Climate-conscious travelers Initiative

San Jose, November 1 (EFE) .- Costa Rica in 2011 aims to reduce by at least 20% carbon emissions caused by flights into the country, said the president of the National Chamber of Ecotourism (CANAECO) Glenn Jampol, within the framework of the Conference P3 (Planet, People, Peace).

The initiative, which is named “climate-conscious travelers, will begin operations in early 2011 and will last for at least 10 years, which seeks to” mitigate the huge carbon footprint left in the environment for our flights international “Jampol said.

To carry out the plan, will CANAECO collaboration with the National Forestry Financing Fund (Fonafifo), to carry out reforestation and forest plantations in exchange for a voluntary payment.

This voluntary payment is carried out by those “hotels and environmentally conscious companies operating in Costa Rica”, and that about 90% of emissions that are carried out by the arrival of tourists is the flight home, Jampol said.

The chamber will also promote as part of the conference P3, a plan of economic incentives for the development of tourism projects.

This conference brings together from now until Wednesday to 25 experts and 200 participants from countries in the Americas, Africa and Europe to exchange experiences and discuss the development of ecotourism and sustainable tourism.

Tourism in Costa Rica is an industry that annually moves about 2,000 million dollars and generates more than half a million direct and indirect jobs in a country where the population is 4.5 million people.

In addition, nearly two million tourists annually visit this Central American country, home to 4.5% of the biodiversity of the planet in about 51,000 hectares of forest. EFE

Ingles

Video of the visit of the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato at Turu Ba Ri Park in San Jose, Costa Rica

We’d like to thank the Jonas Brothers for their preference and we hope you have enjoyed the adventure tours we offer. The Jonas Brothers performed the Zip Line tour and also the Superman Zip line tour, the Fastest and longest zip line in Costa Rica.

After practicing the adventure tours, the Jonas Brothers were very friendly and accessible and they shared some time and pictures with staff of Turu Ba Ri Park:

Costa Rica is third place in the region and ranked 33 among 110 countries evaluated

Uruguay, Chile and Costa Rica top the list of most prosperous countries in Latin America, according to a survey conducted by the Legatum Institute, UK.

The annual Legatum Prosperity Index is a comprehensive assessment of the wealth and welfare of 110 nations around the world and is the only league table of its kind. The Legatum Institute is an independent, nonpartisan, composed of researchers who, in his own words, have a “holistic vision of prosperity” in the belief that money is not everything. This entity assessed the economic and governance situation in 110 countries, equivalent to 90% of the population.

Most Latin American countries have moved forward on the valuations obtained in 2009. However, those who were already a year ago at the end of the table, such as Honduras (85) and Nicaragua (87), have lost more positions this year due to deterioration in their levels of government and social capital.

To prepare the study took into account eight subcategories: economy, business conditions and opportunities, government, education, health and safety, personal freedom and social capital.

Uruguay tops the list of the region, ranked 28, followed by Chile, 32, and Costa Rica in 33. The firsts: Globally, three Scandinavian countries take over the top: Norway, Denmark and Finland. The report notes that Scandinavian countries are characterized by high tax rates to provide services to its citizens, something that can change the economic crisis.

In terms of prosperity, the American continent is the one with greater contrasts, with Canada and the United States in the posts 7 and 10, respectively, while Nicaragua is located at 87.

The five worst rated countries are Nigeria, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Pakistan and Zimbabwe. They all belong to Africa, except Pakistan (Asia).

Panama launches an aggressive campaign to get Congress to that nation

Costa Rica aims to compete with Panama for convention tourism, activity in the neighboring country has large lead. After eight years it seemed that the project of building the first center to house Congress begins to set a course north.

But the good news comes at a time when competition next door, Panama, launches attractive promotions to win the conference market to the canal lands.

