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COSTA RICAThe world’s progressive,

green economy This supplement to USA TODAY was produced by United World Ltd.: Suite 179, 34 Buckingham Palace Road London SW1W 0RH - Tel: 44 20 7409 3106 - [email protected] - www.unitedworld-usa.com

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Famous for its beaches,biodiversity, and envi-ronmentally friendlyoutlook, Costa Rica is agreat deal more than

just a paradisiacal vacationdestination. Besides beinghome to Central Amer-ica’s most literate andlongevous population,Costa Rica also boaststhe region’s largest mid-dle class, oldest democra-cy, and most stableeconomy. And it’s one of theworld’s foremost renewableenergy leaders, to boot.

“Costa Rica is a country thathas always dreamed big. His-tory has proven that despiteour small size, and although weare located in a region charac-terized by conflict, we havesurprised the world in variousmoments of our history,” saysLaura Chinchilla, President ofCosta Rica.

Sworn in on May 8, 2010,Mrs. Chinchilla served as oneof two vice-presidents underOscar Arias’ (winner of the 1987Nobel Peace Prize) second ad-ministration. Her policies con-tinue in line with his, and she hasset definite goals to reach by 2021,the year Costa Rica celebratesits 200th anniversary of inde-pendence. These include reach-ing electricity production from100% renewable sources and be-coming one of the most devel-oped countries in Latin America.

Having officially disbandedthe army in 1949, the Costa Ri-can education and healthcaresystems have enjoyed a largershare of the budget, leading to thedevelopment of a well-educatedand healthy nation. According tothe Happy Planet Index 2.0, Cos-ta Rica is also the happiest andgreenest country, with the high-est life satisfaction, in the world.

The nation’s well-educatedworkforce coupled with a longhistory of political stability havecontributed greatly to attractingforeign investment, which in turnhas triggered steady economicgrowth. GDP growth averaged6% in the several years runningup to 2009, when it shrank 2% asa result of the global recession.The economy has also under-gone a transformation over thepast few decades, with the rise ofhigh-tech industries outpacingagriculture – though coffee,pineapples, and bananas still re-main powerful contributors tothe country’s economic stability.

Another factor of Costa Ri-ca’s business magnetism is its en-vironmental policy, consideredby many a definite competitiveadvantage. The extractive in-dustries are allowed to play on-ly a tiny role in the economy, and

the government has been play-ing this card to attract FDI inmore non-polluting and high-earning sectors, such as the pro-duction of high-tech equipmentand medical components. Theseare then exported to over 100countries, thanks in large part toa growing number of free tradeagreements.

“We are one of the biggest ex-porters per capita in Latin Amer-ica,” says Melvin Saenz Biolley, theCosta Rican ambassador toNicaragua, “and we have devel-oped a network of commercialtreaties that is affording us accessto our fundamental partners, aswell as to the areas of greatestgrowth and importance in the in-ternational economy.”

Costa Rica’s relations withthe United States have longbeen healthy. Luis Liberman,Second Vice President, states:“This relationship is the mostimportant one we have polit-ically, financially, and com-mercially… Our relations arefriendly and strong.”

Back in the 1980s, whenmuch of Latin America wasin political turmoil and theglobal commodities crisisparalyzed many economies,the U.S. stepped in with theCaribbean Basin Initiative(CBI) – a unilateral tradeprogram that facilitatedexports from the region’scountries – and virtual-ly rescued the Costa Ri-can economy, which atthe time was heavily re-liant on commodities

such as coffee, bananas, andmeat. The CBI was a tool that“allowed Costa Rica to trans-form its economy from an im-port substitution economyinto an export one…helpingthese countries in general, andCosta Rica in particular, to de-velop the economy, resolvesocial problems, and grow andintegrate into the world mar-ket,” explains Luis Gamboa,president of AmCham in Cos-ta Rica.

The only Latin Americancountry included in theWorld’s Oldest Democracieslist, Costa Rica is grabbingglobal bullish problems suchas climate change by thehorns, and facing its ownfaults head on. The state ispromoting more technolo-gy-oriented education,stricter policies concerningdrug trafficking, and moreinvestment in transportationinfrastructure.

All in all, this green oasisof unspoiled beauty, safety,and high productivity awaitsinvestors and tourists alike.

Costa Rica’s firstwoman president,Laura Chinchillawon by a landslidevictory in February2010. Her vision isto transform thecountry into themost productiveand developed onein the whole ofLatin America

This report is available at

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Many countries claim to befriends of the environment, set-ting aside land for natural parks,passing legislation to cut backon CO2 emissions, and drop-ping the term ‘sustainable de-velopment’ right and left untilit practically loses its meaning.

Costa Rica, however, hadbeen practicing what it preach-es since long before politiciansin most countries had evenpenciled the environment in-to their agenda.

Twenty years ago, for exam-ple, Costa Rica proposed to setaside 25% of the land for theconservation of biodiversity.Alfio Piva, First Vice Presidentof Costa Rica, reminisces, “Peo-ple thought we were crazy; theydidn’t see the use of saving thebirds, for example. But do you

know how many people cometo see our birds? A quarter ofall tourists. Studies have shownthat Costa Rica has greateravian diversity than Mexico,the U.S., and Canada com-bined, and more than all ofAfrica! Imagine that, in a coun-try as small as ours.”

The idea of sustainable de-velopment also emerged inCosta Rica 20 years ago, an endto which the government hasbeen making tremendousgains.

The country intends to becarbon neutral by 2021, theyear it celebrates its bicenten-nial of independence. Alreadyproducing over 90% of its elec-tricity from renewable sources,the peaceful Central Americannation is well on its way to

achieving this goal, one thatmost developing countrieswould take several decades toreach.

Going to the green extremecan also bring in investment,according to Anne Andrew,U.S. ambassador to Costa Ri-ca and environmental lawyer.“I have long worked in the areaof conservation and clean en-ergy, and there is no country onthe globe that is as committedto conservation and clean en-ergy as Costa Rica is,” she says.“Costa Rica has made a com-mitment to being carbon neu-tral by 2021, and I think thatcommitment certainly opensup business opportunities inthe area of clean energy here.”

Furthermore, First Vice Pres-ident Piva says that Costa Rica

is the only country in the worldthat complies with the KyotoProtocol. “The signatories of Ky-oto guarantee that we’ll main-tain our emissions at the levelthey were in 1990, and CostaRica is well below that. This issomething the Costa Ricanshave self-imposed, as we believeit is a challenge that is both pos-sible and interesting: we’ve doneeconomic calculations andwe’ve seen that it’s not an ex-pense but rather a benefit forthe country. It’s possible to main-tain CO2 neutral developmentat 5%,” he comments.

Costa Rican ambassador toNicaragua, Melvin Saenz Biol-ley agrees. “We have an ethicalcommitment to protecting theenvironment. It also happensto be good business.”

Costa Rica’s forests certain-ly play a part in keeping carbondioxide in check, and ratherthan losing ground to indus-trialization and urbanization,forests now cover more thanhalf the territory, in contrast tojust one-fifth in the 1980s.

Although this is a direct con-sequence of many years’ worthof reforestation efforts, CostaRica’s forests can also sing vic-tory thanks, interestingly, tothe millions of dollars of debtthe country has accrued withthe U.S.

This debt-for-nature swap isa program made possible bythe Tropical Forest Conserva-tion Act of 1998 and forgivesthe debts of foreign countries.In exchange, the debtor mustspend an agreed amount to re-

store and preserve tropicalrainforests. With two debt-for-nature swaps under way, Cos-ta Rica and the U.S. will investmore than US$50 million inconservation over the next 15years, making Costa Rica thesingle largest beneficiary of thisprogram.

“Costa Rica is a model forthe world when it comes to in-vesting in conservation and re-ducing greenhouse gasemissions, which are key to ad-dressing climate change,” saysMrs. Andrew. “I would en-courage people to come andvisit and observe the wondrousbeauty of Costa Rica first hand.Hopefully they will leave witha much greater commitmentto what we can all do towardsustainable development.”

Living and breathing sustainabilityCosta Rica is the poster child for sustainable development and environmental conservation, having pioneered the concept decades ago and made phenomenal progress in the area

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Distributed by USA TODAYMonday, January 31, 201122 COSTA RICA

Central America’sbest-sellerCosta Rica boasts a tremendously diversified portfolio of exports and markets, thanksto numerous FTAs, incentivizing policies, and overall competitiveness

Costa Rica is renowned for itsbeautiful beaches, aromaticcoffee, and its biodiversity, yetperhaps surprisingly it is alsoa dynamic export and pro-gressively value-added manu-facturing and service-basedeconomy.

The paradisiacal country hasdiversified both its exports andits markets to the extent that to-day it exports more than 4,000products to 140 countries,thanks to numerous FTAs.Over the past 25 years, CostaRica has signed FTAs with ma-jor markets, including the U.S.,Mexico, Chile, the Caribbean,and Canada. Recently, it signedan FTA with China, making itthe third Latin American coun-try after Peru and Chile to havethis kind of arrangement withthe Asian giant.

In per capita terms, ac-cording to Monica Araya ofCadexco (the Chamber of Ex-porters), Costa Rica is LatinAmerica’s second largest ex-porter after Chile. RemoveChile’s copper from the equa-tion, and Costa Rica shoots tothe top of the list.

