{"id":1795,"date":"2020-11-02T16:35:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-02T16:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.puravidauniversity.eu\/uk\/?p=1795"},"modified":"2020-11-16T11:39:58","modified_gmt":"2020-11-16T11:39:58","slug":"wtm-news-key-focuses-for-costa-rica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.puravidauniversity.eu\/uk\/wtm-news-key-focuses-for-costa-rica\/","title":{"rendered":"WTM NEWS- Key Focuses for Costa Rica"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Costa Rica Tourism Board launches \u201cPura Vida Pledge\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Costa Rican Tourism\nBoard (ICT) has just launched the \u201cPura Vida Pledge\u201d, a promise to educate\nvisitors as to the real meaning of responsible tourism and the actions that\nthey, as travellers to the destination, can do to make a true difference to the\nlocal communities in the post Covid-19 world. The phrase \u201cpura vida\u201d itself is\na mantra for Costa Ricans, meaning \u201cpure life\u201d or, even more so, \u201cfull of\nlife\u201d, symbolising the Costa Rican mind-set of energy and positivism that\nawaits visitors. Costa Rica\u2019s commitment to the environment is a way of life. For\nthis reason, the country is encouraging visitors to take one of five actions to\nensure their 2021 holiday is as responsible as possible: Certification for\nSustainable Tourism (CST); carbon offsetting; volunteering; respecting the\nenvironment; and quality assurance. More information: www.puravidapledge.co.uk<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costa Rica ready to welcome back UK visitors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costa Rica re-opened its\nborders to UK travellers on 1 August 2020, following their nearly four-month\nclosure due to the Covid-19 pandemic. To allow visitors to enter Costa Rica, visitors\nwill need to complete a digital epidemiological form<\/a>\nand have travel insurance that covers accommodation in case of quarantine and\nmedical expenses for acute illness. A negative result of the PCR Covid-19 test carried\nout in the 72 hours prior to the trip is not necessary for passengers who enter\nthe country by air. Costa Rica\u2019s two international airports, Juan Santamar\u00eda in\nSan Jos\u00e9 and Daniel Oduber in Liberia, have also added new health measures for\nall passengers arriving into the country. Further information on entry\nrequirements can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costa Rica\u2019s sector-wide\nrecovery efforts were recognised by the World Travel & Tourism Council\n(WTTC). The organisation gave Costa Rica its Safe Travels stamp – the world\u2019s\nfirst global safety and hygiene stamp – which allows travellers to identify\ndestinations and businesses which have adopted the global standardised health\nand hygiene protocols. WTTC\u2019s Safe Travels scheme is supported by World Tourism\nOrganisation (UNWTO).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latest news<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gustavo Segura Sancho, Costa Rica\u2019s Tourism Minister from July\n2020<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The President of Costa Rica, Mr.\nCarlos Alvarado Quesada, appointed Gustavo Segura Sancho as the country\u2019s new\nTourism Minister and Executive President of the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT)\nin July 2020, replacing Mar\u00eda Amalia Revelo Ravent\u00f3s as head of the department.\nGustavo Segura Sancho has a degree in Economics from the University of Costa\nRica and an MBA in Sustainable Development from the prestigious INCAE Business\nSchool. His professional career includes extensive experience in both the\npublic and private sectors. He spent seven years in the hotel industry as well\nas six years as a member of the Board of Directors of the Costa Rican Tourism\nBoard (ICT), five of them as its Vice President. Due to his vast experience in\nsustainable tourism, Segura Sancho was a key player in the implementation of\nCosta Rica\u2019s Certificate for Sustainable Tourism (CST). Three clear areas are\nthe main priorities for Gustavo Segura Sancho as Tourism Minister: the return\nof international flights gradually and safely; the implementation of tools to\nease the financial difficulties of tourism companies; and the execution of\nmeasures to reactivate the economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costa Rica\u2019s Playa Hermosa, named as the next World Surfing\nReserve<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costa Rica\u2019s Playa Hermosa has\nrecently awarded the next \u2018World Surfing Reserve\u2019, becoming the first beach in Central\nAmerica to hold this prestigious title and the world\u2019s thirteenth. Playa\nHermosa, on the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica, is renowned for having\nsome of the most consistent waves in the world and for holding the ISA World\nSurf Championship in 2009. Running some 5 miles long, it is one of the\ncountry\u2019s most popular surfing beaches, welcoming surf enthusiasts from around\nthe world every year. Playa Hermosa has been added to the list of World Surfing\nReserves due to its world-class waves, the rich biodiversity of the area,\nstrong community support and a clear conservation vision. Costa Rica joins now\nthe likes of the Gold Coast in Australia and Malibu in California, positioning\nitself as a world leader in surfing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Lucas Island becomes Costa Rica\u2019s 30th<\/sup> national\npark<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costa Rica has welcomed its 30th<\/sup>\nnational park: San Lucas Island, located off the Pacific coast of the Gulf of\nNicoya. The purpose of the new park is to develop sustainable tourism as well\nas contributing to the socio-economic development of the area. Previously a\nWildlife Refuge, San Lucas Island National Park is made up of both land and\ncoastal areas and covers 1.8 square miles. Howler monkeys, spiders, snakes,\ndeer and pheasants are some of the wildlife that can be found on the island.