meeting and incentive travel in costa rica
Costa Rica represents an excellent alternative for planning meetings and incentive travel. We offer a wide array of attractions for visitors and a tourist sector that is renowned for its creativity and professionalism. Numerous testimonials speak to the excellent results that have been obtained by events held in our country. We would like to share some of the most important reasons to consider us as a destination for your next meeting or incentive trip: connectivity, a strategic location, excellent infrastructure, well-being and quality, experience, a high educational level, sustainability and a diversity of activities.
8 reasons to choose costa rica for your event
1. connectivity
Costa Rica is located in Central America, to the south of Nicaragua and to the north of Panama. The country has two main international airports: Juan Santamaría International Airport, near the capital of San José, and Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport in the country’s northeastern Guanacaste province.
Coming to Costa Rica is easy from the main cities of Latin America, North America and Europe, with twenty-nine airlines offering over 500 flights per week. In addition, numerous daily flights connect Juan Santamaría International Airport with the nearby hub of the Americas, Tocumen International Airport in Panama City.
It’s because of Costa Rica’s accessibility and its tourism qualities that the largest airlines have announced an increase in their flights to the country. One of them has announced two additional daily flights from Dallas to Costa Rica in 2019.
Another announced an increased number of flights between Costa Rica and Toronto, which will result in a 36% increase in the number of seats between 2018 and 2019. Furthermore, it will provide service during the months of September and October, when operations had previously been interrupted. In terms of port infrastructure, the country jumped from 89th to become the regional leader in total connectivity thanks to the opening of the Moín Container Terminal, according to data from the World Economic Forum. For the first time, the country will have a direct connection between Moín Port and the markets of Europe and Asia without the need to ship goods overland.
On the other hand, the advantage of being a small country that is home to 5% of the world’s biodiversity is that many of the attractions are very close to one another: for example, visitors can enjoy the warmth of our beaches at less than a 2-hour journey from the capital. Once the meeting is done, participants can choose to enjoy the lush mountains or choose a tour closer to their lodgings.
2. strategic location
Costa Rica is situated in sunny Central America, with a variable and highly pleasant climate year-round. Temperatures range from 70-80°F (21-26ºC).
3. excellent infrastructure
With +50,000 rooms in San José
Costa Rica offers the most recognized brands worldwide. Costa Rica has excellent infrastructure to accommodate all delegates participanting in meetings, or incentive trips, including prior preparation of meeting rooms and halls for large events.
4. sustainable
Costa Rica is a world leader in clean energy production and practically free of fossil fuels.
- The country runs on green electricity for 99% of the year
- Taxes on fossil fuels help protect Costa Rica’s forests
- Protected areas cover 25% of the nation’s territory
- According to the Happy Planet Index, Costa Rica was the happiest and most sustainable country on the planet in 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2016
- The country has set itself the goal of being carbon-neutral by 2021
5. well-being and quality of life
An evaluation of the country’s public health system ranked it as the seventh-best in the world in terms of quality, as well as the best in Latin America.
In addition, Costa Rica is the highest-ranking country in the Happy Planet Index, the second year that it has received this distinction. The HPI examines aspects such as sustainable happiness at the national level, examining around 140 countries on the following criteria: how happy their citizens are, how long their live, and the amount of resources they use.
According to the 2019 World Happiness Report, published by the UN, Costa Rica is ranked 12th in a list of 156 countries.
This index analyzes a variety of indicators such as life expectancy, social support and corruption, among others. This year’s report paid more attention to addiction issues, which, it says, are a factor in unhappiness and depression.
“I don’t want an army of soldiers, but an army of educators”, President José Figueres Ferrer, 1948. This was the phrase that put an end to Costa Rica’s army and converted into one of the world’s first country without armed forces. Over 70 years ago, the country has put aside violence to invest more in education, health and infrastructure.
That is why this decision was one that strengthened the practice of democracy and the country’s sociopolitical stability.
6. experience
Costa Rica has set the international standard as a destination for meetings and incentive travel. According to information from the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), Costa Rica is the 9th most frequently chosen country in Latin America to host meetings, and 56th globally.
As a result of all of the efforts by public and private companies, we have welcomed major events such as: the 5th Latinosan – Latin American Sanitation Conference, the Copa Domestika CR, the 35th Congress of the World Veterinary Association, ConX, Convention GEEK-Costa Rica, as well as the largest tourism fair, Expotur 2019, among other events. Expotur saw the creation of partnerships with the 35 invited countries with the goal of continuing to promote the country as a tourist destination.
This year, we hope to welcome more conventions, such as the 2019 Social Tourism Encounter of the Americas, the National Gastroenterology Congress for General Practitioners, 2019 Fashion Week Costa Rica, the 33rd Costa Rican Legal Medicine Day, the 12th Meeting of Ibero-American Legal Medicine and Forensic Science Institutions, the International Odontology Congress, the National Orthopedics Congress, the 2019 Ophthalmology Congress, the National Gastroenterology Congress, among other events of great importance for the country.
7. high education level
Costa Rica’s educational system has a major digital emphasis, with 90% of schools and educational institutions currently offering access to digital technology. Some 44% of the population has studied at the post-secondary level.
8. diversity of attraction and activities
The country’s geographical diversity offers visitors a little bit of everything, from mountain chains and active volcanoes to gorgeous beaches on its Pacific and Caribbean coasts. This incredible geography creates a wide array of microclimates, meaning that there is always more to discover. With so many sights to behold, Costa Rica offers a rich experience for your meeting or incentive travel.