Monthly Archives: April 2016

British Airways adds nonstop flights between San José and London

CR-SJO-FLIGHTS-GETTY-512366337-760x350European tourists will have a new option to travel to Costa Rica with the launch next week of a new nonstop British Airways flight between London and San José.

The route will offer two flights a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays, during the European summer, and three flights a week, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, in its winter season.

The inaugural flight of the new route between London’s Gatwick Airport and Juan Santamaría International Airport outside of San José arrived Wednesday.

President Luis Guillermo Solís and various government officials welcomed the first travelers with traditional Tico music and dances.

The president said the new route is a milestone for Costa Rica’s tourism industry, as it is the second direct connection to a European destination.

Previously the only nonstop flight connecting to Europe was Iberia’s route between Madrid and San José.

“This new route demonstrates our country’s good positioning as a great option for European tourists. British Airways chose us as its first destination in Central America and this will result in great benefits for both our tourist and foreign trade sectors,” Solís said.

The commercial director of British Airways at Gatwick, Colm Lacy, said Costa Rica offers European tourists “a great variety of amazing places to visit and hotel options that can be enjoyed by either families looking for a relaxing stay or by travelers looking for adventure.”

Tourism Minister Mauricio Ventura noted that European tourists have an average stay in Costa Rica of 17 nights and spend an average of $1,660, “the highest among all of our priority tourism markets.”

A total of 400,000 Europeans entered the country by air in 2015, representing a 6.8 percent increase over the previous year, the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) reported.

Of those, a total of 37,492 were British tourists, accounting for a 21.8 percent increase from 2014.

ICT officials expect the new direct route to facilitate connections with other European destinations, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Rome and Dublin.

Costa Rica’s flights to and from European destinations currently includes direct flights between Costa Rica and Spain from Iberia, indirect flights between Frankfurt and San José from Condor and, starting in November, a new Munich-San José route from Condor. Starting Nov. 2, Air France will offer two weekly flights between San José and Paris.

ICT estimates that the entry into operation of all these routes for Costa Rica will mean a total of 5,177 weekly available seats for flights from European cities.

For more info: http://www.britishairways.com/travel/home/public/en_cr

Source: British Airways adds nonstop flights between San José and London

Costa Rica Among The Safest Places To Visit

world map terrorism

Nice to know there are still places in the world where one can “get away” and really relax; rather than having to be alert to each stimulus and surrounding.  Awareness is one thing, elevated sense of alert doesn’t make for a good holiday.

QCOSTARICA TRAVEL  – For travellers still worried about their summer holiday, the MAIL Online (Daily Mail) has compiled a list of the safest places to visit around the world, that includes Co…

Source: Costa Rica Among The Safest Places To Visit

Airlines announce new flights from Canada, Mexico, Venezuela

No matter where you may be coming from, it’s getting easier to visit and play in Costa Rica paradise!  The Details

Air-Canada-Rouge-320x200Montreal-San José, Costa Rica: Service begins December 22, 2016, subject to government approval, with flight AC1844 and operates twice weekly departing Montreal at 07:40 on Thursday and Sunday, arriving in San José at 12:14. Return flight AC1845 departs San José at 13:35 and arrives in Montreal at 19:47. Service ends for the season on April 16, 2017. Flights will be operated by Air Canada rouge, Air Canada’s leisure carrier using a 282-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft offering a choice of premium and economy cabins. Flights are timed to offer convenient connections to/from Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick as well as Quebec-City, Ottawa and Toronto.

volarisMexican low-cost airline Volaris also announced Wednesday that was adding a third weekly flight between San José and Guadalajara and San José and Cancún. The carrier launched operations in Costa Rica in September 2015 with two weekly flights on these two routes.

 

albatrosEarlier this week, Venezuela’s Albatros Airlines confirmed the start, on May 2, of a non-stop flight three times a week between Caracas and San José.  Costa Rica is the airline’s first international destination.  Albatros general manager in Costa Rica Mauricio Castro said the company chose Costa Rica mostly because of the large number of Venezuelan expats currently living here.  “Costa Rica also is an excellent destination for both tourism and business,” he said. “Undoubtedly, we believe Costa Ricans also will find in Venezuela a great vacation destination.”