 2011New Year’s Day Celebrations - January 1Fireworks light up the county on this national holiday,and street parties lure locals with music, dancing andfood. In San Jose, festivities are centered arounddowntown and in the Zapote district. Country-wide.Coffee Cup - January 3 - 8A much-anticipated, week-long tennis tournamenthosted at the Costa Rica Country Club. San Jose.Palmares Fiestas - First two weeks of JanuaryTwo weeks of concerts, folkloric dancing and generaldebauchery.Alajuelita Fiestas - The week of January 15An oxcart parade and parties to honor the BlackChrist of Esquipulas. Alajuela.Santa Cruz Fiestas - The week of January 15Typical music, folkloric dancing and bullfighting tohonor the Black Christ of Esquipulas. Santa Cruz(Guanacaste).The Posá Volcano.DID YOU KNOW?According to the World Health Organization anda study performed by the Blue Zones LongevityQuest, Costa Rica has one of the highest lifeexpectancy rates in the world with an averagelife span of 78 years.TravelgreentipsLighten up your load!It is the little things that make the strongest impact.When traveling, packing light has been proven to bemore eco-friendly. Each 15 pounds of luggage ona 5,000 mile flight adds up to 50 pounds of carbondioxide emitted! Try to plan out clothing and necessitiesprior to travel and leave the extra pounds athome. Enjoy traveling while making a difference.TicoLingoMae (my): Mae can be used to mean “dude” betweenfriends, or simply to refer to any man orwoman (“ese mae te esta llamando” = “that guy iscalling you”)4 of 6

very important partnersHotel Grano de OroEscazu, San Jose, Costa Ricawww.hotelgranodeoro.comMarco MontoyaGeneral ManagerTel (506) 2255-3322Year Established: 1991Why did you decide to implement sustainablepractices for your business?The tourism industry worldwide is working hardto push businesses towards a more sustainableway of operating. We definitely felt it wassomething necessary to continue to grow in theindustry as well as something very beneficial forthis small country in which we operate.How do the sustainable practicesimplemented at your property help thecountry of Costa Rica as a whole? And whichof these practices have made the biggestimpact?We have implemented programs for theconservation of energy and water withinthe hotel and are constantly working withour employees in hopes that these practiceswill carry over into their homes. We alsohave a very extensive waste managementprogram in place. We now produce 1/10th theamount of garbage sent to the dump that weproduced previously. 90% of our waste is nowrecycled, reused, composted or sent off for pigfeed. All three programs are something weconsciously work hard on every day. We feelthe involvement and education of our staff is thepractice most valuable to the country as a whole.Presently, there is a great push on behalf ofthe ICT to make Costa Rica a carbon neutralcountry by the year 2021. In your opinion,which sector of the industry needs the mosthelp in order to achieve that goal? And why?The Transit Sector – Costa Rica is doing wellplanting trees to offset their carbon emissions aswell as looking for alternate sources or energy(wind and water) but they definitely need to lookinto the carbon emissions and put on strongerregulations on the type of gasoline purchasedas well as on the annual revisions each car hasto go through. If we have learned anythingthroughout this process it is REDUCE first.In what way have sustainable businesspractices impacted the community?Directly impacting our community, as a hotelwe have implemented a program to keepthe surrounding streets clean. We have alsoplanted over 30 trees in the community. Ourwaste management practices are also a benefitto the community as we no longer have bagsof garbage piled up in anticipation of thegarbage pick-up and of course, we contributesignificantly less waste to the municipal garbagedump.We also feel that the push for businessesto embrace sustainability is impactingcommunities all over Costa Rica as it is notonly about the environmental factor but alsothe cultural and social aspects. Costa Rica is acountry full of culture that needs to be preservedand in need of greater social awareness.Sustainability is opening the eyes of businesseswithin the country and showing them they canhelp.The hotel founded and supports a home foradolescent mothers and their children, CasaLuz. The home provides for all the needs ofthese young mothers and helps to rebuild theirlives as families with their children and educatethem so they can go on to lead independent, fulllives, www.casaluz.org.What differences have the initiatives made inthe community or in your business in termsof the economy or expenses?We found the initial expense of sustainablepractices are quite high.When you factor in thecost of changing all light bulbs to energy saving,installing low flush toilets, changing showerheads to aerating versions to name a few of thechanges we have made, it all adds up. Not tomention funding our Social Project Casa Luz.We hope within the next year or two to start tosee the economical benefits of the many changeswe have made.Costa Rica has numerous recognition forits forward thinking practices, what futuresustainable projects have been planned foryour business and in your community?Our most exciting future plan is an OrganicHydroponic Garden. We hope to startconstruction in the beginning of 2011. Not onlywill this allow us to use more organic producein our restaurant it will also help us to employand give job experience to our young mothers atCasa Luz.We are also looking into an alternative waterheating method and hope to extend ourrecycling program to involve more businessesand homes within our community.What types of visitors would you recommendvisit Costa Rica?Costa Rica is a country with a wide variety ofthings to offer. Any type of traveler is boundto find something exciting in the country,something to fall in love with. There areendless opportunities for the “adventuretraveler”, but there are also many opportunitiesfor families as well as for the people who justwant to relax. Costa Rica is a culturally richcountry and San Jose is the heart of it withmany exhibits and activities throughout theyear.Newest Travel Green Tips yourestablishment is promoting.We definitely promote Green Travel with signsin our rooms asking guests to be conscious oftheir energy and water consumption. We alsohave placed recycle bins in each room andthroughout the hotel. Our website encouragesguests to “take out what you take in” whilevisiting national parks or any area of CostaRica. We basically ask people to be consciousof their surroundings and try to reduce theirimpact in whatever way possible.What do visitor most like about yourproperty and why does this make it differentfrom other properties in Costa Rica andaround the world?Our hotel and restaurant give guests a taste ofold San Jose with its unique architectural designand tropical Victorian décor offering elegancewith a warm welcoming feeling. Each guestroom is tastefully decorated and unique, withno two alike. The restaurant is known as oneof Costa Rica’s finest, offering French cuisinewith a tropical influence. We try to use as manyorganic, locally grown products as we can, stillmaintaining the quality associated with thename Grano de Oro. The hotel and restaurantare known by Costa Rican’s as well as touristsfor having warm, exceptional service. Guestshave commented time and again, staying at theGrano de Oro is like coming home.For questions or comments aboutthe Costa Rica Pura Vida TravelNewsletter please contact:visitcostaricapress@bm.comor call 1-866-267-8274305-347-4396 76 of 86