Exports of goods and ser-vices totaled over 43% of GDPin 2009, and it was the UnitedStates that was on the receiv-ing end of nearly 24% of theseexports, making it by far Cos-ta Rica’s most important trad-

ing partner. While two-waytrade between the two coun-tries exceeded US$9.6 billion in2009, Costa Rica’s total exportsbrought in US$8.8 billion. Pres-ident Laura Chinchilla has setthe country the task to reachthe target of US$17 billion by2014, an ambitious goal yet notoverly so given the growing listof free trade agreements(FTAs), the rising number ofcompanies who are establish-ing operations here, and theinvestment mechanisms inplace, such as the free tradezones. Moreover, the govern-ment, especially through enti-ties like Cadexco, is working toraise competitiveness throughtraining.

“In order to link FDI with na-tional investment, it’s vital tohave in place an attractive for-eign investment policy, besideshaving legal mechanisms. I be-lieve we’ve done an excellent jobat, especially regarding our freezone laws,” comments MonicaAraya, president of Cadexco.

A large chunk of recent for-eign investment has flowed in-to the free trade zones. Intel setup a microprocessor facility,which alone was responsiblefor one-fifth of Costa Rica’s ex-ports and nearly 5% of GDP in2006. Intel’s US$2 billion Cos-ta Rican complex is the com-pany’s third largest, after two

other installations in Asia. In-tel, along with the many otherforeign companies – mostlyfrom the U.S. – who call thesefree zones home, have turnedhigh-tech manufacturing, es-pecially in electronics and med-ical equipment, into CostaRica’s biggest export industry.According to the World Bank,the tiny Central Americancountry is impressively thefourth biggest high-tech ex-porter in the world.

In line with this trend ofknowledge-based industries,Costa Rica’s wealth of biodi-versity is an area where Mrs.Araya sees great potential forfuture investment.

“We’ve got a biodiversity thatcould contribute value addi-tion, not just to sustainabletourism, but also to researchand development,” she says.“We could create productsbased on this biodiversity inthe realm of bio-commerce andnanotechnology, for example.”

Of course, Costa Rica’s na-ture and beauty also help toinadvertently attract investors,especially from the U.S.

“The tropical heat, the warmwelcome, and the people aresome of the main reasons whyNorth Americans visit. Someof them come for the tourism,and end up doing business,”says Mrs. Araya.

Satisfied investors in a green economyRecipient of US$1.3 billion in FDI annually, Costa Rica outpaces China, Brazil, and Mexicoin FDI per capita. Free trade zones, stability, and quality human capital are major factors

Small yet prodigious, humbleyet outstanding, and ambitiousyet ethical, Costa Rica is hometo such talent and stability thatit’s become a sort of CentralAmerican Mecca for foreigninvestment. And it is this in-vestment that has helped thecountry’s economy grow con-sistently stronger over the pastfew decades.

Once the world – and espe-cially the United States – tooknotice of this little slice of landbetween the Pacific and theCaribbean that renounced astanding army, fully espousedthe tenets of democracy, andtook up the banner of envi-ronmental conservation, theeconomy underwent a trans-formation from a commoditiesmarket to an export-driven onewith increasingly higher valueadded products and services.

Leading global players in thehigh-tech industry have founda safe, and not to mention ex-tremely lovely, home in CostaRica, where the work force isflexible, eager to learn, highly ed-ucated, and less expensive com-pared to the U.S. and Europe.

“The superior quality of life,highly prepared professionals,and very advanced business in-telligence here marked CostaRica as the ideal place to baseour operations,” comments Es-teban Echavarria Cano, coun-try manager of Kimberly-Clark.

Arturo Velasco, countrymanager at Hewlett-Packard isof similar mind: “Thanks to thecompetitive advantages wefound in Costa Rica, we wentfrom just 120 employees to over6,500 in about seven years.”

Like a consummate actorwho’s earned the luxury of be-ing able to pick and choose rolesat his whim, Costa Rica has nar-rowed down the kind of in-dustry it welcomes. Accordingto Rene Castro, Minister of For-eign Affairs, this is an earnedprivilege that contrasts with thecountry’s investment policiesof the 1960s and 70s, when themain goal was to attract in-vestment at nearly any price.

“Costa Rica is selective inboth the kind of tourism it at-tracts as well as the industry itinvites. I say selective becausewe require that a business notonly perform well economi-cally but also socially and envi-ronmentally,” he explains. “Thecountry is quite open to thosecompanies who’ve adoptedgood corporate social respon-sibility practices.”

Those investors who seek themost convenient and effectivepath into Costa Rica go throughCINDE, the Costa Rica Invest-ment Promotion Agency, anon-governmental and non-profit institution that is con-sidered among the best 10investment promotion agen-cies worldwide.

According to Jose Rossi, pres-ident of CINDE, the agencyconstantly seeks out investmentopportunities. Once a potentialinvestor makes contact, CINDEprepares their work agenda,sets up appointments with rel-evant government entities andorganizations, as well as with al-ready established companiesso that the interested party can

see and hear first hand of theirexperiences and results. CINDEthen organizes the necessaryauthorizations, applications,and other paperwork a newbusiness requires to get start-ed. In the third stage, which Mr.Rossi calls ‘after care’, CINDE isavailable if the investor shouldneed any further help, whetherit be with important issues orsimply day-to-day operations.

The kind of investmentCINDE strives to attract is in theknowledge-based sectors.“CINDE has worked proac-tively in the sector of medicalequipment, advanced manu-facturing of high-tech, and inservices,” says Mr. Rossi. “Ourgoal is to maintain this focus

and initiate programs to seekout investment in the fields ofclean energy technologies,biotech, and robotics.”

Though a far cry from thecoffee and banana-based econ-omy from just a few decadesago, Costa Rica’s innovation andhigh-tech industry is gainingmomentum thanks to foreigninvestment. “I see Costa Rica asthe future Silicon Valley of Cen-tral America,” claims HP’s Ar-turo Velasco. Or as Juan PabloConsuegra, general manager ofMicrosoft in Costa Rica, says,“Costa Rica is open to the world,investing in innovation, usingscience and technology to pro-pel its economy.”

Today, there are 55 compa-nies employing more than13,000 people in advancedmanufacturing, and over 9,000employees working in 31 com-panies that produce medicalequipment.

Of the sectors that Costa Ri-ca has targeted for greater de-velopment, energy, telecoms,and infrastructure are the onesthat require the greatest in-vestment. Luis Gamboa of theAmerican Chamber of Com-merce (AmCham) in Costa Ri-ca explains, “Energy becauseCosta Rica needs to double itselectricity generation in the next10 years and that requiresUS$10 billion in investment.Telecoms, which was recentlyopened to private investment,will need a similar amount inthe next decade. Over the nextfive years, about US$5 billionwill be needed in infrastruc-ture development,” he says.“However, Costa Rica is also anexcellent place to establish man-ufacturing, high-tech, servicecenters, and software, film, andvideo production, among oth-er things.”

Costa Rica knows that inorder to enjoy continued eco-nomic growth, foreign in-vestment will becomeincreasingly important. Nev-ertheless, it remains unwa-vering in its commitment tosustainable development, ac-cording to Luis Liberman,Second Vice President of Cos-ta Rica. “Costa Rica is open forbusiness to companies andinvestors who are interestedin sharing in our dream of de-veloping and growing in har-mony with nature. We areonly interested in sustainablegrowth and we want to takeadvantage of our greatest re-source: our people,” he says.

Costa Rica’s social and politicalstability has much to do with itseconomy, which has changedwith the times, moving from aprimarily agricultural base to adiversified economy with in-creasingly important knowl-edge-based sectors.

Today, the government is dis-cussing taking this one step fur-ther, pushing for a transitionfrom ‘made in Costa Rica’ to-wards ‘created in Costa Rica’.

While coffee, bananas, andpineapples are still huge com-modity exports, financial andtourism-related services, alongwith light manufacturing ofelectronics, software, medicalequipment and pharmaceuti-cals, are gaining momentum,thanks in large part to the coun-try’s free trade zones and tradeagreements that have lured inand satisfied global giants suchas Intel and Acer.

It has only been in the past25 years, however, that CostaRica has opened up and expe-rienced noticeably strong eco-nomic development andgrowing integration with theglobal economy. And althoughit didn’t make it through theworld economic downturn un-scathed, Costa Rica is makinga steady recovery, with GDPgrowth at over 3.5% for 2010.Forecasts for 2011 place growth

closer to 4%. Worthy of note isCosta Rica’s high level of foreigninvestment, which has not fall-en in spite of the recession.

Accounting for more thantwo-thirds of FDI, as well asnearly half of Costa Rica’s im-ports, exports, and tourism ar-rivals, the U.S. is by far theCentral American country’smost important trading partner.

Below, Minister of EconomyMayi Antillon discusses CostaRica’s economic goals and therole that small and medium en-terprises (SMEs) and the coun-try’s foreign trade agreements(FTAs) play in the economy.

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It’s important to highlightthat Costa Rica has been in-vesting heavily in education formany years now. And this in-vestment has afforded us ex-cellent human capital andthereby greater visibility in thebusiness world.

Among our most relevant ef-forts from recent years you’llfind we’ve signed several FTAswith important markets. Al-though we’ve focused mainlyon the United States, we haven’t

ignored countries like Panama,who despite being our next doorneighbor, historically hasn’t beenas close to us economically aswe would have liked. Our nextsteps led us to the EuropeanUnion and China, where we’vepresented a solid image of Cos-ta Rica as a country wheredemocracy reigns and whereeach and every day we work to-wards the preservation of theenvironment.