The center will be built in Barreal de Heredia, on property belonging to the Comprehensive Agricultural Marketing Programme (PIMA), in an agreement on land use. The agreement to dispose of this land would be resolved next month, ahead of Carlos Ricardo Benavides, Minister of Tourism.

On financing, the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) has signed an agreement with a state bank, whose name was not released by confidentiality clauses, for economic restructuring. Be financed from the ICT budget, through a trust using the figure of securitization for the development of public works.

Furthermore, in order to determine the characteristics of the convention center, a consultant was hired to conduct a market survey. This will indicate things like the size it should have the property. It also includes an analysis of regional competition, logistics capacity from Juan Santamaria Airport and a feasibility study and project opportunities. The result of the consultancy will be ready well in November. Costa Rica hopes this will attract more meeting and incentive groups.

Costa Rican authorities today launched the initiative “Costa Rica Forever“, a trust of $ 56 million from NGOs and the state, which is devoted to the protection of nature.

The director of the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC), Ministry of Environment, Giselle Mendez, said at a news conference that the main goal is “to consolidate a system of protected areas ecologically representative and effectively managed.”

Of the $ 56 million, to be administered by the Association Forever Costa Rica, 29 from international non-governmental organizations The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Conservation Linden Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and Walton Family Foundation.

The remaining 27 million dollars in the Costa Rican government to provide monthly payments over the next 15 years, thanks to an exchange of debt for nature by that amount, concluded the United States Thursday to Costa Rica. Mendez said that has been established as a priority to use the money in the protection of marine protected areas that historically, she said, have been the most neglected by the environmental authorities.

It also funds management plans of protected areas to determine priority needs and achieve greater effectiveness in the protection of biodiversity, said Mendez.

For its part, the director of the Costa Rica Association Forever, Zdenka Piskulich said that the name of the organization responds to the idea of using primarily income from the trust to fund projects as there will always be money available.

“This shows that when we have a good idea we can achieve and show the world that a small country can consider ambitious conservation goals,” said Piskulich. Costa Rica, a country of 4.5 million people and 51,100 square kilometers, remains under protection in national parks and conservation areas a quarter of its territory. It is also home to 4.5% of the planet’s biodiversity, which annually attracts about two million tourists.

Construction of International Airport in the South Area of Costa Rica declared of national interest

Costa Rica’s president, Laura Chinchilla Miranda and Francisco Jiménez, Minister of Public Works and Transport, signed a decree declaring the public interest the construction of International Airport in the South, located in Sierpe de Osa.

The Government believes that tourism and the need to generate employment in the south, warrants the investment of the airport. The declaration has a number of priorities that will ease the process of consolidating the project to materialize.

The executive order is that the first phase of the project, which includes studies and processes leading to the building, completed in 2012, so the second stage within two years maximum is advanced construction.

Chinchilla stressed the need to promote and develop tourism in the area, attached to the care of natural resources and sustainable development.

“We need to generate employment and thus be able to meet the various ills that afflict our society, such as drug trafficking and crime. With the airport, the south will be visited by national and international tourism, which will facilitate further development of the area, “he said.

The ideal place according to research conducted for the construction of the airport is in Valley Levee in Sierpe de Osa, and is estimated to cost $ 35 million. This amount will fund local airports of the National Directorate of Civil Aviation.

According to official reports, the characteristics are that the airport terminal, will have a runway of 3,500 meters in length that will allow the landing of wide body aircraft such as Boeing 747 or Airbus A-340.

If you keep these dimensions, the south track is 500 meters longer than the landing area from the international airport Juan Santamaría. In addition, you have 60 meters wide (Santamaría track is 45 meters) to allow for future landing of Airbus A-380, currently the largest passenger ship in the world.

The Osa Peninsula is among the 25 areas with the greatest concentration of biodiversity in the world, has 160 000 hectares and about 5 thousand species of plants, 700 trees, and 3% of the flora of this area exists in no else on the planet.

