the review 55
On the rise
Thomson to fly to Costa Rica
THE launch of direct flights from the UK to Costa Rica with Thomson Airways will significantly boost UK arrivals to the country. The weekly flights, launching
November 2015, will be operated by a 787 Dreamliner as part of Thomson’s winter programme. Speaking at CATM 2014, Costa tourism minister, Wilhelm
Rica’s
von Breymann welcomed the news: “It’s very important to have that connectivity, and it’s great news for the country.” As well as all-inclusive options, Thomson is also offering three- and four-night tours of the country taking in the main sights. At present the only way to get to
Costa Rica from the UK is via Spain or the US.
thomson.co.uk
CENTRAL AMERICA TRAVEL MARKET, OCTOBER 9 & 10
Costa Rica hosted the 10th Central America Travel Market, in its capital San Jose, bringing together tour operators and local suppliers. Adam Coulter reports
Fit and well focused Increase of visitors
CENTRAL America saw a 12.8% year-on-year
increase in the
COSTA Rica will focus on two key tourist offerings in the next year: Wellness and sports tourism – as well as offering its core environmental and nature holidays. Speaking at this year’s CATM, marketing
director Alejandro Castro said wellness holidays were becoming increasingly popular with European visitors. “Yoga holidays are one of our fastest growing markets and we have a number of yoga retreats offering these types of holidays. “We are also seeing an increase in the number of spa holidays mainly due to our natural spa waters and thermal baths heated by volcanoes. The Arenal volcano
IN BRIEF new sectors
Certified: Costa Rica has added two to its Certification of
Sustainable Tourism (CST) programme. Restaurants and coastal/marine operators will join more than 300 tourism businesseses covered. The CST awards businesses one to five leaves depending on how green they are.
visitcostarica.com
Whale-watching: Travellers can now
combine whale-watching on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast with turtle hatching on the Caribbean coast. Costa Rican Trails, working with Abercrombie & Kent and Geodyssey. The whales come to mate August to October, the same time green turtles lay their eggs on the opposite coast.
costaricantrails.com
Maya treks: The Guatemala Tourist Board has launched the first Maya Trek in the protected areas in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, the largest nature reserve in Guatemala. The new three- day trek covers more than 50kms, combining adventure, nature and archaeology with the famous Mayan monument, Tikal.
visitguatemala.com
is one of the most popular spots for mud baths and organic pools.” As part of its push to offer more
sporting holidays, Costa Rica has opened new mountain biking trails including one in the Caminos de Osa – one of the most bio-diverse areas in the world. River rafting is growing and the annual Iron Man competition will take place next year
on the new Ruta de has los
Conquistadores route. Surfing, which is already well-established,
been
boosted by the international success of local champion Carlos Muños.
visitcostarica.com
number of European tourists visiting the region in the first six months of this year. The total number of tourists from Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Holland and the UK topped 488,000 from January to June – with all source markets up sharply compared to 2013. The biggest percentage increase came from France which saw a 26.6% leap to 66,849 visitors. While Spain recorded the highest number of tourist arrivals – 88,010. The UK had an 8.8 % increase in the number of visitors to 54,771, putting it in fourth place ahead of Italy (48,300) and Holland (34,835).
Cruise Honduras
HONDURAS has confirmed it has earmarked a new port for development,
to welcome cruise
ships. Amapala, a natural port on Isla del Tigre, off the country’s Pacific Coast, could be welcoming cruise ships within the next three years. The news comes at the same time as the opening of the country’s newest cruise port: Trujillo, on the Banana Coast.
letsgohonduras.com
sellingtravel.co.uk
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