Costa Rica Fifth Cleanest Country

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SPIRIT AIRLINES TO OPEN RESERVATION CENTERS, June 5, 2009
Spirit Airlines opened its Reservation Center within the country. The opening of this new office is located in Ultrapark, in Heredia, and more than 75 agents and support personnel have been hired to begin operation.The company has trained its new customer service personnel to take calls in Spanish, make reservations, and deal with travelers’ questions.“Without a doubt, this news comes at the right time because it shows a level of trust and reflects not only the reputation that Costa Rica has as a destination spot, but also the excellent preparedness of Costa Ricans,” said María Amalia Revelo, Assistant Manager and Marketing Director of the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT). Spirit Airlines is a low-cost airline and ranks among the largest in the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Currently, it operates 150 daily flights to 39 destinations with the newest Airbus fleet in America. It is based out of Miramar, Florida and employs 2,300 professionals.
SALVADORAN GROUP TO INVEST $15 MILLION IN HOTEL IN ESCAZÚ, June 5, 2009
The Salvadoran business group, Agrisal, will invest close to $15 million in Costa Rica on the construction of its first hotel outside of its own country.Eduardo Quiñónez, director of Agrisol’s hotel division, reported that the hotel will operate under the Holiday Inn chain and will be located in Escazú, “very close to the CIMA hospital.” He failed to give the exact location.“We undertook a thorough analysis and came to the conclusion that Costa Rica provided the best conditions for our first hotel outside of El Salvador. You have done an extraordinary job in positioning the country for tourism,” he stated.He remarked that the first block will be laid in September, with the goal of opening its doors at the end of 2010. Its construction will generate up to 300 direct jobs and a little more than 150 permanent employees when it opens.Agrisol’s arrival to the country did not happen alone. The Salvadoran group joined up with the InterContinental Hotels Group chain (IHG), which currently has four hotels in San José.The agreement with IHG was signed in 2007, not only to open the Holiday Inn in Escazú, but also for another six hotels throughout Central America.
INCAE AMONG THE TOP 50 BUSINESS SCHOOLS IN THE WORLD, June 5, 2009
The international business school ranking of the Financial Times Executive Education placed Incae among the top 50 business schools in the world with respect to executive education.The Costa Rican education center ranked 46 on the list. According to the study, only four Latin American schools were included in the list among the more than 6,000 schools that are in operation today throughout the world: Ipade (Mexico), Fundação Dom Cabral and Ibmec São Paul (Brazil).The executive education study reflects the opinion of more than 5,600 high-profile clients and general participants that filled out the survey. The poll was released in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Mandarin.Presently, Incae has schools in 10 countries with Executive Master Programs, along with research programs, extension programs, executive education, and think tanks within the countries where they are located.
PANAMANIAN BANK OPENS SERVICES IN COSTA RICA, May 29, 2009
The Panamanian bank, Banco General, opened its Costa Rican branch in La Torre Banco General in Trejos Montealegre, Escazú, just west of the capital.Banco General was the first private Panamanian capital bank founded in 1955. At the close of 2008, its worth was about $1.004 million. The bank has at least 2,900 employees and around 360,000 customers. The main bank is in Panama with 60 branches.The financial publication, The Banker, published by the news agency The Financial Times, located in London, granted the bank the “Bank of the Year” award in Panama last year, an honor that the publication gives out every year to one bank in each country.Some of their services include: personal accounts, corporate accounts, ATMs, teller services, training and saving products, debit and credit cards and personal and corporate credit services, among others.
NATURE AIR RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL AWARD, May 29, 2009
Nature Air, the airline flying the Costa Rican flag, won the Tourism for Tomorrow 2009 award from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), thanks to its sustainable tourism efforts and its commitment to Costa Rica’s national heritage.This recognition has been granted for many decades in order to stimulate efforts for environmental protection in the tourism industry. The choice was made based on efforts by Nature Air in reducing carbon dioxide emissions through the 100% carbon neutral aviation program which gets passengers involved in the involuntary emission compensation plan thereby reducing fuel consumption in the air and on land.Nature Air has developed a unique bio-fuel service station and created the non-profit NatureKids foundation, which teaches English and environmental topics to local communities.“The environment is precious and we are grateful to receive this great recognition by the WTTC due to our conservation efforts,” stated Alex Khhajavi, founder and CEO of Nature Air. “This award is an inspiration to us all at Nature Air and encourages us to continue seeking news ways to add positive value to social and environmental challenges that face us.”The company has been involved in environmental issues since 2004, when it committed itself to establishing new standards for sustainable practices in the aviation industry, recovering 100% of its greenhouse emissions by means of rainforest conservation in the Osa peninsula.The Tourism for Tomorrow award is a way that the WTTC stimulates sound practices within the industry. This council brings together business leaders from the tourism industry and works with governments and other participants in order to raise awareness about the importance of one of the greatest sources of wealth and employment in the world.NatureAir was created in 2000 and has grown staggeringly, going from 18,000 passengers annually to more than 140,000 in 2008.It is the first carbon neutral airline in the world and the only twin-engine airline in Costa Rica with scheduled as well as charter flights offering 74 daily flights to 17 destinations in Costa Rica and Panama.With respect to its energy conservation policy, it focuses on the use of bio-fuels (cooking oils), which operate all of its ground transportation.