In addition, 375 species of birds, 124 mammals and 8 000 of insects, and owns 71.5% of the mangroves of Costa Rica, including the Serpent, the largest in Central America.

Next November the 1st. will begin in Costa Rica the second P3: International Conference of Planet, People and Peace

Experts from eight countries will analyze from November 1 to 3 in Costa Rica how to promote the benefits of sustainable tourism, reported the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT). Tourism Minister Carlos Ricardo Benavides said that the P3 will serve as a “confirmation of our status as a responsible and sustainable country”. He said that sustainability is a cornerstone of government policy for tourism and in general for the national economy because this sector provides about 2,000 million dollars per year, nearly 7% of gross domestic product (GDP). P3 Conference II will feature exhibitors from Kenya, Canada, United States, England, Holland, Australia, Guatemala and Costa Rica, presented the organization of the event press conference.

Gary Dunham will assist to the activity; he was very close to Al Gore, awarded the Nobel Prize for his climate change project. Guillermo Canessa, a member of the board of the National Chamber of Ecotourism (CANAECO) of Costa Rica, told Reuters today that it is confirmed the participation of a representative of the Maasai ethnic group in Kenya “which is an innovative rural tourism.” Also participating “Indian of Guatemala to talk about the rural community tourism development,” he added.

The warming has also been reported at sites in Costa Rica

Scientists and local divers in the Western Caribbean have reported a major coral bleaching event in the area, due to an increase in ocean temperature. This unexplained sea temperature rise has caused the major coral bleaching and die-off event, U.S. researchers say.

Scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and divers first found coral bleaching in July in waters off Panama followed by an extensive bleaching event in September, an institute release said Tuesday.

During this time, seawater temperatures were measured at 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit, well above the seasonal average of about 82 degrees.

The warming event is affecting the entire Caribbean coast of Panama and has also been reported at sites in Costa Rica, Smithsonian scientists said.

Coral reefs contain photosynthetic algae called zoxanthellae, and bleaching occurs when corals lose their color as a result of the loss of their algal component caused by increased water temperature or other stress factors.

Bleaching impairs vital functions of the coral such as reproduction and growth.

Smithsonian scientist Hector M. Guzman says the hurricane season may be part of the current problem by causing low water circulation in the southwestern Caribbean and thus creating a “warm pocket” of water along the coasts of Panama and Costa Rica.

Since last Sunday, October 10 (10/10/10), about 188 countries, including Costa Rica, joined a series of events to inform how to deal with climate change effects.

The organization is called 350.org and managed to organize more than 7,347 events in 188 countries only last Sunday, as reported on its website. However, the goal is to continue with these initiatives around the world.

The name is because “350 is the world’s largest number, the safe upper limit of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, scientists say”, according to data from the site.

In Costa Rica the Alternative Energy Store Company participates in the initiative and 350.org share the goal of reducing emissions by 10% from 10 October.

Costa Rica will invest $ 19 million to advertise the country

North America and Europe are the markets that ICT are aiming

To leave behind the storm and try to calm back to the tourism industry, Costa Rica launched a strong international campaign to attract visitors.

By now it has $ 19 million to encourage the key domestic destinations such as national parks, beaches and volcanoes. Among the actions to be undertaken in this regard stresses the signing of an agreement with the production company Small World Productions, to film a documentary about Costa Rica and its National Park System. The purpose is to position the country in the minds of travelers, “prospects”, in this case the boomer market in North America.

Filming will be in charge of the famous presenter of the reports “Adventures with Purpose” Richard Bangs. Bangs made documentaries such countries as Morocco, Egypt, Norway and India.  But promotion there does not end there. The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) is clinched the negotiations to hire an advertising agency in the United States to launch a new campaign in this market.

Without saying the name of the firm, Maria Amalia Revelo, director of marketing and promotion of ICT, said the firm has great experience, it ran a campaign to Orlando from $ 60 million. I will go out next week (this week for the readers) to take the final meetings, I hope we can bring you good news, so that in 2011 we have a new campaign in the U.S. and Canada, said.

