Costa of oil doesn’t seemed to have hampered the tourist crowd.

I was in Manuel Antonio last week to visit one of our development  projects and tied to stay in an upscale Hotel for one night. There wasn’t one available. Below are some statistics that speak to a slow down in increase, but the increase is still occurring.

The arrival of tourists in the last 12 months has kept on increasing, even though at a slower rate than in the preceding year.  In June, on a year to year basis, the number of tourists increased by 7 percent, while in February it had done so by 21 percent.The overall number of people holidaying in Costa Rica during the last year was 2.1 million.

Minister of Tourism Carlos Benavides said that, in spite of the slowing down in the increase rate, the country enjoys an arrival of visitors that surpasses the world’s average.

“By the end of the year, we will close with an increase that will be, at the least, double what the other countries around the world will grow,” he commented.

The increase in the prices of oil affected the costs of operation of airlines in the United States (the source of a majority of the tourists who come to Costa Rica), and that has resulted in fewer flights and more expensive tickets, minister Benavides further explained.