President Chinchilla is push-ing an ambitious policy to at-tempt to convert Costa Ricainto one of the region’s mostdeveloped countries by the timewe reach our 200th anniver-sary, in 2021, and she’s startingby encouraging and helpingSMEs to take their place in theglobal market. We are an ex-porting country with an im-pressive diversity of products;a country that has moved onfrom exporting commoditiesto high added value products,such as our Intel chips.

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Having an FTA with the Unit-ed States has served as a valu-able cover letter for us in ourdealings with other countries.The fact that a country as smallas ours is able to negotiate withthe superpowers has opened theway for agreements with the EU,China, and Singapore.

Foreign investment in Cos-ta Rica has helped supply theproducts, goods, and servicesthat we required, and Costa Ri-can companies – more oftenthan not SMEs – then begansupplying these foreign com-panies. This further proved thatall businesses, no matter theirsize, are capable of exportingdirectly or indirectly, and

through these efforts, we’remaking possible a social poli-cy that generates jobs of thehighest quality.

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We’ve opened up sectors,such as telecommunicationsand energy, both key to ourcountry’s development, to pri-vate investment. And the mostimportant thing here is thatwe’ve done it well, following amodel that demands trans-parency and allows new com-petitors to enter on a levelplaying field. The governmenthas also proven that our pub-lic and regulatory institution-al framework offers guaranteesand the right climate so thatparticipation is possible in allmarkets and sectors through-out the country.

We’d like to show Costa Ri-cans and the entire world thata country with just 4 millioninhabitants is capable ofreaching sustainable eco-nomic and social growth, inline with our objectives of re-maining neutral and that canoffer potential investors pa-rameters in every single area– labor, social, environmen-tal, economic, and politicalstability – that guaranteegood business.

A well-rounded economy open to the worldWhereas 50 years ago Costa Rica’s economy was based on fruit for local consumption and coffee for export, today it boasts global players in sectors as varied as the country’s biodiversity

‘WE ARE ANEXPORTINGCOUNTRY...THAT HAS MOVED ONFROM EXPORTINGCOMMODITIES TOHIGH ADDED VALUE PRODUCTS,SUCH AS OUR INTEL CHIPS’

MAYI ANTILLON, Minister of Economy

‘COSTA RICA ISSELECTIVE WHEN ITCOMES TO THE KINDOF TOURISM ANDINDUSTRIES ITWELCOMES...THECOUNTRY IS QUITEOPEN TO THOSECOMPANIES WHO’VEADOPTED GOOD CSRPRACTICES’RENE CASTRO, Minister of Foreign Affairs



Distributed by USA TODAY Monday, January 31, 2011 33

COSTA RICA

As part of the national drive todramatically improve the qual-ity of transportation links acrossthe country, last year the high-ways council, the Consejo Na-cional de Vialidad (Conavi),awarded 22 road maintenanceand paving contracts, repre-senting a total investment of 8billion colones (US$16 million).Of the 22 contracts, the devel-oper Hernán Solís was award-ed 17, with three going to Meco,one to Quebradores del Surand another to the consortiumOrosi–Siglo XXI.

“We must improve compet-itiveness, it is definitely whataffects us most,” says CarlosAcosta Monge, executive di-rector of Conavi. “Today theport and road infrastructure iswhat puts us at a disadvantagein terms of competitivenesswith other countries in the area,and clearly we have to sub-stantially improve this situa-tion. We also need to give alittle more support to thetourism sector and provide thenecessary elements to attracttourists.”

Conavi is in the process ofrecruiting domestic and for-eign companies from all overthe world, including China,Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Spain,Portugal and the U.S., to createstrategic corridors. Mr. Monge

says, “We already have the fund-ing to start on some of them.Our medium-term goal is tohave a strategic network that ishighly competitive and efficientto enable fast access to all partsof the country for visitors andinvestors. In a small countrylike ours it should not be sohard to have 10 good roads tolink all the different regions.”

For many years, Costa Ricalagged in the development ofits infrastructure, with the gov-ernment more focused on oth-er sectors such as educationand health.

“According to our latest study,we currently have a backlog ofUS$15 billion of investment in

road infrastructure. We needinvestment of US$20 billiondollars over the next 15 yearsto get to where we would liketo be. These figures are ex-tremely high for a country likeours,” says Mr. Monge.

The executive director be-lieves, however, that the na-tion’s infrastructure should beimproved without affectingCosta Rica’s focus on environ-mental protection. “As a coun-try, we have succeeded increating an ecological cultureat a nationwide level, in whichmore than 25% of our territo-ry is protected and dedicatedto the preservation of naturallife, which makes us an attrac-tive destination for the world.We hope to be a role model inthis area,” he says.

An effective and efficientroad system, connecting allparts of the country, is vital forthe nation’s development, notonly economically, but also so-cially. “Every inhabited part ofour country has road access –there is not a single village with-out it – and that is definitely,from a social developmentpoint of view, a very importantfact,” says Mr. Monge. “As JohnF. Kennedy said many years ago:‘It is not our wealth that builtour roads, but it is our roadsthat built our wealth.’”

Upgrades on track fordense road network

Greater public and private in-vestment in transportation in-frastructure is high on thegovernment’s agenda as it seeksto bring much needed im-provements to Costa Rica’s ne-glected road network. Years ofpoor maintenance and lack offunding, as well as heavy rain-falls and landslides, have takentheir toll on the state of the coun-try’s transport arteries.

Costa Rica contains morethan 21,000 miles of highways,of which only 12% are paved.Furthermore, travel on the ma-jority of the unpaid roads is near-ly impossible during the wetmonths of the year. Thereforethe country requires investmentin its transport infrastructure ifit is to maintain high economicgrowth. In recent years, only asmall proportion of governmentbudget – reportedly just 0.63%of GDP in 2007 – has been al-located to infrastructure, mostof which going on the country’sroads.

President Chinchilla sees in-frastructure as one of the keyareas that will boost the socialand economic development ofCosta Rica, and an ideal sectorfor increased public-private part-nerships (PPPs) for both finan-cial and knowledge-transferreasons.

“PPPs could be the way ahead

for large-scale projects,” saysMinister of Public Works andTransport Francisco JoseJimenez Campos, who wouldlike to see development acrossthe board. “We gain nothing ifwe have a good airport and abad road; it all fits together. Sothe development of the portshas to be accompanied by im-

proved road and rail passengertransport. The government'sprogram put forward by Presi-dent Chinchilla speaks of howto improve roads, ports and air-ports together. They are not tobe seen as separate projects.”

Costa Rica has internationalairports at Limon, Liberia andSan Jose. The Minister says, “We

have 22 local airports renovat-ed with several million dollarsof investment. The construc-tion of an international airportin the south would be very ben-eficial.”

Last April the new govern-ment gave the green light for aUS$300 million Inter-AmericanDevelopment Bank (IDB) loan

to help finance highway projectsthroughout the country. Thefunds will be used to financework on the InteramericanaNorte highway and to widen 10bridges to four lanes on the roadbetween the cities of Barrancaand Arizona. The governmentaffirmed that the loan would al-so be used to complete various

stretches of the San Carlos high-way. The financing is the initialportion of an US$850 millionloan approved by the IDB in Sep-tember 2009.

“We have a major infrastruc-ture deficit. We are going for thesystem of concessions to privateentrepreneurs and companies,where there are major Spanishinvestors,” says Melvin Saenz Bi-olley, Costa Rica’s ambassador toNicaragua. “Another key issue isports. Upgrading port infra-structure by concessions to pri-vate operators is a move that isalready attracting attention fromcompanies in the U.S., Europeand Latin America.” The majorports of Caldera on the Pacificcoast and Limon on theCaribbean coast are both un-dergoing redevelopment.

“One of the main challengesthat Costa Rica faces is that 80%of international trade enters andleaves through the port ofLimon,” says Monica Araya,president of the Chamber of Ex-porters of Costa Rica (Cadexco.)“The other is to build a coast-to-coast railroad. This is impor-tant, not only for reducinglogistics costs – 60% of total fu-el imports is for the transporta-tion of cargo. Establishing across-country railway wouldeven reduce inflation and makeCosta Rica more competitive.”

Public-private partnerships, theway ahead for infrastructureMulti-million dollar upgrades are already under way but large-scale investment and joint ventures are needed to boost the nation’s transport infrastructure and raise its competitiveness

The San Jose-Caldera toll road, built and operated by Autopistas del Sol, is a prime example of how PPPs can work

‘WE GAIN NOTHINGIF WE HAVE AGOOD AIRPORT ANDA BAD ROAD. SOTHE DEVELOPMENTOF THE PORTS HASTO BE ACCOMPANIEDBY IMPROVED ROADAND RAIL PASSENGERTRANSPORT’FRANCISCO JOSE JIMENEZ CAMPOS, Minister of Public Works & Transport

CARLOS ACOSTA MONGE, Executive Director of Conavi

The 48-mile San Jose-Caldera highway is expectedto be a huge boon for theeconomy, spawning majoropportunities for tourismand commerce, as residents,day-trippers and business-men alike take full advantageof faster, safer travel. Sectionsof the new transportationartery rapidly registeredpeaks of 90,000 vehicles mak-ing use of the route daily.

The project was built at anestimated cost of US$238million and its main strate-gy was to connect the coun-try’s primary industrial andbusiness area to one of itsmain ports. Autopistas del Sol,a Spain-based consortium,won the 25-year concession to

fund, build and operate thetoll-based highway. It is thefirst company to ever build

public infrastructure in Cos-ta Rica under a public-privatepartnership (PPP). In 2007,Euromoney magazine be-stowed its Latin AmericanPPP Deal of the Year on theproject and its success is setto provide a model for furtheragreements in the future. In2008, it was named the Fi-nance Project of the Year at the2nd Global InfrastructureLeadership Forum in Wash-ington D.C.