The latest ad released on the market was “No Artificial Ingredients” 12 years ago, since then only have made some changes.  Also recently established ICT partnerships with the National Aquarium in Baltimore and Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, where visitors will be educated on the biodiversity of Costa Rica.

For example, the National Aquarium will promote the country in two different editions of Watermarks, the Aquarium’s official magazine distributed to over 35 thousand customers.

Also at the Cinema 4-D attraction, fun facts will show commercials spots of Costa Rica and the country from 30 to 60 seconds.

Something similar will perform the Zoo in its quarterly magazine Zoo View, with over 75 thousand readers.Beyond the continent, the ICT managed hiring a agency of public relations to seek position itself more strongly in Europe.

Not yet chosen what would be, but is expected to have certain requirements, such as offices in the four major European countries: England, Germany, France and Spain. Also have experience in tourism and its customers should not be left to Costa Rica.

Another initiative to improve the promotion and marketing of the country is the creation of a new ICT website. To do this Institute visited more than 100 websites of countries in the world to know what they offer. The intention is that potential tourists feel great attraction to this website.

Extreme Sports Costa Rica

San Jose – The tourism sector in Costa Rica aims to close the year of 2010 to the attention of some two million foreign visitors.

Official figures show that from January to June the different tourist destinations in the country attended to 1.12 million foreign vacationers.

To keep expanding the authorities will try to conquer new markets and boost innovative methods such as conference tourism, extreme sports and health.

In this regard, the government is working on an initiative to grant tourist visas to Chinese citizens who already have them in countries like Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.

Costa Rica largest Butterfly observatory at Turu Ba Ri Nature & Adventure Park

Costa Rica is world wide famous for protecting its flora and fauna. Butterflies are not an exception.

Having developed many Butterfly Farms in the past fifteen years, Costa Rica attracts tourists from all over the world. There exists about 20,000 butterfly species worldwide. Of these, about 1,000 or 5% can be found in Costa Rica.

The screened gardens are wonderful chances to learn about butterfly ecology and observe the winged creatures up close. One large butterfly farm is located about an hour from San José at Turu Ba Ri Nature Park and makes a good day trip since included the entrance by the aerial tram and a guided tour to the rest park attractions’.

About Butterflies…

Butterflies are insects that have four wings, two compound eyes of various parts and six legs. Most butterflies live approximately 3 weeks and they move their wings at a velocity between 460 and 630 beats per minute.

Approximately 90% of the butterfly species in Central America exist in Costa Rica, nearly 66% of neo-tropical butterflies and about 18% of all butterfly species of the world.

The Life Cycle of the Butterfly

Egg: The female butterfly deposits its eggs on the host plant. The egg is the most vulnerable period.

Larva: From the egg is born a caterpillar which eats only vegetable matter, digests, and grows over a period of 10-60 days. During this time they shed their skin (molt) four to six times.

Pupa or Chrysalis: When fully grown, the caterpillar hangs itself from a branch or leaf of a host plant and undergoes its final molt. When fully developed, the chrysalis changes color and splits within one to two days into the adult.

Also among the nine destinations with the best night views

In a survey recently released concerning the best vacation destinations in the world, Costa Rica was ranked one of them. At another survey was rank nine among the best night views.

Tourists that visit Costa Rica are invited to lose some sleep. The web site Msnbc.com, in the Travel Destinations section, recommends the marine turtle nesting on Costa Rican beaches as one of the nine unique night spectacles in the world; worth staying up for, at least for one night.

“Spending a night watching these endangered creatures and carefully preparing for the arrival of their young is a once in a lifetime experience,” highlights the source, which suggested going to the Corcovado National Park and Tortuguero National Park between October and March.

