Costa Rica represents an excellent alternative for planning meetings and incentive travel. The country offers a wide array of attractions for visitors and a tourist sector that is renowned for its creativity and professionalism.
Numerous testimonials speak to the excellent results that have been obtained by events held in Costa Rica. Business is balanced with an appreciation for life outside of work hours. A sustainability-first culture creates harmony between work and play. And once your meeting wraps, it’s easy to connect to must-experience parts of the country.
According to VisitCostaRica.com, here are 8 reasons to choose Costa Rica for events and meetings:
Connectivity
Costa Rica is located in Central America, to the south of Nicaragua and to the north of Panama. The country has two main international airports: Juan Santamaría International Airport, near the capital of San José, and Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport in the country’s northeastern Guanacaste province.
Coming to Costa Rica is easy from the main cities of Latin America, North America and Europe, with twenty-nine airlines offering over 500 flights per week. In addition, numerous daily flights connect Juan Santamaría International Airport with the nearby hub of the Americas, Tocumen International Airport in Panama City.
Strategic location
Costa Rica is situated in sunny Central America, with a variable and highly pleasant climate year-round. Temperatures range from 70-80°F.
Excellent infrastructure
Number of hotel rooms: Guanacaste, 6,900; Central Pacific, 2,200; and Central Valley, 8,300.
Conference hall capacity: Guanacaste, 800; Central Pacific, 340; and Central Valley (Costa Rica Convention Center), 3,000.
Sustainable
- The country runs on green electricity for 99 percent of the year
- Taxes on fossil fuels help protect Costa Rica’s forests
- Protected areas cover 25 percent of the nation’s territory
- According to the Happy Planet Index, Costa Rica was the happiest and most sustainable country on the planet in 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2016
- The country has set itself the goal of being carbon-neutral by 2021
Well-being and quality of life
An evaluation of the country’s public health system ranked it as the seventh-best in the world in terms of quality, as well as the best in Latin America.
In addition, Costa Rica is the highest-ranking country in the Happy Planet Index, the second year that it has received this distinction. The HPI examines aspects such as sustainable happiness at the national level, examining around 140 countries on the following criteria: how happy their citizens are, how long they live, and the amount of resources they use.
Experience
Costa Rica has set the international standard as a destination for meetings and incentive travel. According to information from the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), Costa Rica is the 9th most frequently chosen country in Latin America to host meetings, and 56th globally.
Education level
Costa Rica’s educational system has a major digital emphasis, with 90 percent of schools and educational institutions currently offering access to digital technology. Some 44 percent of the population has studied at the post-secondary level.
Diversity of activities
The country’s geographical diversity offers visitors a little bit of everything, from mountain chains and active volcanoes to gorgeous beaches on its Pacific and Caribbean coasts. This incredible geography creates a wide array of microclimates, meaning that there is always more to discover. With so many sights to behold, Costa Rica offers a rich experience for meetings or incentive travel.