“It was a very complex pro-ject,” says Cristian Sandoval,general manager of Autopistasdel Sol. “Furthermore, we getbehind the country, not justthe project, contributing to itsdevelopment and becoming astrategic partner of the state.”

Award-winning tollroad is a national first

CRISTIAN SANDOVAL, General Manager of Autopistas del Sol

Conavi is the government’s agency responsible for overseeing the maintenance, repairand upgrading of the country’s road network, which is carried out by third parties

The most highly anticipated road for years opened last January and connects thenation’s capital with the Pacific coast in less than half the previous journey time




Where energy production andenvironment exist in harmony

All too often, the greatest victimof economic development is theenvironment. Costa Rica, how-ever, has found a way to strike abalance between environmentalconservation and GDP growththrough government legislationand popular support.

“Production, economic andsocial development, and care forthe environment go hand inhand; for us they are inseparable,”claims Minister of Environmentand Energy Teofilo de la TorreArgüello.

Sometimes even erring in fa-vor of environment over econ-omy, Costa Rica’s laws over thepast 20 years have become grad-ually more protective of both so-ciety and nature, and alleconomic activities must fall inline if they are to move forward.

“Also important is not just con-servation but also production inharmony with the environment,”says Mr. de la Torre, “and in thissense what the legislation does isestablish rules so that any type ofindustrial, commercial or busi-ness development complies witha minimum set of requirementsin order to integrally protect theenvironment. One of the dutiesof this Ministry is to ensure thatmankind’s actions are congruentwith the environment.”

All construction permits andnew projects, for example, gothrough a Ministry of Environ-ment and Energy office, wherea thorough environmental im-pact study is conducted ifdeemed necessary. The Ministryalso runs a special administrativeenvironmental court to directlyhandle such matters, thereby re-ducing bureaucratic hold-upsand freeing up space in the reg-ular courts.

The energy sector is notori-ously one of the most damagingactivities in any given country.Costa Rica is exceptional in thisrespect, and the mere fact thatone ministry oversees both en-ergy and environment reflectsthe government’s insistence thatthey remain harmonious.

Already producing upwardsof 90% of its electricity from re-

newable sources, Costa Rica aimsto go 100% CO2 neutral in adecade’s time. According to Al-fio Piva Mesen, First Vice Presi-dent of Costa Rica, hydroelectricdams produce the majority, withgeothermal energy coming insecond, at 14%, and eolic third,at 8%. Raising geothermal con-tribution to 24% and increasingwind power slightly would al-low the country to be among theworld’s first to rely wholly on re-newables. The task would re-main, however, to clean up CostaRica’s vehicle emissions.

“If electricity is generated byrenewable resources, then elec-tricity won’t be causing globalwarming; it’ll be the petroleum,”comments Mr. de la Torre. “Weimported US$2 billion of oil [in

2009] of which US$1.6 billionwas used for fueling vehicles. Wemust find the way to reduce thisconsumption.”

The Ministry has begun re-searching alternatives to petro-leum, such as biofuels, alcohol,and biodiesel, and welcomes pri-vate sector investment in thisarena. In identifying the country’sexisting environmental faults (forexample, river contaminationand solid waste disposal), thegovernment is also unearthingnew solutions.

Mr. de la Torre would like tosee the gases produced natu-rally in landfills put to good use.“An electric energy producercould make the most out thismethane gas. We’re encourag-ing the development of

methane-based energy plantsin each municipality, whichwould then stream that elec-tricity into the public electrici-ty networks. This would notonly clean up the environment,it would also create wealth as acommercial activity.”

Looking further into the fu-ture, when the world’s oil re-sources are depleted andgasoline-powered vehicles are athing of the past, the Ministerforesees that cars will run onelectricity, and eventually on hy-drogen. This, he says, is one ofthe main reasons why it is moreimportant than ever that elec-tricity proceed from renewablesources and that there is enoughto cover both vehicle needs andindustry.

For now, Costa Rica’s elec-tricity demand is rising nearly 6%annually, signaling a need forgreater private sector participa-tion. Currently, experts claimthat the national electric com-pany (ICE) lacks the agility toundertake more projects si-multaneously and private in-vestors would be welcome tocollaborate much more in en-ergy growth. Furthermore, thenew investment law maintainsthat ICE will continue acting asthe national entity that unitesthe energy-electricity sector,while allowing new participantsto enter – new private genera-tors that are not hindered by thelimitations ICE has now.

Mr. de la Torre highlights thatUS$9 billion are needed over thenext 10 years to double electric-ity capacity, and the private sec-tor is invited to explore CostaRica’s wind, geothermic, biomass,and solar potential – and in thefuture, the possibility of hydro-gen and other technologies thatwill surely be discovered. “Tech-nologies become obsolete veryquickly,” he adds. “This is one ofthe reasons why the state decid-ed to involve higher private par-ticipation in the sector, becauseone of the state’s defects is itsslowness in acquiring technolo-gies, goods, or services as it mustgo through public tenders.”

The government’s environ-mental policies enjoy popularsupport to the extent that someeconomic activities have actu-ally been curtailed in favor ofprotecting nature reserves. Anexcellent example is the case ofa world-class gold mine, whichhas remained untouched dueto the fact that 85% of Costa Ri-cans are against the extractiveindustries.

“We believe there are moresophisticated ways of produc-ing greater wealth that don’t re-quire extracting and damagingthe environment,” says the Min-ister. “From here on out, wewish our wealth to come fromelsewhere, and this is some-thing the Costa Rican society isdemanding.”

HHooww hhaass CCoossttaa RRiiccaa mmaannaaggeeddttoo bbaallaannccee ssoocciiooeeccoonnoommiicc ddee--vveellooppmmeenntt wwiitthh eennvviirroonnmmeenn--ttaall ccoonnsseerrvvaattiioonn??

In the last 20 years there havebeen a dozen laws to protect theenvironment from severalpoints of views. One of theseassigns complete territories forconservation.

These are our natural parks,the forest reserves, biologicalshelters, which all representour biodiversity. This ties upone-quarter of Costa Rica’s ter-ritory, putting these areas un-der the state’s protection.Therefore, the government isthe largest landowner in thecountry.

We’ve cared for the envi-ronment rather well, and it’sone of the main reasons whytourists come here. They wantto see our parks, our fauna, and

our flora. There is a wide va-riety of places to visit in thiscountry, despite its small size.

HHooww mmuucchh ooppppoossiittiioonn iiss tthheerreewwiitthhiinn tthhee ggoovveerrnnmmeenntt ttoo ssuucchhpprroo--eennvviirroonnmmeennttaall ppoolliicciieess,, eess--ppeecciiaallllyy ggiivveenn tthhaatt tthhee eeaassyyrroouuttee wwoouulldd bbrriinngg wweeaalltthh mmoorreeqquuiicckkllyy??

This is a decision that we’vebeen making slowly, over the

past two decades. Costa Ricahas gone from being a countrythat intensively uses its natur-al resources – both renewableand non-renewable – to onethat is turning gradually green-er. This doesn’t happenovernight just because a gov-ernment says, “We decree thattomorrow this will be a greencountry.” On the contrary, thisis a progressive cultural change

that Costa Rica has been dri-ving since the 1980s, and thischange means that bit by bitwe’re abandoning the practiceof non-renewable natural re-sources extraction.

TThhee OObbaammaa aaddmmiinniissttrraattiioonn iisseemmpphhaassiizziinngg rreenneewwaabbllee eenneerr--ggiieess.. DDoo yyoouu tthhiinnkk tthhaatt CCoossttaaRRiiccaa aanndd tthhee UU..SS.. ccoouulldd ccooll--llaabboorraattee ttoo eexxppoorrtt yyoouurr ccoouunn--ttrryy’’ss eenneerrggyy mmooddeell??

We’re trying to convincepeople that it’s worth export-ing these ideas to other coun-tries. In fact, we’re working withthe [U.S.] State Departmentand Department of Energy totry and install an efficient en-ergy center here in Costa Rica.

President Obama requestedthat here in Latin Americathere be a series of points ofcontact for renewable energy,and his administration haschosen Costa Rica as one ofthese. We want to treat thisprivilege with great esteem be-cause we’ve been making ahuge effort in the country’s en-ergy efficiency.

As the government of Costa Rica has put environmental conservation first and foremost in its agenda, electricity production has succeessfully become more than 90% ‘green’

Teofilo de la TorreArgüello, Costa Rica’sMinister of Environmentand Energy, tells of the government’s pro-environment policies

About one-quarter of Costa Rica’s territories are protected by law. Popular support for the environment has barred extractive industries from causing any future damage

Teofilo de la Torre Argüello, Minister of Environment and Energy

Costa Rica has joined forceswith its Central Americanneighbors Guatemala, Pana-ma, El Salvador, Honduras, andNicaragua to build an energynetwork that will run the lengthof the isthmus and provide theentire region with a more reli-able and cost-effective supplyof energy.

Dubbed SIEPAC and over-seen by EPR, the project willrepresent the first regional elec-tric transmission system andwill span over 1,100 miles, withthe support of 4,600 high-ten-sion transmission towers andnearly 40,400 miles of fiber op-tic cable. Once finished (to-wards the end of 2011), the linewill have a capacity to morethan cover the current needsof the populations, and willhave enough reserves to con-tinue growing, thus guaran-teeing energy for years to come.

