Weekly review

$600-million investment

Minister of Tourism Carlos Benavides announced that the Costa Rican Board of Tourism (ICT in Spanish) is handling applications for tourist developments, which overall mean a $600-million investment in the sector this year. If the ICT declares of tourism interest, the developments are awarded several tax exemptions and other benefits. He added that even though the list of firms involved is short, their investments are large. The list includes hotels such as Ritz, Carlton, Hyatt, Canyon Ranch, and Mandarin Oriental. Minister Benavides abstained from making any estimates about the overall investment expected for the year 2008. Last year, the overall amount was some $800 million.

Leisure mega-development

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A tourism and real estate mega-development will be developed in a 400-hectare (988.4-acre) area located between Herradura and Jaco beaches, on the Costa Rican Central Pacific. Environment, culture, luxury, and exclusivity would blend in Garabu, as the project is called. The resort would include two 5-plus-star hotels, a golf course, an amphitheater, condos, and a business area. Garabu general manager Gabriela Barrantes said that the first stage alone –representing close to 10 percent of the overall project– demands an $88-million investment.

Arrival of tourists up

The number of tourists in January increased 13.7 percent as compared to the same month last year, according to early data from the ICT and the Costa Rican Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR). The figure was 145,147 visitors, who arrived at Juan Santamaria and Liberia international airports. In January 2007, the number was 127,647. “The increase is above the estimates and it has to be taken advantage of by working harder. We must be very cautious about developments in the United States,” Minister Benavides said.

Trade with the European Union

The Central American nations aim at emplacing special protective mechanisms for key productive sectors in the Association Agreement with the European Union. This shield protects groups of small producers from threats to their activity and is usually requested by small nations. The general idea is to insure a provision of agricultural goods which are basic for locals, as well as to prevent mass importation of goods at prices lower than the domestic ones. In the meantime, the region’s countries set themselves the goal of preventing the stringent European sanitary requirements become an obstacle to their exports.

Procter & Gamble center

From a facility in Costa Rica, 250 people have the responsibility to advise Procter & Gamble branches throughout the continent for any deals they launch on finance, information, and distribution, so that they will be as efficient and dollar-earning as possible. Called a business transformation pilot project –Procter & Gamble’s first in the 80 countries where it operates–, its first investment amounts to $2 million in training and equipment. Several other nations entered a race with Costa Rica, competing to become the venue of P&G’s center.

Central Bank buys fewer dollars

The Central Bank of Costa Rica has lowered the purchase of dollars so far this year. This decrease in participation in the exchange market comes with lower interest rates for investment in securities. The Bank lowered its interest rates In order to discourage the arrival of speculating capitals, which bring to bear pressure on the colon, so that the dollar recovers and the rate of exchange increases.

Record number of messages

On Valentine, Costa Rican cell-phone messages topped over a record 83.7 million, more than 30 million above the corresponding number for last New Year’s Eve. Just to have a reference, the Costa Rican Electricity and Telecommunications Institution (ICE in Spanish) said that the number of text messages sent via cell phones had been 7.5 million.

Ecological damage

Park wardens found assorted trails in the forest and the building of several small structures, apparently the first stage of a larger development in a protected area near Sierpe Lake, at the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve. Osa Conservation Area Director Etilma Morales defined the destruction as major and disclosed actions to halt the damage.