Costa Rica to Foster Tourism Investment in 2005

Costa Rica’s leisure industry is girding for heftier numbers next year despite a 5.6 percent slide in projected investment that will total $49.7 million, Tourism Minister Rodrigo Castro said this week. In 2003, the country snared $52.1 million in overall investment cash flow.

Mr. Castro warned that unless investment growth speeds up in the near future, the gap between hotel room offer and demand will continue widening at a frenzied pace.

The country’s inability to build 319 new accommodations this year is in part responsible for this increasing deficit.

Right now, Costa Rica counts on 36,700 hotel rooms that averaged a 60 percent occupancy rate all through 2004.

Mr. Castro noted the only way of prodding foreign developers to invest money in the country’s travel sector is by improving road and airport infrastructure, putting better services and, above all, raising hotel occupancy to least 65 percent.

Costa Rica will receive 1.5 million sunbathers this year and that bevy of visitors is expected to shell out $1.6 billion in the country.