A project of this magnitudeand scope paints a positive pic-ture for the future of afford-able electricity access for the

region’s inhabitants, as well asfor investors, since the com-bined markets of the six coun-tries totals over 40 million.

EPR’s shares are dividedequally among each partici-pant. In Costa Rica’s case, the12.5% share is divided betweenICE (Costa Rican ElectricityInstitute) and CNFL (Nation-al Company for Power andLight). The new investmentlaw, which has widened thelevel of participation of the pri-vate sector from 19% to 30%,will allow for a greater numberof private electricity projectsto link up to the SIEPAC net-work.

With headquarters in Cos-ta Rica, the region’s most eco-conscious country, EPR isadhering to this country’s strictenvironmental standards forthe entire project, regardlessof where the generators andpylons may stand. For exam-ple, for every tree that is cut tomake way for construction,EPR plants at least five more.

EPR’s SIEPAC project is uniting six nations with areliable and ample energy supply

Power to Central America

Costa Rica’s gradual transitiontowards an environmental haven

‘PRODUCTION,ECONOMIC ANDSOCIALDEVELOPMENT, ANDCARE FOR THEENVIRONMENT GOHAND IN HAND; FORUS THEY’REINSEPARABLE’

‘WE’REENCOURAGING THEDEVELOPMENT OFMETHANE-BASEDENERGY PLANTS INEACH MUNICIPALITY,WHICH WOULD THENSTREAM THATELECTRICITY INTO THEPUBLIC ELECTRICITYNETWORKS’




COSTA RICA

Nothing is more important toa person’s economic well-beingthan his or her education. Fewcountries in the world take thisfundamental truth as serious-ly as Costa Rica. In 1949 thearmy was disbanded, and muchof the money and other re-sources saved by this unusualmeasure has been spent insteadon education.

That investment hasn’t justgone towards teaching thethree ‘R’s’, either. Over the years,government after governmenthas made sure that arts andother cultural programs are al-so amply funded, in keepingwith the philosophy that peo-ple need a well rounded edu-cation to be happy, creative,and productive.

“What we are trying to do inCosta Rica is to reach a balancebetween what you would calleconomic dynamism, an econ-omy that grows sufficiently,having good human develop-ment and having social cohe-sion,” says Leonardo GarnierRimolo, Costa Rica’s Ministerof Public Education.

In 1869 Costa Rica becameone of the first countries in theworld to make education com-pulsory and free, and the focuson education has produced themost literate population inCentral America, with 96% ofthe adult population able toread.

The public school systemwas originally funded from thestate’s share of the country’searnings from the sale of cof-fee. When compulsory educa-tion was first introduced, onlyabout one-tenth of Costa Rica’spopulation could read. Fortyyears later that figure hadreached one-half and by the1970’s almost 90% of the pop-ulation was literate.

Now, the entire populationhas access to the primaryschool system. Access to sec-ondary education still hasn’treached the entire country, butthat is one of the ministry’smost important objectives, ac-cording to the Minister.

“When you look at statistics,the kind of income a young per-son gets once he or she goes to

the labor market is directly re-lated their education,” he ex-plains. “Only those who have atleast a high school educationget knowledge-based jobs,which are better paid. One ofour biggest goals is for everystudent to complete highschool,” says Mr. Garnier.

A program called Avance-mos, which means ‘We moveforward’ in Spanish, has beenstarted to help keep kids frompoorer families in school. Somefamilies need the extra moneythat a working teenager canbring in, so Avancemos pays asubsidy to those families to lettheir children keep studying.

“If the kid is working and get-ting some money for the fam-ily then that makes a difference,”Mr. Garnier says. “Some fam-ilies have traditionally optedfor their kids to leave schooland work to earn money. Theidea of Avancemos was to com-pensate for that problem.About 40% of the students getthat subsidy so they won’t haveto work and the condition isthey remain in high school.”

Students receive a subsidybased on a calculation of what

a student might make if theywere employed, and statisticsshow that the number of stu-dents working and not study-ing has declined, and thenumber studying and notworking has risen, a strong signthat the program is helpingkeep kids in school.

Providing knowledge andskills that will make them morevaluable to employers is ofcourse one of the most impor-tant missions for the country’sschools, but the educationalsystem in Costa Rica is intend-ed to impart other valuablelessons to its students as well.

“Civic education and how tolive together in a complex worldteaches students not just to tol-erate differences but to enjoydifferences,” says Mr. Garnier.“Since I arrived, we have beenchanging the concept of theword tolerance. We should nottry to tolerate differences butrather to enjoy them, to enjoyeach other.”

Children are also learning toappreciate their country’s richenvironmental diversity, in away that helps promote re-sponsible tourism that will pre-serve the eco-system for thebenefit of future generations.

The country’s commitmentto education is strong andplans to increase that com-mitment are currently underway. Costa Rica’s constitutionrequires that spending on ed-ucation be at least 6% of grossdomestic product every year.

In 2010 the budget for ed-ucation spending reached7.2% of GDP, and an amend-ment to the constitution isunder consideration thatwould raise the minimum re-quirement to 8%.

Ultimately, the govern-ment’s goal is to promote eco-nomic growth and new jobcreation to make sure that allCosta Ricans can grow up andimprove their lives through abetter education.

“You have to work hard toput an emphasis on reducinginequalities,” the Minister says.“Having a good relationshipwith nature is also important.If you can have economic dy-namism, social cohesion andenvironmental sustainabilitythen you become a nice placeto live. What we would like totell the world is that it is pos-sible to have all three here inCosta Rica. It is not easy butit is possible.”

One of the jewels in the crownof the country's education sys-tem is the INCAE BusinessSchool.

The school’s prominence inthe region has led its leaders togive themselves an ambitiousgoal. They want to do more thanjust provide an excellent edu-cation to the students who comefrom many parts of the world;they want to play a role in im-proving the lives of all CentralAmericans.

“The mission of INCAE goesbeyond the training of leaders,we want to change the region,”says Arturo Condo, INCAE’srector. “It’s a different conceptbecause that way education be-comes a means and not an endin itself. We don’t worry abouthow many students are gradu-ating, but rather how many ofthem will have an impact.”

The school, which also has acampus in Nicaragua, offersseveral programs that are im-portant to the region, includingan MBA in Spanish and Eng-lish and a Global ExecutiveMBA. Other degrees studentscan earn at the school are Glob-al Real Estate Management anda Master in Agribusiness Man-agement.

INCAE boasts the highest ra-tio of doctoral-level, full-time

professors of any business schoolin Latin America. Of the morethan 40 faculty members, 92%hold degrees from Harvard, theUniversity of Pennsylvania, andother top business schools.

“The people who work hereare dedicated exclusively to ourmission and to our commit-ment to excellence,” says Mr.Condo. “We make sure to findprofessionals that can meet theexpectations and demands ofthis business school.”

The professors use modernteaching methods, and rely onthe proven case-method ap-proach that was developed at

Harvard Business School. Themultinational faculty, which hasrelevant experience in businessand consultancy, teaches onlyat INCAE, ensuring studentshave their teachers’ undivideddedication.

The high level of the school’sprofessors, teaching method-ology, and students has placedINCAE at or near the top of re-gional business school rankingsfor years, generating a virtuouscircle that helps the school re-cruit more top-notch studentsand teachers from all aroundthe world.

INCAE has students from

all around the region, includ-ing Costa Rica, Nicaragua, ElSalvador, Peru, Mexico, andColombia, and also fromcountries in other parts of theworld, such as France, Spain,and the U.S.

Once they finish the course,the alumni benefit from thatdiverse background of the stu-dent body, which provides aninternational network of con-tacts that can help themprogress in their professionallives. The school makes a strongeffort to recruit students fromthe U.S. who have a special in-terest in Latin America.

HHooww mmuucchh ooff CCoossttaa RRiiccaa''ss ooffffiicciiaall ppoolliiccyy iiss ggeeaarreedd ttoowwaarrddss ccoonnvveerrttiinngg tthhee ccoouunn--ttrryy iinnttoo aann iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn--bbaasseeddssoocciieettyy,, aanndd hhooww hhaass tthheeccoouunnttrryy ggaaiinneedd ttoo ddaattee??

One of the most impor-tant things that Costa Ricahas as a country is that ithas had the fortune to havevisionary leaders, politicalleaders that have a visionand contact with the out-side world and that under-stand the fundamentalphenomena of the country.

In 1988, during the firstadministration of PresidentArias, we made a very strongeffort to bring digital tech-nology to large groups of theyoung population. That wasan investment with a veryclear vision that we were fac-ing a technological revolu-tion and that the countryhad to prepare its youth tobe able to take advantage ofthis great opportunity.

At first people thoughtwe had gone crazy, to makesuch a large investment andconcentrating on childrenfrom pre-school agethrough sixth grade, withthe goal of educating themfrom an early age to knowhow to make good use oftechnology in an active way.This was an enormous in-vestment that completelychanged the panorama inthis country. Our goal wasto move from being a com-pletely agricultural countryto one based on technolo-gy, and I'm convinced thatwe’re doing it.

PPrreessiiddeenntt CChhiinncchhiillllaa hhaass ssaaiiddsshhee wwaannttss ttoo iimmpprroovvee pprroo--dduuccttiivviittyy aanndd ccoommppeettiittiivvee--nneessss iinn tthhee uussee ooff tteecchhnnoollooggyy..WWhhaatt aarreeaass wwiillll rreecceeiivvee tthheemmoosstt aatttteennttiioonn ffrroomm yyoouurrmmiinniissttrryy ttoo iimmpprroovvee tthheeccoommppeettiittiivveenneessss aanndd tthheesskkiillllss ooff CCoossttaa RRiiccaannss iinn tthheeuussee ooff ddiiggiittaall tteecchhnnoollooggyy??

