For the first time since the Ecological Blue Flag (EBF) program was launched for the beaches category, a record number of 118  beaches have attained this award thanks to the organized efforts of the committees in each of the coastal communities to achieve sustainable beaches with tourism features on the Costa Rican Pacific and Caribbean coasts. The announcement was made this morning by the Cost...

The digital technology company, Akamai, inaugurated this Monday, Match 18 its new facility in Costa Rica, located in Roble Corporate Center. Here, it will gather all its operations in the country as part of the expansion of its services, which are exported from Costa Rica to the rest of the world. Akamai, established in Costa Rica in 2012, now has 300 employees. It foresees to increase its payr...

The Consular Section at U.S. Embassy San Jose announced Consular outreach events in Jaco and Quepos in the coming weeks. Embassy staff will be available to accept adult passport renewals, perform notarial services, and take inquiries on federal benefits and voting. Consular staff will be on hand to hear your inquiries and concerns. Jaco: WHEN: Wednesday, March 27, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. WHE...

Costa Rica hopes to move closer to - and increase its trade with - Asia with the approval of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with South Korea encompassing 80 percent of the Central American country's products. "We hail with great enthusiasm the approval ... of the (South) Korea-Central America FTA. A great day for the foreign trade sector," said Foreign Trade Minister Dyala Jimenez on the social n...

Press Release The U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica announced upcoming Consular outreach for U.S. citizens in the Cobano (Puntarenas) area. To RSVP for passport renewals, notary services, and federal benefits inquiries, interested parties must indicate their preference by writing to [email protected]. Any applicable fees must be paid in cash Costa Rican colones. Exact change is greatly apprec...

Airports Council International (ACI) published the list of winners of its “Airport Service Quality Awards” which recognize those airports around the world that deliver the best customer experience in the opinion of their own passengers. In the category of under 2 million passengers, the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, Guanacaste, took the second spot in Latin America and the Car...

The Government inaugurated the long awaited Las Trancas-Bahía de Papagayo aqueduct in the district of Carrillo, Guanacaste. This project will provide an additional 120 liters of water per second, which will supply 14,250 people in communities, as well as the manufacturing and tourism sectors. It consists of 15 kilometers of pipes and a 3,000 cubic meter water storage tank. The project was de...

The Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE), organized an event to analyze the new opportunities that Limón offers from a logistic perspective for multinational and national companies, thanks to the most recent investments in the area. All this in the framework of the inauguration of the new container terminal operated by APM Terminals. Jorge Sequeira, Managing Director of CINDE, explai...

The Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (“SPT”) of the United Nations (UN) is visiting Costa Rica to evaluate the conditions and treatment given to prisoners in the different prisons in the country. Members of the SPT will remain in the country through March 14. “During its mission, the Subcommittee intends to visit prisons, police...

The Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) announced the official formation and legal induction of the members of the National Commission of Tourist Guides (CONAGUITUR), an inter-institutional agency with representatives from the public and private sectors, which will establish and monitor a training program for certified guides. CONAGUITUR is overseen by the ICT and is also made up of the Costa Rican...

Internet service provided RACSA, subsidiary of ICE, informed that they will be performing maintenance work of the fiber optic submarine telecommunications cable system Maya-1 this weekend, March 1st through March 3, these works will take Maya-1 submarine cable out of operation. Previsions are being taken by using outbound Internet capacity through other Submarine Cable options so that affectati...

The Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) and the Canadian airline Air Transat confirmed an increase in the number of seats the company would offer to Costa Rica’s two international airports. Two flights originating in Toronto were added this winter, one to the Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport and another to Juan Santamaría International Airport. “Attracting airlines and a greater number of...

he University of Georgia Foundation has agreed to sell the university's Costa Rica residential and research campus in San Luis de Monteverde, Costa Rica, to the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), the oldest and largest nonprofit study-abroad and intercultural exchange organization in the U.S. The University of Georgia Foundation Board of Trustees approved the transaction at i...

Neustar, Inc., provider of real-time information services, announced it will expand its business footprint and workforce in STEM-related computer and information services (IS) skills as it increases its employee base. Throughout 2019, the company intends to hire more than 50 professionals in technical and leadership positions in engineering-related functions and activities including database ...