The list of best night spectacles, including natural attractions, as is the case with Costa Rica, are the cities that come alive at night time with respect to their architecture, engineering, nightlife, and others: Amsterdam, Paris, and Las Vegas

The Msnbc.com article can be seen in English at this link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38558095/ns/travel-destination_travel/

In an online survey conducted earlier last month, the second most popular national park among visitors was the smallest national park in the country – Manuel Antonio National Park and Beaches. It was mostly praised for its fantastic beaches, amazing trails, wide variety of wildlife and plants, and coral reefs. This place is also known to have more monkeys than people. The survey revealed that the majority of Costa Rica vacations include a trip to this national park.

Meanwhile, despite the fact that Costa Rica is well known for its magnificent zip lines, whitewater rafting is continuously becoming one of its main attractions. Costa Rica has more locations for whitewater rafting than any other country in Central America.

The Tourism Department also said that every year, they see more and more tourists searching for the countries whitewater rafting sites.

The government is working hand in hand with private groups and travel agencies to promote the preservation of the tourist spots and the promotion of Costa Rica vacations in the country, as tourism is considered one of the major contributors in Costa Rica’s revenue.

The famous swimmer will start its journey at about 7 am, leaving and returning to the Hotel Los Heroes, in the community of the Union of Arenal, near La Fortuna, San Carlos.

The world-renowned, Martin Strel, The Big River Man, swim on Wednesday 29 September at Lake Arenal, calling for the protection of water sources, biodiversity and the environment.

The initiative is part of the activities of the First International Environmental Film Festival: environmental criteria developed in Costa Rica between September 24 and October 1 in La Fortuna de San Carlos.

Criterio Ambiental es impulsado por El Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) y el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) en Costa Rica.

Environmental approach is driven by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Costa Rica.

Strel, Slovenian, 56, holds several Guinness World Records for his travels in the Yellow River in China, the Mississippi River, the River Danube, among many others of the world’s most dangerous rivers.

There are four species of monkeys that are found in Costa Rica. Some are more common than others, though all types can be seen in the wild.

Mantled Howler Monkey, the Loudest Primate in Central America

The mantled howler (Alouatta palliata) is a larger, noisier monkey found in many forested parts of the country. Known locally as the “congo,” the male of this primate is capable of letting out a howl, or roar that can be heard for a couple of miles, when it wants to locate other males. Howlers are all black, with some lighter colored mantles, which are their sides, which have longer, golden-colored hairs. Mature males have large, white scrotums, by which they can easily be identified. Males generally weigh close to 16 lbs, while females average around 11 lbs.

Howler monkeys are very common in different forested environments in Costa Rica, particularly close to the Pacific Ocean. They, like other monkeys, feed mainly on vegetation, eating mostly plant leaves.

It is also the third species of monkey which is listed as an endangered animal in Central. The “Mono Congo” is listed as endangered from Mexico right into South America but it is listed as legally protected and groups exist in nature reserves right across Central America.

Shore excursions tours in Puntarenas Costa Rica for Princess Cruises’ passengers

Coral Princess will dock next October 12^th, 2010 and Island Princess will arrive into Puntarenas next Octuber 13^th, 2010

Coral & Island cruises both from Princess Cruise Line, are docking at Puntarenas Costa Rica on October 12^th and October 13th, 2010. If you are cruising on this ship and still looking for tours, let us recommend you to visit Turu Ba Ri Park, one of the most popular attractions in Puntarenas Costa Rica, just 30 miles from the port.

By booking online with us you can enjoy our Nature Guided Tour with lunch, Aerial Tram and Transportation with bilingual guided for just US $89.00 (check our shore excursion tours) and if you like to add the Zip line tour your price will be just US $109.00. Only US $20.00 more when you book it in advance and $34.00 if you decide to add at the Park. If you do not really like nature and prefer a tour which includes only adventure tours, you can do for the same price, US $109.00 including two adventure to choose from Canopy tour (Zip line tour), Horseback Riding and/or Superman Zip line, another kind of zip line and unique at Turu Ba Ri Park.