Productive capacity de-pends directly on people,and that’s why Mrs. Chin-chilla is committed to astrong emphasis on differentareas of innovation. We’reworking on that in the areasof education, in the form ofcomputer classes, and also

through training focused oncompanies.

During our first month inoffice we worked intenselyon setting up national pri-orities. We did it with thesupport of numerous influ-ential people and organiza-tions in the areas of scienceand technology, because inthis government we believethat no political decisionsshould be made in an iso-lated way.

DDoo yyoouu tthhiinnkk tthhee UUnniitteeddSSttaatteess aanndd CCoossttaa RRiiccaa ccaann

bbeenneeffiitt ffrroomm iittss bbiillaatteerraall rree--llaattiioonnss iinn aarreeaass ssuucchh aass aaeerroo--ssppaaccee??

Of course, bilaterally andmultilaterally. Right now atthe ministry we’re in con-tact with NASA groups inWashington that are work-ing on a cooperative pro-ject for the peaceful uses ofspace science.

We know we’re a smallcountry, but one whose cit-izens have great potential,and we’re working tostrengthen teaching in mathand science to build up acritical mass that can workin those industries.

With a literacy rate of 96%, Costa Rica is the most literate country in Central America. The country’s highly educated population makes it attractive to investors

INCAE Business School opened its campus 22 miles west of San Jose in 1985

A high-techeconomybegins in pre-school

INCAE is shaping thebusiness leaders of tomorrow

Costa Rica,a pioneerof publiceducation The Central American state was one of the first inthe world to make schooling compulsory and free

Costa Rica is a regional leader in many areas, with education being among of the most important

Costa Rican Minister of Science and Technology,Clotilde Fonseca, discusses her nation’s transitiontowards a more information-based economy

‘CIVIC EDUCATIONAND HOW TO LIVETOGETHER IN ACOMPLEX WORLDTEACHES STUDENTSNOT JUST TOTOLERATEDIFFERENCES BUTTO ENJOYDIFFERENCES’

LEONARDO GARNIER RIMOLO, Minister of Public Education

‘OUR GOAL WASTO MOVE FROMBEING ACOMPLETELYAGRICULTURALCOUNTRY TO ONEBASED ON TECHNOLOGY,AND I’MCONVINCED THATWE’RE DOING IT’ CLOTILDE FONSECA, Minister of Science andTechnology




Historically, Costa Rica has longbeen an agro economy, growingproduce to feed its populationand exporting just a relativelysmall amount. However, overthe past 25 years, Costa Rica firstexpanded its exports and thendeveloped its manufacturingand service sectors. It has signeda series of trade agreements andhas turned into one of the biggestexporters per capita in LatinAmerica.

“Exports have always been akey activity in the Costa Ricaneconomy, but it was not untilthe mid-80s when we finallymade it onto the world stageand diversified our exports andmarkets,” says Gloria Abraham,Minister of Agriculture andLivestock. “After having es-tablished ourselves in inter-national markets, a largenumber of sectors started com-ing to Costa Rica to take ad-vantage of the security, peaceand democracy that prevailshere today, in addition to theprogress made in terms of hu-man capital here, which comesfrom investing over of the past100 years in the training ofadaptable employees for so-phisticated companies.”

Boosted by foreign invest-ment in Costa Rica's free tradezone, manufacturing and in-dustry's contribution to GDPovertook that of agriculture inthe 1990s. Nevertheless, the agri-culture, livestock and fisherysector still remains importantfor the country, contributingaround 6.4% of GDP and em-

ploying 14% of the workforce.“One element that stands out

is that Costa Rica is not a coun-try of large estate owners as thereare no huge plantations,” saysMs. Abraham. “In fact we havea huge focus on small and medi-um landowners. In the case ofcoffee, 92% of production is inthe hands of producers who haveless than two hectares.”

Coffee is grown primarily inthe central valley, from San Ra-mon to Turrialba, which is a large

valley divided into small farms,and farmers organize themselvesinto cooperatives to enable themto make purchases and sales atthe collective level.

“Costa Rica’s coffee hasreached prices of US$1200 fora quintal of 46 kilos, against anaverage of US$300 last year,” saysAlfio Piva Mesen, First Vice Pres-ident of Costa Rica. “So howdoes Costa Rica manage to reachUS$1200? With quality coffee,selling to gourmet buyers, and

organizing fairs where it is pro-duced, showing how and whereorganic coffee is made with tra-ditional manufacturing meth-ods, and with CO2 neutralemissions.”

Ms. Abraham says, “Whatmany people do not realize isthat in Costa Rica, unlike inmany countries, to live or workin the countryside is not syn-onymous with poverty. Gener-ally in Latin America, when youleave a town and travel to an-

other, along the route you canfind long stretches of poverty.We are proud that in our casethis is not true.”

Exports of fresh fruit are al-so very important to the coun-try’s agriculture sector. LeadingU.S.-based companies such asDel Monte, Dole and Chiqui-ta are all heavily involved inCosta Rica.

Bananas are the country’s topagricultural export. Costa Ricanbananas are now to be labeled

with a seal denoting their originby the National Banana Corpo-ration, which hopes the seal willpromote the idea that the ba-nanas are cultivated in a social-ly responsible and ethicalmanner.

Costa Rica is the first exportcountry in Central America andthe second in Latin America tohave this country-of-originmarking.

According to the Ministry ofForeign Trade, the designationshould help market Costa Ri-can bananas in the EU, where re-search suggests that up to 40%of consumers are willing to payup to 10% more for productswith their origins identified.

Pineapple production start-ed in Costa Rica in the 1980sand the fruit surpassed coffeeas the number two agricultur-al export. Demand in the U.S.and Europe has grown rapidlyand so Costa Rica is using moreand more land each year for itscultivation.

The nation’s other agriculturalproducts include melons, orna-mental plants, sugar, corn, rice,beans, potatoes, beef, poultry,dairy and timber.

The Ministry of Agricultureand Livestock has launched theNational Agricultural Plan 2010-2021, which is based on three ba-sic areas: competitiveness,management of rural areas, andinnovation and development. Italso believes that governmentand industry must work togetherto improve efficiency and raisecompetitiveness in the sector.

Agriculture: diverse and export drivenRising global demand for fruit and gourmet coffee means that commodities such as coffee beans, bananas and pineapples remain the backbone of Costa Rica's economy

In 2008, Costa Rica celebratedthe 200th anniversary of theplanting of the first coffee plant.Few seeds have had such a long-lasting, positive impact on a so-ciety as the Arabica seeds thatmade their way from easternAfrica to Central America inthe early 18th century.

It may seem unimaginablethat the coffee bean has been theengine of Costa Rica’s econom-ic, social, and cultural develop-ment for two centuries, yetevidence proves it to be just that.

Costa Rica is renowned forits peaceful and democratic so-ciety, and coffee has had muchto do with this. There are morethan 50,000 producers, of which92% are small growers – a tra-dition that has helped build astable middle class. Addition-ally, coffee growing generatednearly 194,000 additional tem-porary direct and indirect jobsduring the 2009-2010 harvest.In a small country such as this,that’s no small feat. Moreover,thanks to the efforts of the Cos-ta Rican Coffee Institute(ICAFE), coffee producers inCosta Rica receive the highestproportion of the final pricecompared to any other coun-try in the world.

ICAFE was founded in 1933by the government to establishand maintain an equitable re-lationship among all growers,

processors, roasters, and ex-porters operating in the coun-try. The institute also promotesCosta Rican coffee locally andabroad, marketing what is con-sidered some of the world’s bestcoffee to markets that appreci-ate, and are willing to pay for,high-quality coffee.

The high price is due on onehand to the need for manualharvesting and on the other, to

low levels of production. De-spite a production that is aboutone-sixth of that of Colombiaand just one-twentieth ofBrazil’s, Costa Rica’s coffee ranksthird in the ‘Top of Mind’ listamong U.S. consumers.

“We may be small comparedto other coffee suppliers, but weconcentrate on generating thebest product, implicating thou-sands of workers in the process,”explains Ronald Peters, execu-tive director of ICAFE.

After a decade or so of re-duced production (a result of in-creased urbanism, seven yearsof reduced coffee prices, andgreater agricultural diversifica-tion), ICAFE is stepping up ef-forts to reverse this trend. Incollaboration with the Ministryof Agriculture and Livestockand the National Bank, ICAFEhas launched the National Planto Renovate Coffee Plantations,or PNRC, to renovate the soiland lands that have passed theirlifespan (estimated at 30% ofthe area currently under plan-tation), provide long-term fi-nancing to farmers, andultimately increase production.The PNRC’s goals for the cof-fee industry are to raise em-ployment from 194,000 thisyear to nearly 240,000 within 10years, and to generate US$326.3million in 2021, up fromUS$264.6 million in 2010.

‘WE CONCENTRATEON GENERATINGTHE BEST PRODUCT,IMPLICATINGTHOUSANDS OFWORKERS IN THEPROCESS’

RONALD PETERS, Executive Director of ICAFE

The bean that helped shapea peaceful democracySpecialty Costa Rican coffee, in high demand in the U.S., is an anchor of the economy

While chayote, yucca, gua-va, star fruit, and papaya mayhave sounded as exotic toNorth Americans as the con-tents of Carmen Miranda’sfruit hat , apples, pears,peaches, and grapes used tohave a similar effect on theinhabitants of many tropicalnations.

