Tierra

Embracing the natural sloping vibrant landscape, Tierra both floats high above the ocean and submerges itself into the lush Costa Rica jungle. A harmonious relationship of the interior to exterior begins at a grand space of kitchen, dining and living rooms, slips past an operable wall of glass into the pool, falling into the infinite Pacific Ocean beyond. Tierra offers all the lavish amenities of a modern eco-jungle villa – choose from pampering yourself in your luxurious master suite upstairs, rest peacefully in a spacious family room, library and downstairs bedroom suites or escape to your own private roof deck with vast ocean, jungle and mountain views.

Costa Rica Tourism Grows at Three Times the International Rate
By the Guanacaste Journal

(Infocom) — Despite the adverse conditions of the world economy due to the rise of fuel prices, the economic slowdown in the United States, the international food crisis and the ever-present threat of terrorism, Costa Rica continues to perform well in terms of the number of tourists coming here.

According to the latest World Tourism Barometer issued by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Costa Rica has experienced a very positive performance in terms of tourist influx, remaining in the two-digit growth level, despite the fact that international travel only attained a 5-percent growth average during the first four months of 2008 — one percentage point above what was expected at the beginning of this year.

Costa Rica’s exceptional numbers were highlighted by UNWTO in its June report, news that Tourism Minister Carlos Ricardo Benavides was glad to receive.

“It’s very satisfactory to us that as part of the positive worldwide growth that the tourism industry has posted in the first few months of this year, Costa Rica has remained among the group of countries with the most dynamic performance and the highest increases in the arrival of international tourists, in the two digits, and in our case, having three times the world median,” Benavides said. “This pushes us to continue doubling efforts to keep the current economic uncertainty due to high petroleum prices from impacting us as much as far as the tourism activity, but also allows us to see the coming months with a very positive outlook.”

As the time has gone by, Costa Rica has continued to venture into new tourism market niches with the objective of expanding its product supply and provide a wide range of options and services to visitors. The results are noteworthy: between 2003 and 2007, the country’s tourism activity posted a 56 percent growth, going from 1,238,000 to 1,926,000 visitors, which has contributed to an increase in the range of products offered by the local industry.

During the first five months of 2008, tourist arrival in Costa Rica grew by 15.6 percent, and estimates indicate some 2.1 million visitors will have arrived here by the end of the year — at least 200,000 more than in 2007, according to data from the National Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR). Such data also indicates that the main attractions sought by tourists are sun and beaches, nature and adventure, and ecotourism. However, rural tourism, congresses and conventions, and medical tourism and niches that have helped diversify the country’s tourism product, reaching more segments and sectors of the market.

Another factor contributing to the success of Costa Rica’s tourism in the midst of adverse conditions is that the country hasn’t faced reductions in flights, which has occurred to other nations in the region. According to the June UNWTO barometer, tourism growth was fastest in regions such as the Middle East, North-East and South Asia, and Central and South America. The report highlighted nations such as China, Japan, the United States, Costa Rica, Chile and Peru, among others, which have managed to post positive two-digit growth.

UNWTO believes that, although consumer confidence indices show an increasing degree of uncertainty, international tourism has proven to be resilient in similar circumstances in the past and able to cope with various types of shocks, including security threats, geopolitical tensions or natural and man-made crisis. Accounting for these factors, coupled with a slower but still positive economic growth, international tourism is as yet expected to keep growing at a solid pace in the mid-term, broadly in line with UNWTO’s Tourism 2020 Vision forecast long-term growth rate of about 4 percent.