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New Minister of Tourism calls for better infrastructure

20 May, 2011 08:34:00 Marisol Arias M

Photo courtesy of Costarrican Tourism Board (ICT)

· Flores is an attorney and is 44 years old. He was president of the Environmental Administrative Tribunal in 2003 and vice-minister of Environment and Energy from 2003 to 2006. The new Minister of Tourism, Allan Flores, promised improvements on infrastructure to support the tourist industry and has presented a new convention center to be located in Heredia as one of his main goals. Minister Flores, who has also taken charge of the Costa Rican Board of Tourism, ICT as Executive President, was appointed by the President of the Republic, Laura Chinchilla, in early April upon the withdrawal of Carlos Ricardo Benavides, who assumed the position as Minister of the Presidency. Flores served as General Manager of ICT and reaches the post of Minister for the second time in two consecutive governments. The first time was in the previous administration, when Benavides, the minister back then, stepped down to join the campaign team of the current president. One of the priorities of the Minister Flores is to attract new international flights to generate a surge in foreign tourist visitation. During his appointment at the Presidential House, the Minister spoke of the Convention Center as one of the most important stakes of ICT during his term. The Center is going to be built on a 10-hectare property of the Integral Program of Agricultural Marketing (PIMA) and will cost about $30 million. The government is still seeking the resources to finance the project. As to marketing of the country abroad, about $18 million would be used, according to Flores, to continue and expand investment in the brand-country in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. They are also seeking to expand tourist marketing strategies into new markets in South American countries like Brazil. Rural community tourism and the promotion of micro, small, and medium tourism enterprises through electronic means (e-marketing) are part of the agenda that the new minister will foster. According to Flores, visitation statistics of foreign tourists suggest that there is a significant recovery in the sector. The arrival of the new Minister has been well welcomed by the local tourist industry, or, at least, that is what the Costa Rican Association of Tourism Professionals (ACOPROT) announced on its website. Yadyra Simón Rojas, president of ACOPROT, said he has been well received by the professionals of the field.
"He is a very approachable person with an extensive knowledge of ICT and who knows the tourism businessmen closely. You can always talk to him. I'm sure that the projects and initiatives we have already discussed within this entity will be followed up by him," she said. Photo: Allan Flores, who will serve as ICT’s Manager is the new Minister of Tourism. We also interviewed the new Minister of Tourism, where we asked some questions about his plans during their ministry term. What project or strategy will be your priority during this term as Minister? "One of my main priorities as Minister of Tourism is to promote the construction of the new Convention, Conference and Exhibition Center of Costa Rica. We will work to make this a reality by the end of this Administration. The model of trade opening followed by the country has led to a more business like environment, and, by building the Convention Center, we will diversify our geographic markets and unseason the demand." Will you continue the work of the brand-country international marketing in the U.S. and Canada? Will you expand to new markets? Costa Rica has a destination brand - "Costa Rica No Artificial Ingredients" - that is considered by FutureBrand, a leading international consultancy agency, as the nation that has best positioned its brand as a tourist destination in Latin America. There is a difference between brand-destination and brand-country. The brand-destination is the one developing a country-or region-to promote itself as for its tourist matters and does not cover other items such as attracting investment and trade, among other things. The brand-country should work for all segments and all activities that the country would like to promote abroad. One does not replace the other, but they can complement and strengthen each other. Actually, the development of a brand-country is one of my priorities. As for marketing, ICT is working hard to attract and strengthen sustainable tourism and adventure, niches in which we are leaders. We are also betting on the market for weddings and honeymoons, rural tourism, and medical tourism. We are interested in attracting more tourists traveling with their families, mainly from the U.S. and Canada, but also in diversifying our geographic market and attract more tourists from South America and Europe. Could you talk about an economic recovery in the industry? Costa Rica has an excellent competitive position that allows us, even in times of crisis in its main target market, to keep a steady flow of tourists. In a period of 20 years, tourism has grown by over 600% at an annual average rate of 10%; in other words, more than double the average growth rate of world tourism.
In 2010, 2,099,829 tourists entered through all the ports. It means 9.2% more people than the year 2009, so evidencing a recovery in terms of number of tourists, since that puts us at a very similar the year 2008. This situation reflects the good position of the market and the effectiveness of marketing strategies that the country makes to sustain this competitive advantage. It also reflects the Costa Rican tourist product has not suffered any wear and that the factors of production, tourist attractions and attractors continue to maintain the desired quality for the destination. Although the profile of tourists visiting Costa Rica is still much the same, there could be some change in two specific aspects: a tendency to decrease the number of days of stay in the country and a tendency to reduce the average cost during this visit. This is a global trend, as affirmed by the World Tourism Organization itself. The growth and development that tourism can generate is related to many variables that, as you know, include the currency exchange, which decline has affected all exporters of goods and services, including the tourist sector and the increase in the price of some services such as electricity. In the medium term, and based on the figures of recovery in the flow of growth in the number of tourists, we hope for the stabilization of the business sector. What governmental actions will you present so that Costa Rica does not lose its competitiveness and can be attractive to tourists and investors? We will develop a consistent and strong marketing strategy for small businesses and the strengthening of national tourism fairs.We will also implement a project to start in the e-marketing through the ICT’s web site in order to support small tourist enterprises.We will strengthen the promotion of community-rural tourism and the relations with the various chambers of tourism across the country through the support of ICT in the shape of its regional offices.We will continue with the national tourism campaign with the objective of calling the attention of national tourists and with the participation in various international fairs for us to improve the brand-country positioning. What good news will Guanacaste have as to the attraction of new international flights, considering that the province has been so affected by the housing and tourist crisis? We are pleased because the improvement in the international tourist visitation is evident. As we informed some days ago, in January, Daniel Oduber International Airport recorded the highest number of tourists in its history. Data from the Directorate General of Immigration, processed by the Costa Rican Board of Tourism (ICT) report that in the first month of 2011, there were 31,637 people. This figure represents a 28.2% increase over the same period in 2010, when 24,677 foreign visitors entered the country through this port.The behavior as of January 2011 is well above the highest data recorded to been reached in the Daniel Oduber in March 2008: a total of 29,206. Most of these visitors were Americans (17,278), followed by Canadians (11,013) and British (1211). The number of commercial flights has also increased this year in Liberia. Data from the Civil Aviation Technical Council (CETAC) confirm that in last January there were 42 flights a week, 6 more than in 2010, so representing a growth of 14%. In February, the behavior was similar as the terminal authorized 53 flights a week, 13 more than that same period last year, meaning 25% more. These are the results of a strategy meant to attract international airlines to the airport Daniel Oduber, which has been fostered by ICT and of a first-class accommodation development in Guanacaste and the Northern Region.