In 1988, Alvaro Figueroaand his wife Cristina Guz-man decided to try theirhand at growing and mar-keting one of the temperateworld’s favorite fruits, thestrawberry. Such was theirsuccess that their newly es-tablished company, Fruta In-ternacional, in an ironicturning of the trade tide, be-gan exporting strawberriesto Europe and North Amer-ica, thereby lengthening theirstrawberry season.

“After that ,” muses Mr.Figueroa, “we thought that ifwe could sell strawberries,we could sell just about any-thing!”

And right he was. Fiveyears later, Fruta Interna-cional (the company found-ed to deal with theimport/export business) be-gan importing fruit which at

the time was considered ex-otic, such as apples, grapes,and nectarines, from theUnited States and then sell-ing it at home in Costa Ricaand to other countries inCentral America. Today, thecompany works with a widevariety of perishable fruit andvegetables, not limited toblueberries, cherries, avoca-does, garlic, and potatoes,proceeding from Chile, Chi-na, Mexico, Canada, Spain,Argentina, France, and Pe-ru, among others.

Conversely, Fruta Inter-nacional, through its com-pany Agroindustrial TresAmigos, grows high qualitytropical fruit , namelypineapple, and markets itabroad in the U.S., the U.K.,Spain, Italy, and other Euro-pean countries.

In branching out geo-graphically, Fruta Interna-cional has created variousother companies that oper-ate out of different countries,including Five DiamondCold Storage in California,Grupo Dispersa inGuatemala, Imporfrut inHonduras and El Salvador,and South Fruits in Chile.

“We’ve globalized the fruitbusiness with a global oper-ation of some US$200 mil-lion a year,” says Mr. Figueroa.

To find Fruta Interna-cional’s produce in Costa Ri-ca, one need only visit thecompany’s branches in thecountry ’s most importantmarkets or browse the aislesof select grocery stores. “Asa producer or vendor weknow that growth lies in thesupermarkets,” commentsthe company president.“They’ve become our maincustomers.”

Fruta Internacional turns the exotic into the readily available everywhere it goes

PABLO VARGAS,CEO of Grupo Britt

Allow Café Britt to take youon a tour through an organ-ic coffee growing plantation,where you will see how ‘redcherry’ beans are lovinglytoasted and transformed in-to the aromatic and irre-sistible brew you sip eachmorning. Travel through thelast 200 years and see howcoffee created an equitablesociety that cherishesdemocracy, peace, biodiver-sity, and fair trade. See foryourself why Café Britt cof-fee is a premium coffee brandsought out by coffee lovers

for its taste, quality, aroma,and environmental and so-cial sustainability.

Café Britt has been one ofthe key companies in posi-tioning Costa Rican coffeein the U.S. as a world’s bestgourmet coffee. Today, itsproducts – which also in-clude chocolate, nuts, andsweets – are available for purchase online(www.cafebritt.com) as wellas from its signature shopslocated in San Jose, Curaçao,Peru, Chile and Mexico air-ports.

Behind the Café Britt brand lies quality and commitment to growers, theenvironment, and of course the consumers

Fresh fruit for the world

Organic Costa Rican coffee reaches premium prices on global markets because of its high quality and consumers appreciating its traditional, carbon-neutral production

ALVARO FIGUEROA, President of Fruta Internacional

A delight for coffee lovers




COSTA RICA

Costa Rica is a little country thatpacks a large punch when itcomes to prime destinations, afact that the two million visitorsit receives each year have coppedon to. Much of its success is dueto prudent planning decades agothat recognized conservation asthe only sustainable route in de-veloping the country’s tourismindustry. There was too muchnatural endowment at stake:more than half a million differ-ent species of the planet’s landanimals inhabit the country’s19,700 square miles.

As a result of these policies,today Costa Rica boasts 27national parks, 58 wildliferefuges, 32 protectedzones, 15 wetland ar-eas, 11 forest reservesand eight biologicalreserves, as well as12 other conserva-tion regions.

This setting has,of course, neatlylent itself to the de-velopment of eco-tourism, and moreparticularly, eco-adven-ture. Within the parame-ters of sustainable tourismand some of the planet’s mostmajestic natural displays, Cos-ta Rica plays host to the world’sadrenalin junkies, who gain fur-ther satisfaction from the uniqueand quality experience the con-servationist country can affordthem.

With its thick, verdant jun-gle, white crusted beaches, vol-canic mountains, and hot springpools, Costa Rica is CentralAmerica’s undisputed adven-ture Mecca. From zip liningabove the green canopy of therainforest to hiking the red-rimmed Arenal Volcano amidstthe cries of jungle monkeys andthe excellent year-round surf-ing at hand, there are more thanenough options in the country

to satisfy most tastes and to pro-vide a varied, action-packed hol-iday.

From the capital San Jose, lo-cated in the central valley regionof the country, the nestinggrounds of the green sea turtlein the western Caribbean are justa day’s excursion away. Duringsummer months, thousands ofturtles come ashore to lay theireggs, and nearby Tortuguero Na-tional Park is often referred to asCosta Rica’s Amazon. Giving way

to a navigable network of lakesand channels, Tortuguero canonly be explored by water.

The nearby La Selva reservefurther reinforces the area’s claimof biodiversity, with more than2,000 species of plants. Furtherwildlife viewing opportunitiesare to be had on the SarapiquiRiver, where visitors can descendthe rapids by raft or kayak.

Pacific coast excursions fromSan Jose to the Nicoya Peninsula,a surf haven ringed by beautifulbeaches, are also available andinclude catamaran trips to Tor-tuga Island, along with guidedboat trips along the Tarcoles Riv-

er to see its crocodiles and wa-ter and migratory birds.

Arenal Volcano, a 1,633-me-ter-high active volcano whereregular eruptions provide someof the most awe-inspiring sightsin the country, and the Mon-teverde region north of San Joseboth offer opportunities fortrekking, ATV tours, and canopytours of cloud forests and river-ine woodlands.

A trip to the Arenal hangingbridges consists of traversing 15bridges between five and 100meters long that cross the rain-forest along a two-mile inter-pretive trail.

The Tabacon Grand SpaThermal Resort at the base ofArenal Volcano, generally con-sidered to be one of the best spasin the world, offers access to theregion’s renowned hot springs.It is an excellent example of a re-sponsible tourism business, asare the secluded and master-fully designed Hotel Punta Isli-ta, and the Los Sueños Resortand Marina, which caters spe-cially to avid fishermen.

River tubing in the Rincon dela Vieja National Park isanother option north ofthe capital, as well as zipwiring through the rain-forest at Monteverde,where 320 types of birdscan be seen.

South of San Joseon the central Pa-cific coast lies Do-minical. Inaddition to explor-ing the region’s caves by sea kayakand snorkeling and scuba diving

at the Caño Island Biological Re-serve, this area also boasts spec-tacular marine life, with fivespecies of dolphins and threespecies of whales living all yearround in the waters off its coasts.

In Punta Uvita, near the Bal-lena Marine National Park, en-thusiasts can try their hand atflying an ultra-light plane overthe parklands and the southernPacific coastline.

This region also features thelargest concentration of man-grove swamps in Central Amer-ica along the Sierpe River, andis home to Corcovado Nation-al Park, where six natural eco-systems have been identified

amongst the park’s 54,500hectares of humid rainforest.

Helping cut down on traveltimes, Costa Rica’s local airline,

Nature Air, is the world’s firstcarbon neutral airline, flyingpassengers to the most ex-citing destinations in the

country.

Adrenalin addicts get a ‘green’ hit atCentral America’s adventure capitalExperiencing Costa Rica’s spectacular natural endowmentsis heightened further by an array of eco-adventure activities

From scuba diving, surf-ing and hiking to zip

wiring, canopy walks andaerial tours, there are count-

less ways of absorbing natureand seeing Costa Rica’s kaleido-

scope of natural wonders, all withoutharming its biodiversity

One of the most popular ex-cursions for guests of Villas RioMar is horseback riding to thetop of a nearby waterfall, saysgeneral manager Christiaan Vi-jselaar, followed by a swim in thenatural pool there and lunchoverlooking the tropical forests.

Indeed, set on the banks ofthe Baru River, Villas Rio Maris surrounded by jungle andwithin easy distance of severallarge wildlife parks. A three-hour drive from San Jose thatwinds through incredible land-scape and several microclimateseven before arriving at Do-minical, the nearest village, theresort offers comfort in an eco-friendly environment.

“We started building the ho-tel in 1993, and opened ourdoors the following year,” saysMr. Vijselaar, one of severalDutch investors behind VillasRio Mar. “We aimed to combinenature and adventure and acomfortable place to stay. It was

difficult initially, but things havereally changed over the pastdecade as eco-tourism hasgained in popularity and be-come better known.”

Villas Rio Mar, which has theCertification of SustainableTourism (CST), boasts 52rooms, each with an individual

terrace overlooking the gar-dens. It also features a swim-ming pool with wet bar andjacuzzi, tennis court, restau-rant, spa, conference center andin-house activity center for or-ganizing surfing, whale watch-ing, sport fishing, scuba divingand kayaking excursions.

Villas Rio Mar combines nature and adventure in lush, green surroundings

Eco-comfort in the jungle

“For U.S. tourists, Costa Rica offers proximity.People are tired of the same thing; they aretired of going to the Caribbean and to Mexico,which have been the usual vacation spots.They want more. They want value-added va-cations,” explains Alexandra Lacayo, presidentof Albee Adventures, which has been offeringits clients just that since it was established adecade ago.

