Cuba & Costa Rica Blog
About this blog
Written by Cuba and Costa Rica expert Christopher P. Baker, this blog will update readers on life in these two diverse and exciting countries.
Recent Posts
- New Air Service Helps Costa Rica Tourism Rebound
- Senator Byron Dorgan to address U.S.-Cuba Travel Summit
- Costa Rica's Tourist Board fights disinformation about turtles
- Cuba to require mandatory travel insurance for visitors
- New traffic rules in effect for Costa Rica
- Early 2010 Cuba tourist arrivals fall, prices fall
- Coco Loco Gallery Spotlights Costa Rica's Indigenous Art
- Excellent New Guidebook Serves Cuba Climbers
- Medical Tourism Shows Healthy Growth in Costa Rica
- Cuba's Infotur opens tourist information bureaus across Cuba
- Costa Rica Elects its First Female President
- Costa Ricans Assist Haiti Earthquake Rescue & Relief
- Second U.S.-Cuba Travel Summit Scheduled in Cancun
- National Geographic Expeditions cruise to traverse Panama Canal
- Castro's Guerrilla Headquarters in Cuba open to visitors
New Air Service Helps Costa Rica Tourism Rebound
Costa Rica closed out 2009 with a total of 1,922,579 tourist arrivals, 166,595 less than in 2008–a drop of 7.97 percent and the first fall in arrivals since 2002, according to the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT, or Instituto Costarricense de Turismo). Fully forty percent (770,129) came from the United States, with a fall of just 4.59 percent compared to 2008.
Fortunately, it seems like a rebound is already underway. Tourist arrivals in December 2009 actually posted a 1.7 percent increase over December, 2008. With an economic recovery now evident in North America, tourism officials are optimistic that visitors in 2010 could once again top two million. The Costa Rican National Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR) predicts an increase of 3 to 5 percent this year. more >>
Senator Byron Dorgan to address U.S.-Cuba Travel Summit
The second U.S-Cuba Travel Summit, to take place March 24-26, 2010, in Cancun, Mexico, will feature a stellar line-up of tourism figures from both nations. This is only the second time that the event has been held. And I will be there to connect with leading U.S. and Cuban officials and travel specialists.
The previous summit, which I also attended in 2003 in Cancun, drew the Cuban Minister of Tourism, who invited 40 members to Havana for a less-than-24-hour visit during which we met Fidel Castro. When I spoke with Fidel one on one, I made the huge error of gifting him a copy of my guidebook, then instantly realized I should have asked for his autograph!
The summit is being presented by Alamar Associates in association with the National Tour Assocation (NTA) and U.S. Tour Operators Association (USTOA). more >>
Costa Rica's Tourist Board fights disinformation about turtles
Two months ago I received a chain email decrying the wholesale taking of newly-laid turtle eggs at Ostional National Wildlife Refuge, in Costa Rica. The photos attached showed piles of eggs on the sands and hordes of local men, women, and children scooping out eggs from the nests.
The email text described the legal gathering of eggs a “theft” and an “international shame.”
A normal person, rightly, would act with revulsion. more >>
Cuba to require mandatory travel insurance for visitors
Yesterday, the Cuban government put visitors on notice that as of May 1, 2010, all foreigners and Cubans living living abroad who wish to enter Cuba will be required to have travel insurance with medical coverage.
The new requirement also covers foreigners with temporary residence in Cuba. The announcement, made in the Official Gazette of the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers, exempts diplomats and representatives of international organizations accredited in the country
Policies need to be with insurance companies that Cuba officially recognizes. more >>
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