As you may see; Turu Ba Ri Park offers very competitive prices and also offers families friendly Attractions. Our shore excursions tours include transportation, buffet style lunch and bilingual guide from pier’s main gate; you just relax and enjoy the journey in our secure and comfortable A/C vans. Professional and friendly guides will take care of you!

We can also arrange private transportation alternative with an extra cost in case you are traveling with some friends and relatives and would prefer this kind of service.

Please feel free to reserve your Costa Rica Shore Excursion Tours directly with us here online. Also if you have any questions or need help with anything else regarding Costa Rica, just send us an email at info(at)turubari.com and we will assist you in any way we can.

The Turu Ba Ri Team
Nature and Adventure Park Costa Rica

Apple Vacations announces new exclusive vacation flights to Costa Rica from Chicago‘s O’Hare Airport on USA3000 Airlines.  Nonstop flights to Liberia depart Fri. mornings with a Fri. night return, operating Jan. 14 – April 22, 2011.

A 7-night fly/drive self-guided tour starts from $1299.99 per person, including roundtrip air, a four-wheel drive rental car, seven nights hotel and a variety of meals.  This popular option allows vacationers to see the magical interior of Costa Rica — including waterfalls, volcanoes and monkeys — at their own pace.

For those who prefer to base themselves in the Guanacaste beach area, 7 nights at the deluxe RIU Guanacaste starts from $1499.99, including roundtrip air, hotel transfers and all meals and drinks.  Additional hotels featured include Occidental, Barcelo, Paradisus, Hilton and Marriott.

Apple Vacations is also offering three- and four-night escorted tours to the Arenal Volcano and Monteverde areas designed to be combined with a Guanacaste beach hotel stay at the end.

“We are excited to offer a new destination to sell this winter,” said Mark Noennig, General Manager and Vice President of Apple Vacations.  “Guanacaste, Costa Rica is a great destination with a wide variety of hotels and outstanding excursions. It truly has something for everyone.”

In addition to its new charter program, Apple is offering a year-round, scheduled air program from departure cities nationwide into Liberia as well as San Jose. The San Jose program features five escorted tours, a variety of optional day tours, and city stays in San Jose followed by optional stays on the beach in Puntarenas or Manuel Antonio.

Costa Rica attracts everyone; from eco-tourists looking for adventure, to couples desiring a romantic beach getaway, to families seeking fun-filled days. Hiking, fishing, bird watching, canopy tours, mountain biking and white water rafting are popular activities in this incredible country. Costa Rica prides itself on being the happiest and greenest country in the world.

About Apple Vacations: For 40 years, Apple Vacations, America’s Favorite Vacation Company, has provided affordable, top quality vacation packages from U.S. departure cities nationwide to vacation destinations throughout Mexico, the Caribbean, Hawaii and Europe, as well top US ski resorts. With the support of travel agents, Apple Vacations has delivered more passengers to Mexico and the Dominican Republic than any other North American tour operator. Apple Vacations is consistently voted “Best Tour Operator to Mexico” by readers of the leading travel trade magazines.

Starting in November will operate a direct flight between Düsseldorf and Liberia

The Germans are the ones who travel and spend more on holiday

Costa Rica flirts with German travelers, trying to captivate them to visit the tourist destinations. Costa Rica recently reached an agreement with the company TUI, a European tour operator that already has included Costa Rica in its flight path. As part of the agreement the authorities of Costa Rica have committed to invest a large sum of money on promotion.

The main reason for the search of the German market because it is the population most traveled worldwide and spends more money on average on vacation. Starting in November will open a charter flight from Düsseldorf, a city in western Germany, to Daniel Oduber Airport in Liberia, Costa Rica.