Albee Adventures designs customized ad-venture packages with activities throughoutCentral America that include canopy tours,skywalks, rafting, snorkeling, scuba diving,sport fishing, kayaking, hiking and flower andfauna tours, as well as cultural and golf andspa tours. The NY-based company prides it-self on the type of clientele it serves – thoseinterested in sustainable tourism and environ-mental protection.

The majority of Albee’s clients are NorthAmerican college graduates between the agesof 35 and 50, who earn US$200,000 plus. “Iam involved in the high-end market. I onlyneed a certain number of families who wantto come here to educate their children aboutthe environment or nature to pay for my cus-tomer service,” says Ms. Lacayo.

“It is interesting how many people whoused to be typical high-end Four Seasons cus-tomers sitting on a beach are now coming toCosta Rica repeatedly. They bring their chil-dren so they can keep experiencing the envi-ronmental efforts that we are making here.”

High-end, custom-designed adventurepackages and activities are thespecialty of Albee Adventures

AlbeeAdventuresadds valueto vacations

The flow of retired baby boomers headingsouth is far from waning. Costa Rica is expect-ing the arrival of at least a million NorthAmerican pensioners over the next few years,drawn by the country’s excellent healthcaresystem, reasonable cost of living, political sta-bility, and high life expectancy, not to mentionthe fact that Costa Rica ranks at the top of theglobal happiness index.

Providing services to help newcomers ad-just to their new country of residence is theAssociation of Residents of Costa Rica (AR-CR), made for Americans by Americans. Forover 25 years it has been assisting foreignersrelocating for business or retirement. Fromthe immigration process to selecting the rightneighborhood to live in to what to buy andbring from home, ARCR helps clients over-come cultural, legal and linguistic barriers.

General manager Ryan Piercy says that al-though most of ARCR’s clients are retirees,the company also serves many internationalinvestors and businessmen. Over 75% arefrom the U.S., 8% from Canada, and the re-mainder from various parts of the world.

“Security and stability are two areas whereCosta Rica has an advantage over neighboringcountries,” says Mr. Piercy. “The friendlinessof people should also be highlighted. In com-parison with other countries, Costa Rica real-ly welcomes foreigners, it is more opentoward foreign cultures and this helps peopleto feel at home.”

From the immigration process to setting uphome, ARCR give comprehensive supportto foreigners relocating to Costa Rica

Moving toCosta Ricais made easywith ARCR

The jungle and beach resort boasts average temperatures of 83ºF

MORE THAN AQUARTER OF COSTARICA IS PROTECTEDLAND AND IT BOASTS27 NATIONAL PARKS,58 WILDLIFE REFUGES,32 PROTECTED ZONES,15 WETLAND AREAS,11 FOREST RESERVES,8 BIOLOGICALRESERVES AND 12OTHER SPECIAL ZONES



Distributed by USA TODAYMonday, January 31, 201188 COSTA RICACOSTA RICA

Sustainable, wild,beautiful, and happy

Few countries in the world canboast such a desirable status asa tourist destination as CostaRica can. Who hasn’t heard ofthe rainforests here or of theawesome surfing beaches? Andwhat about the curious mon-keys, lazy iguanas, and brilliantblue butterflies? Even the ubiq-uitous ‘tico’ (Costa Rican) ex-pression ‘Pura Vida’ or the logoof Imperial, the national beer,can be spotted on T-shirts backin the States.

Yet, what is it that has set Cos-ta Rica apart from other tropi-cal countries? Could it be thefact that it’s a stable democracywith no standing army? Perhapsit’s because of its proximity to theU.S.? Or maybe it has somethingto do with the combination ofsuccessful marketing of a fan-tastic product and the savvyforesight the government hadto promote sustainable tourismbefore it was all the rage else-where in the world.

With unparal-leled flora andfauna despiteits itty-bittysize (Cos-

ta Rica, smaller than West Vir-ginia, is home to 5% of all the bio-diversity in the world), some ofthe most spectacular sceneryon the planet, and a tourism sec-tor dominated by small andmedium businesses, the Cen-tral American nation is a dream-come-true for environmentallyconscious travelers and lovers ofnature. More than a quarter ofthe national territory belongs tonational parks, biologic reserves,

and wild life refuges.The National Parks

System was founded 40years ago and the concept of

sustainable tourism was alreadywell-defined and implementedby the Costa Rican Tourism In-stitute’s (ICT) SustainableTourism Certification Program(CST) by the turn of the mil-lennium.

According to CST, “the de-velopment of sustainabletourism must be seen as the bal-anced interaction between theuse of our natural and culturalresources, the improvement of

the quality of life among the lo-cal communities, and the eco-nomic success of the industry,which also contributes to na-tional development. Sustainabletourism is not only a responseto demand, but also an imper-ative condition to successfullycompete now and in the future.“

Companies that apply forCST certification can use theCST label as a key sales point intheir promotions and can par-ticipate for free or for reducedrates in international fairs.

Thanks to initiatives such asthis, the ICT is not only ensur-ing a high quality offering, it’salso strengthening the tourismsector, the industry that mostcontributes to the country’s so-cial and economic development.

Today, Costa Rica is consid-ered a pioneer in ecotourism –the ICT now works with neigh-boring nations to help them ap-ply the tried and tested model ofsustainability – and over theyears has successfully evolvedthis sector, specializing in and

offering a widespread level of re-sponsible tourism unavailableelsewhere as yet. This translatesdirectly into higher quality of lifefor residents and a surefire mag-net for tourists. Indeed, CostaRica is ranked first in the UK-based Happy Planet Index 2.0and its two million annual visi-tors made it the most visitedcountry in Central America. Italso tops the list for tourism com-petitiveness for Latin America.

As if this weren’t enough, the2010 Environmental Perfor-mance Index (EPI) compiled byYale and Columbia universitiesranked Costa Rica first in theAmericas with a score of 86.4and third worldwide, behindIceland and Switzerland (in con-trast, the U.S. received just 63.5,placing it 61st out of a total of 163countries).

Many countries boast natur-al beauty and diversity, yet fewhave managed to pass legisla-tion to protect it and spread theeco-ideology throughout soci-ety as well as Costa Rica has.

Ranked among theworld’s happiest nations,Costa Rica is a breedingground for an incrediblewealth of flora and fauna,and is about as close toparadise as it gets

The Minister of Tourism discusses what direction thecountry’s most sustainable sector is taking

A sustainablesector

WWhhaatt iiss yyoouurr vviissiioonn ooff tthheettoouurriissmm sseeccttoorr iinn CCoossttaa RRiiccaa??WWhhaatt iiss iitt tthhaatt mmaakkeess tthhiiss ddeess--ttiinnaattiioonn ssoo ssppeecciiaall aanndd ddeessiirr--aabbllee??

We know that Costa Rica isblessed with exquisite natur-al beauty and extraordinarybiodiversity. Although thecountry only takes up .001%of the earth’s surface, we’vegot 5% of the world’s biodi-versity. Businesspeople hereknow how to protect ourwealth and innovate in orderto continue down the path ofsustainable development. Thissustainable tourism model iswhat tourists admire and con-tinue to consciously choose.

Our most typical expres-sion ‘Pura Vida’ [pure life] re-flects the friendly characterof our people and our com-mitment to preserving the en-vironment.

HHooww hhaass tthhee CCoossttaa RRiiccaannTToouurriissmm IInnssttiittuuttee ((IICCTT)) bbeeeennssuucccceessssffuull iinn ddrriivviinngg tthhiiss mmooddeell??

Sustainability is the differ-entiating element in Costa Ri-ca as a tourism destination.This concept goes further thanjust protecting the environ-ment; it also involves socialand economic aspects. Fromthis point of view, we’veworked to ensure the nation-al tourism offer is varied andsustainable, that it includesniches such as adventure,weddings, and honeymoons.More recently, we’ve beenbuilding convention centersand targeting medicaltourism, taking full advantageof the global prestige our na-tional health system enjoys.

WWhhaatt aarree tthhee mmaajjoorr bbeenneeffiittssooff ssuussttaaiinnaabbllee ttoouurriissmm iinn tteerrmmssooff tthhee ccoouunnttrryy’’ss ssoocciiooeeccoo--nnoommiicc ddeevveellooppmmeenntt??

Sustainable tourism hascontributed to the socioeco-nomic development from sev-eral angles; the main one is

that it’s generated a new vi-sion among Costa Rican en-trepreneurs to make the bestuse of our natural resources.Parallel to this, it’s contributedto improving the relation be-tween the tourism projectsand the surrounding com-munities, from both a socialand an economic point of view,as it’s helped raise the qualityof life of these families. Plus,since private enterprise beganbelieving in sustainability, itfirmly opposes all types of so-cial deterioration. All of theseefforts in the tourism sectorhave helped lower the pover-ty index. This is yet anotherreason why we bring more sus-

tainable tourism projects. Cos-ta Rica and the world wouldbe a better place if all sectorsemulated the tourism sector.

WWhhaatt ppeerrcceennttaaggee ooff ttoouurriissttsstthhaatt vviissiitt CCoossttaa RRiiccaa ggoo ffoorr tthheennaattuurree??

Our studies reflect that closeto 65% of those who came toCosta Rica by air between 2004and 2009 came with our nat-ural resources in mind. Themain things they take advan-tage of are the biodiversity, for-est hikes, bird watching, floraand fauna, and the volcanoes.

Enjoy picture-perfect beaches, active volcanoes, world-class surf, stunning waterfalls, and much, much more

Carlos Ricardo Benavides, Minister of Tourism


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