INTERCONTINENTAL TO OPEN TWO BEACH HOTELS, May 29, 2009
The Intercontinental Hotels Group firm (IHG) is preparing its venture into the business of beach hotels in the country.Jim Abrahamson, president of IHG in America, indicated that they plan to open two resort type hotels in Guanacaste and the Central Pacific.Abrahamson did not say exactly when the openings will take place.Currently, IHG has five hotels in the country, all in San José: Real InterContinental, Crowne Plaza Corobicí, Aurola Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Índigo, which was inaugurated in the beginning of May.Índigo has 100 boutique-style rooms and is located around Forum Two, in Santa Ana, San José.Abrahamson explained that they selected Santa Ana for its commercial development and strategic location.Índigo is the first of its kind that IHG has opened in Latin America. The building itself belongs to the firm, Prime Holding.Luis Hernández, president of Prime Holding, said that they invested $12 million in the project.
COSTA RICA IS THE SAFEST COUNTRY IN LATIN AMERICA, May 25, 2009
Costa Rica is the safest nation in Latin America for businesses and multinational companies, according to the latest Latin Security Index done by FTI Consulting Ibero America in the weekly publication Latin Business Chronicle.The index includes a danger level rating for every country, calculated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being a completely safe country and 5 the worst. Only three countries in Latin America received a 2: Costa Rica, Chile, and Uruguay. And, among those, Costa Rica rated as the safest, said Frank Holder, Senior General Manager of FTI forensic and litigation consulting, as well as a prominent Latin American security expert.
NBC TO TAPE REALITY SHOW IN COSTA RICA, May 25, 2009
Costa Rica will be the location for a new NBC reality show with celebrities, which will air June 1st in the United States.The new series will be composed of 10 personalities from different backgrounds. However, the list of stars coming to Costa Rica has yet to be revealed, although the journalist, Geraldo, and ex-governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, have been mentioned. Although reservations have been made at various hotels in Sarapiquí, the network would not specify where in Costa Rica the reality show would be filmed, which will air in the evenings during June, from Monday to Thursday during the first three weeks, and Monday to Wednesday during the last week. NBC described the show as a “Swiss Family Robinson.” “It’s a type of competition where 10 celebrities are ‘abandoned’ in the heart of the jungle and confront fun and amusing challenges, designed to test their survival skills.”The Chicago Tribune indicated that television viewers will decide the fate of the participants, particularly related to finding food, hygienic supplies, and other necessities. One will be crowned “King or Queen of the Jungle,” reported the publication.The New York Times wrote yesterday that NBC said that besides the challenges that the participants have to overcome, they will also be trying to collect the most amount of money to be given to the charity of their choice. The show is expected to be a success. “This is a concept that has worked very well throughout the world,” said Mitch Metcalf, Programming Director of Entertainment Weekly.This won’t be the first time that Costa Rica has hosted an international reality show. In 2005, the country was one of the stages for the popular program The Amazing Race: Family Edition. The participants competed in places such as Manuel Antonio, Quepos, Jacó, Grecia, Poás volcano, and a coffee plantation in Alajuela.
COSTA RICA IS THE FIFTH CLEANEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, ACCORDING TO FORBES MAGAZINE , May 25, 2009
Costa Rica is the fifth cleanest country in the world, according to a recent publication in the prestigious Forbes magazine, after an environmental study on 149 countries regarding air and water quality and natural vitality, among others, done by scientists from Colombia and Yale Universities. The Environmental Performance Indicator (EPI) study corresponds to the year 2008.According to Forbes, the Costa Rican economy is anchored by a robust ecotourism industry that has benefitted from governmental and private efforts made to protect the country’s biodiversity. In addition, the publication highlighted that this index will continue to improve if it complies with its initiative to become the first carbon neutral, or C-neutral, nation by 2021. The Forbes publication also stated that, contrary to what has happened in other Latin American countries, Costa Rica has been efficient in avoiding an increase in tree felling, and has also achieved a score of 97 or higher in forest, air pollution, and climate change categories.This is due to efforts to re-forest part of the land by means of planting a specific tree species that will be used for commercial purposes.Costa Rica is surpassed only by Switzerland (with a rating of 95.5), Sweden (93.1) and Norway (93.1) tied for second, and Finland (91.4).