The negotiation was conducted by the authorities of the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), with the travel company TUI, which has its own airline with 250 passenger ships. The airline will operate one flight on Saturdays from 6 November. The agreement is for six months, but it is possible that expanded, depending on the acceptance that has Costa Rica among the Germans. To appeal to the Germans, the ICT will invest $ 200 thousand in a promotion campaign in Germany of the main destinations of the country.

“The arrival of this flight benefits us much because the Germans are among the top two tourists in the world along with the Japanese,” said Carlos Ricardo Benavides, Minister of Tourism. The Germans, due to their cultural characteristics, which generate foreign exchange and the time they spend on their holidays, are among the most important tourist in the world. Each Teutonic spends on average $ 1,400 and16 nights sleeping. In contrast, the U.S., the main market for Costa Rica in terms of quantity of visitors, leaves an average of $ 1,100 and stays 11.5 nights.

In addition, the Germans are the most traveled nationality in the world, there are 80 million Germans and they produce 70 million trips per year. For this reason the largest tourism fair of the world is in Berlin, said Maria Amalia Revelo, director of marketing and promotion of ICT.

The earthquake was felt in several parts of Costa Rica

According to the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI) the quake had a magnitude of 5.3 degrees on the Richter scale

The epicenter was 17 kilometers southeast of Cóbano, entrance to the Gulf of Nicoya, Guanacaste. Occurred at a depth of 15 kilometers. According to Marino Protti from the OVSICORI the earthquake event occurred in the same place where it originated in 1990 the last Cóbano earthquake.

Ana Kournikova and Ashley Hakleroad are also coming

Next Saturday is the expected match as part of the Andre Agassi Farewell Tour at the Alajuela stadium in Costa Rica.

Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras; two of the best tennis players in the world will meet this Saturday in Costa Rica, the formers champions and their entourage will arrive tomorrow to San José.

Morera Soto Stadium will be the setting of another date of the Andre Agassi Farewell Tour, where these two players will duel again in search of victory, as they have done already in several countries

Along with them will arrive Anna Kournikova and Ashley Hakleroad, who completed the show with a game of doubles, an unforgettable night for Costa Rica tennis lovers.

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TOKYO, Sep. 15, 2010 (Kyodo News International) — Visiting Costa Rican Foreign Minister Rene Castro called Wednesday for Japanese assistance in achieving the country’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2021, saying his nation needs technologies for environment-friendly vehicles and financial aid.

Castro, who visited factories of Nissan Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. during his four-day trip through Wednesday, said in an interview with Kyodo News that the main obstacle to realizing the target is the transportation sector.

“We are as bad as the United States. We have one car for every three citizens. It’s too many cars,” the foreign minister said. “We need to improve mass transportation. We need cleaner fuels like electric vehicles and hybrids.”

The Central American country pledged in 2007 to cut its net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2021 to become the first carbon neutral country in the world. Norway also aims to get rid of its heat-trapping gas emissions in net terms by 2030.

Castro said his country has made efforts to stop deforestation and increase energy generated from renewable sources and that the nation now needs support from the world to improve other sectors including transportation.

The minister said he expects Japanese automakers to use Costa Rica “as a laboratory” in marketing their environment-friendly vehicles. Since the nation has hilly areas, it would help the manufacturers to test the performance of their products, he added.

Castro, who has headed Costa Rican delegations in the past U.N. climate talks, said he is rather pessimistic about the outcome of the next U.N. climate conference in Mexico, with lingering negative effects of the global economic crisis and uncertainties in the U.S. political conditions following the mid-term election.

The upcoming climate talks will be held in Cancun in late November and early December. Castro said if the meeting fails to agree on technical and financial aid to help developing countries combat climate change, it would take much time for Costa Rica to fulfill its carbon neutral goal.

Costa Rica’s Christiana Figueres currently serves as the chief of the U.N. climate change secretariat.

Castro later met with his Japanese counterpart Katsuya Okada and agreed that the two countries will cooperate with each other for the success of the Cancun meeting.