Roche inaugurated the Finance and Procurement areas of its Shared Service Center for the Americas today. From Costa Rica, the company will provide business operations support to the Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics divisions across the entire American Continent. The operation will generate approximately 400 direct and 50 indirect jobs by the end of 2020. The Center, which began operations in J...

A three week expedition off the coast of Costa Rica has just expanded our knowledge of deep sea ecosystems in the region. Led by Dr. Erik Cordes, Temple University, the scientists aboard research vessel Falkor surveyed the continental margin for seamounts and natural gas seeps, where specialized biological communities are found. The seamounts extending from the mainland to the Cocos Islands Nation...

Tulemar Bungalows & Villas, located in the Tulemar Resort in Manuel Antonio, Quepos, took the top spot as the #1 Hotel in the World in the 2019 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards. Recognized last year as #2 in the World by TripAdvisor, this prestigious award continues to further distinguish Tulemar as a world-class vacation destination. President of the Hotel, Tom Paul, responded to the a...

Costa Rica was included among the 5 Easiest, Most Welcoming Retirement Havens in the World by International Living Magazine. "A new report from International Living points to the top 5 retirement destinations across the globe where it’s easiest to fit in. The Fitting-in category of the 2019 Annual Global Retirement Index studies the character of the expat community, how easy it is for a single...

The Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) is in the process of designing a new indicator to measure the arrival of tourists to the country. For this, ICT signed a cooperation agreement with the General Directorate of Migration (DGME) that will allow them to receive every month a higher level of detail of the international migratory flow of people in Costa Rica. Since 1958 and to date, ICT has estimat...

For the first time, Costa Rica will host the 2019 Social Tourism Encounter of the Americas from June 12-15. The official announcement was made at Fitur, an international trade fair being held in Madrid, Spain. Costa Rican Minister of Tourism Maria Amalia Revelo made the announcement alongside officials from the International Social Tourism Organization (ISTO), represented by Inés Ayala Sender, IST...

The CooperVision contact lens manufacturing facility in Alajuela, Costa Rica has been awarded prestigious LEED® Silver certification for its environmentally-conscious design and operation. The 100,000-square-foot site, opened in 2016, produces the company’s popular clariti® 1-day silicone hydrogel contact lenses. It is believed to be the only LEED Silver-certified contact lens manufacturing site i...

The Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE) and representatives from 20 communities outside the Metro area got together to share their 2019 annual plans. This is part of CINDE’s strategy to promote local competitiveness and new investment opportunities in these areas. These communities are: Buenos Aires, Corredores, Osa, Coto Brus, Golfito, Pérez Zeledón, Siquirres, Pococí, Limón, Turri...

The Minister of Tourism, Maria Amalia Revelo, took part of the XXII Ibero-American Conference of Tourism Ministers and Businesses (CIMET), an event held in the run-up to the official program of activities of Fitur 2019 in Madrid, Spain. Participants from Latin America, Spain and Portugal shared their advances and innovations in the tourism industry. They also discussed new trends in a highly conn...

The Congresswoman from the Liberación Nacional Party, Silvia Hernández, the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), organized the forum “From Lagging to Regional Leadership: Costa Rica’s Concessions Program”. The event was held the morning of this Friday, January 18, to analyze the country’s challenges and opportunities to improve through inn...

The Minister of Public Security, Michael Soto, expressed his disapproval of the voting that took place on Monday evening in the Security and Drug Trafficking Commission of the Legislative Assembly regarding changes to the Firearms and Explosives Law. “With the motions approved, we cannot continue with the reduction in homicides”, stated Soto. The Minister assured that the objective is not to ri...

Southern Explorations, specializing in crafting custom small-group trips and itineraries to Latin America, has freshly completed an in-depth scouting mission of Costa Rica's most under-explored regions with the goal of crafting new custom trips and itineraries to the country. "Most tourism activities have only scratched the surface of what's actually out there in Costa Rica," explains Justin L...

Costa Rica has been showcasing the most outstanding aspects of its ample and diverse tourism offerings at the five-day Vakantierbus international trade fair. Highlights include sun, beaches, adventure, a closeness with nature, “Wellness Pura Vida” lifestyle offerings and meeting tourism. Vakantierbus is one of the largest trade fairs in the European country, which is itself one of the continent’s ...

