Up Up And Away
According to a report put forth by CANATUR (The Costa Rican Chamber of Tourism) passengers traveling to Costa Rica by air increased by 11.3% over documented figures for 2006. A total of 1,216,345 tourist visited Costa Rica between January and September bringing the projections for the same period of 2008 to over 1,5 million.
These figures supplied by the International Airports in Alajuela and Liberia continue to reflect an upward trend in tourism for this region. January, March and July were reported as those months with the highest rate of traffic through the airports, estimated to represent 78% of total entrants to the country. Daniel Oduber Airport in Liberia saw an increase of 16.31% of travelers while Juan Santamaria in Alajuela reported a 9.6% increase over last year.
Although travel to Costa Rica slowed for a period, tourism rates have rebounded, an promise to break 2005’s record this season. Juan Santamaria International Airport in Alajuela, just ten minutes from the capital of San José, has inaugurated its long anticipated Phase II. This improvement is doubling the airport capacity to accommodate the influx of travelers during the busiest season of the year, from December to June.
Six new immigration check points have lowered the plane to exit time to 16 minutes with hand luggage, ranging up to 30 minutes if you 4 or more bags.
Bon voyage!