In the interview, the Costa Rican minister stressed the need for Japan and his country to support Pacific and Caribbean island nations that are vulnerable to the impact of climate change

Do forget to enjoy Costa Rica Canopy Tours on your next visit to Costa Rica.

MONTREAL. This winter, Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations will boost capacity and frequency, to offer seven new non-stop routings and an expanded choice of popular holiday sun destinations including 48 additional flights a week to the U.S., the Caribbean, Mexico and Costa Rica.

Air Canada and its package tour operator Air Canada Vacations said yesterday they will add seven sun destinations this winter as well as 48 flights a week to the United States, the Caribbean, Mexico and Costa Rica. Included in the service will be a weekly Thursday flight between Montreal and Cozumel, Mexico; renewed daily service between Montreal and Mexico City; a weekly Monday flight to Liberia, Costa Rica; an added Sunday departure from Montreal to West Palm Beach; and Saturday and Sunday flights to Phoenix, Ariz.

Air Canada offers a subsidiary service of charter flights called Air Canada Sun Vacations, and it is here that one of the destinations became Costa Rica. Air Canada has always flown to Costa Rica however there has never been a charter service of direct flights at exceptionally lower fares than average.

Air Canada announced that they will be offering 48 flights a week to Costa Rica including to the newly expanded and renovated, Liberia International airport in Guanacaste

The Montreal – Liberia, Costa Rica Flight Information is the following:

Montreal – Liberia, Costa Rica – New Air Canada flight departing Mondays onboard 120-seat Airbus A319 aircraft

Do forget to enjoy Costa Rica Canopy Tours on your next visit to Costa Rica.

(Reuters) – Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday raised Costa Rica’s credit ratings to investment-grade status, saying the country proved it is able to manage external shocks while avoiding a balance-of-payment crisis

The ratings agency upgraded Costa Rica’s government bond rating to Baa3 from Ba1. The outlook on the new rating is stable.

According to Moody’s, the ratio of Costa Rica’s public debt to gross domestic product fell to around 43% last year, from levels above 60% a few years ago. A similar improvement has been seen in other government debt metrics, suggesting a considerably improved ability to service debt obligations.

Moody’s anticipates that over the next couple of years, a reversal of the recent fiscal deterioration will lead to further debt consolidation. Given that the expenditure increase observed in recent years has a permanent component, a tax reform or other revenue-enhancing measures will be necessary.

Additionally, Costa Rica’s ability to navigate through the global crisis relatively unscathed revealed an increased credit resilience, Moody’s said. The economy experienced only a brief and shallow recession last year and is now recovering. Significant capital outflows and pressure on the nation’s currency during the crisis didn’t compromise the nation’s external position, and in Moody’s view, the episode was an important stress test.

Costa Rica’s president, Laura Chinchilla, was selected by the prestigious U.S. Time Magazine as one of the top 10 female leaders of the world

The first woman who reached the presidency in Costa Rica is situated at number 10 at the list, preceded by other rulers like Julia Gillard, the first woman elected as prime minister of Australia, Cristina Fernandez, Argentina’s president, and Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany.

The online publication highlights the president of Costa Rica as a promoter of foreign investment and free trade, as well as remembering your resume former Minister of Public Security and former vice president of the country.

Time also described Chinchilla as a conservative political line, who is opposed to marriage between persons of the same sex, the legalization of abortion and emergency contraception.

“It’s a great honor for us to Time Magazine, not only to me but to our country and its commitment to gender equity,” Chinchilla said through a press release, after learning of the publication.

“It is a great pleasure, but also thanks to Costa Rica, with all women and men who fought to make it possible for Costa Rica now has a woman president,” the ruling.

Chinchilla said he has a strong commitment to the country to do good work, and invite the Costa Ricans to return a woman to trust the country’s destiny.

Laura Chinchilla became the first woman to the presidency of Costa Rica last February, after reaching 47 percent of the vote and took a considerable advantage over their rivals.