Day in, day out, a team of Costa Ricans are working to put Costa Rica once again on the global innovation map. This is happening at Establishment Labs, a company that works on research and development, design, manufacture and marketing of new products for minimally invasive and prophylactic breast reconstruction surgery. At present, the professional team at this company – the first Costa Rican ...

Travel & Leisure Magazine posted their list of 50 Best Places to Travel to in 2019 and included in the list is the province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. ¨With its beach-meets-jungle coastline, splendid array of biodiversity, and climate as warm as the locals, it's no wonder Costa Rica's northwestern corner became an early paragon of ecotourism. That's a lot of paradise to protect. Now, Guanac...

The Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE) and the Ministry of Foreign Trade (COMEX) announced the generation of 12,691 new jobs for Costa Ricans in 2018. These were created through the 48 new investment projects developed during the year, including new multinational companies arriving in Costa Rica, in addition to the already established companies that reported growth in service, digital...

Las Catalinas located in Playa Dante, Guanacaste will have a new hotel in February 2019, Santarena, part of the expansion plans of independent hotel brand Preferred Hotels & Resorts. Santarena is a “bohemian gem” that promises to offer guests “unparalleled world-class service” and “one-of-a-kind experiences”. "Costa Rica, with its fantastic year-round climate, lush landscape, secluded be...

This Saturday, December 16, the first JetBlue Mint flight arrived at the Daniel Oduber Airport in Liberia, Guanacase, from New York; even though this connection already existed, the modality of the new flights (Mint) is one of the novelties in arrivals to Liberia since its one of the most exclusive international services. Liberia became, the first city in Latin America to offer Mint, JetBlue is...

Margaritaville Beach Resort Playa Flamingo has already opened doors in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The hotel was known in the past as Flamingo Beach Resort & Spa, but back in July, 2017 it became part of Margaritaville Holdings portfolio. Margaritaville Beach Resort Playa Flamingo made its debut under the Margaritaville brand with several new signature restaurant concepts, updated guestrooms, a...

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, global leader in patient-focused medical innovations for structural heart disease, as well as critical care and surgical monitoring, plans to hire 370 employees as part of its expansion in Costa Rica. “We are proud to contribute from Costa Rica to today’s and tomorrow’s product development that aid patients worldwide. Our new facilities will start operating 100...

Using the slogan “taking care of one another is in our nature”, the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) launched a new tourist safety campaign on Wednesday, to coincide with Costa Rica’s main tourist period, with high numbers of visitors from abroad as well as local tourists. The publicity components were shown in the opening ceremonies of the XX Tourism Safety Congress, an event held by the Nation...

The United States, China and the Netherlands are three dynamic markets that have been important to the medical devices sector in Costa Rica. For second year-round, it continues to be Costa Rica’s top goods export with 29% of all its exports, equivalent to $2,758 million. This is based on October’s goods exports report, submitted by PROCOMER and COMEX. The sector’s growth is $412 million more th...

The US Embassy in Costa Rica informs it will remain closed this Wednesday, December 5, this as a mark of respect for the passing of former President George H.W. Bush "As a mark of respect for the passing of the forty-first President of the United States, George Herbert Walker Bush, Wednesday, December 5, has been designated as a National Day of Mourning by Executive Order of the President. Emba...

The ballistics unit Judicial Branch’s Forensics Science Labs received the international accreditation with ISO 17020 norm and the re-accreditation of the biochemical, toxicology and analytic chemistry units with the ISO 17025 norms, making Costa Rica a regional model in this area. "The strengthening of forensic capabilities improves the quality of evidence analysis, which in turn strengthens th...

The prestigious international magazine The European chose CINDE as Latin America’s top “Investment Promotion Agency of the Year” in the recent ranking Global Banking & Finance Awards 2018. This is the second consecutive year that CINDE receives this award. CINDE also obtained first place as Business Innovation Hub-Latin America, thanks to the FDI’s dynamism during this year. Jorge Sequei...

The Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE) announced that multinational company MSD, opened today the Pharmacovigilance Data Management Center in Costa Rica. This center will be processing information about adverse events from commercialized drugs and worldwide clinical studies. This is the fourth center established by the company at strategic sites to keep the research management uninter...