\nWith an investment of over \u00a3224,000, the new national park now features new\ntrails, toilets, water and electricity systems and 24-hour surveillance. Over\n50 tourist guides have been trained to show the historical island, which served\nas a prison until 1991. San\nLucas Island is easily accessible by a 40-minute boat ride from the city of\nPuntarenas, located 60 miles away from San Jos\u00e9, Costa Rica\u2019s capital city. Costa\nRica\u2019s protected areas now encompass more than 28% of its land mass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costa Rica, recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council\nfor its efforts on sustainability<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costa Rica has been recognised by the\nGlobal Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) for the continuous efforts in\ndeveloping and strengthening its sustainable tourism. The \u2018GSTC-Recognised\nStandard\u2019 status is related to the country\u2019s Certificate for Sustainable\nTourism (CST) and further strengthens Costa Rica\u2019s position as a global leader\nin sustainability. Launched by the Costa Rica Tourism Board in 1997, the\nCertificate for Sustainable Tourism (CST) was created to provide guidelines for\nhotel properties and service providers to build their business model based on\nsustainable tourism practices. The CST is backed by the World Tourism\nOrganisation (UNWTO) and, now, also by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. Costa\nRica is well known as a global leader in sustainability \u2013 the country produces\nnearly 99% of its electricity from renewable resources and it is currently home\nto over 6.5% of the world\u2019s biodiversity. Costa Rica also aims to become one of\nthe first countries to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costa Rica creates an innovative proposal to mitigate\ndeforestation by using Google Earth Engine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this year, Costa Rica submitted\na pioneering proposal to reduce deforestation through the use of technology and\nspace information generated by satellite imagery from the GEO-Google Earth\nEngine License Programme. The initiative, called Tackling deforestation and\nforest degradation in Costa Rica using Google Earth Engine, was submitted to\nthe Group on Earth Observations (GEO) as part of a programme in partnership\nwith Google. The two organisations will offer 25 licenses for the sustained use\nof Google Earth Engine (GEE) for projects using Earth observation data to address\nglobal challenges related to climate change, sustainable development and\ndisaster risk reduction, among others.  The\n2-year, full-access licenses aim to empower public sector and commercial\nrecipients to tackle significant societal challenges and improve understanding\nof our planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upcoming hotel\nopenings<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six Senses Papagayo<\/strong> (due to open in 2022)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas is\nbringing its first property to Central America with the opening of Six Senses\nPapagayo, scheduled for 2022.The site of the resort will stretch from the\nhighest point of the beautiful Peninsula Papagayo, offering 360-degree views of\nthe Guanacaste archipelago, to a forested beachfront with 41 pool villas. The\nresort will host Six Senses\u2019 signature wellness programming, along with a spa\nand fitness centre and a variety of activities. An organic farm will be set in\nthe heart of the property, growing fruits, vegetables and herbs to be used in\nboth the chef\u2019s menus and signature spa treatments. Six Senses Papagayo will be\napproximately 40 minutes from Liberia International Airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.sixsenses.com\/about-us\/new-openings\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To attend the event <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Costa Rica Tourism Board launches \u201cPura Vida Pledge\u201d The Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) has just launched the \u201cPura Vida Pledge\u201d, a promise to educate visitors as to the real meaning of responsible tourism and the actions that they, as … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puravidauniversity.eu\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1795"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puravidauniversity.eu\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puravidauniversity.eu\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.puravidauniversity.eu\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.puravidauniversity.eu\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1795"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.puravidauniversity.eu\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1795\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1796,"href":"https:\/\/www.puravidauniversity.eu\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1795\/revisions\/1796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puravidauniversity.eu\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.puravidauniversity.eu\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.puravidauniversity.eu\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}