384 Tourism Companies have Sustainable Tourism Certificatio 9/28/2017 by news.co.cr

The Costa Rica Tourisim Board granted to 384 tourism companies the Tourism Sustainability Certification
which is recognized by the World Tourism Organization.“For over three decades Costa Rica conceived sustainability as a base to its Model of Tourism Development, making it a competitive advantage and the main differentiation of the country as a destination. The country created 20 years ago the Tourism Sustainability Certification (CST), an innovative and pioneer norm in its field that promotes sustainability and therefore social and economic wellness for the communities”, explained Mauricio Ventura, Minister of Tourism.

Among the 384 companies that have earned the certification, 76 of which received the certification yesterday in the frame of the World Tourism Day, there are lodging facilities, car rentals, tour operator agencies, sustainable theme parks and gastronomy companies.
The CST evaluates five fundamental aspects:1) The physical and biological surrounding  2) Service infrastructure (for lodging companies)-this evaluates the construction, systems and internal processes in place for waste management and water and electricity saving.3) Service management (for tour operators): the design of tourist products that fits the characteristics of the country and locations taking into consideration market tendencys.4) Client: actions that companies carry out to promote the participation of clients in the organization’s sustainability processes.5) Social-Economic Surrounding: the identification and interaction of the establishment with the nearby communities.
Sustainability as a development model promotes the need to satisfy the current requirements of the society without compromising the right of the future generations to satisfy theirs, through the appropriate use of our natural and cultural resources, the improvement of the quality of life of local communities and the financial success that can contribute with other national projects.

The truth about real estate appraisals in Costa Rica
THE TICO TIMES  SEPTEMBER 22     Ivo Henfling / The Tico Times 

 Property records In the United States, for example, you can look up property values, history records and other valuable info easily through programs like US Realty Records.
In Costa Rica, we don’t have anything like this. Property sales are registered through a deed in the National Property Registry. Those data are public, but you need to know the owner information or property number to access the information. Sales data for a property owned in a corporation and transferred within the corporation will never be visible to the general public.
Therefore, nobody really has any access to property values and history records to be used for real estate appraisals. For the same reason, you won’t find any CMAs (Comparative Market Analysis) in Costa Rica.
Banks in Costa Rica use the loan amount to register the value of a property they lend on – so those data are no good to their own appraisers either.( almost impossible for Gringo foreigners to get a loan! says Jeff).

Real estate values and data
Real estate values change all the time; finding fresh data requires an enormous effort. Without the fresh data, it is impossible to do correct and up-to-date real estate appraisals. So what do appraisers do to find the necessary data to do their job?
They do what any human being can do: surf around on the web and drive around the neighborhood looking for signs. They collect the data and try to get a general idea of land values in the area.

Appraisal methods
There are various appraisal methods used by appraisers in Costa Rica: the Ross-Heidecke, the Heidecke, the Ross, and the Kuentzle method. Real estate agents usually use the concept of replacement value, less a construction cost depreciation of 2 percent per year.All these methods need up-to-date values to be able to come up with a sensible result. As I explained before, the necessary data for an exact result is not available in Costa Rica.

Guesstimate
As you can see, all these methods to do real estate appraisals are much like holding a finger in the air. As long as the National Property Registry doesn’t start producing data and making them public, real estate appraisals are not much more than a guesstimate.

Lenders
Banks and private lenders use real estate appraisals to find out what the Loan To Value (LTV) is. Banks are now lending on property sold by real estate developers at almost 100 percent. Private lenders often have real estate agents do their appraisals, and they use a “fire sale value.” Who do you think will get the short end of the stick?

Solution
In my opinion, the best solution for getting a sensible real estate appraisal is to ask a seasoned real estate agent who has worked in a particular area for many years. Those agents usually know what properties in their area have sold for in the past.
In any case, the only real value is the price that a buyer is willing to pay for a property.
Jeff says: please come to Costa Rica with the intention of having your funds ready to be wired, as this is the
best way to save money by being able to offer the Seller, cash. Instead of paying the Sellers' dream price
YOU will be buying at your dream price!

Lawmaker says water woes may close Guanacaste Pacific hotels
August 19, 2014  By the A.M. Costa Rica staff (Ed. Jeff says-we have lots of water in the Jaco Central 
Pacific areas-which is one of the reasons why I moved here from Tamarindo!)
A lawmaker warned Monday that the shortage of water in Guanacaste might cause hotels to close in the next few weeks. The domestic water crisis caused by a prolonged drought has been overshadowed in the news by the problems facing farmers and ranchers in the area.
But the lawmaker, Juan Marín, said that even a major hotel like the Barceló might be forced to close due to the lack of water. That would leave 250 employees without jobs, he said.  

The shortage has caused the hotel management to spend $55,000 during July just to bring in water, the lawmaker told the Asamblea Legislativa. He blamed the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados. However, there are many other smaller water systems in the area.Marín said that today he and fellow lawmakers who represent that area will meet with the leadership of the national water company to seek solutions.
The dry spell is a result of the El Niño conditions in the Pacific. For months ranchers have been cutting their herds and moving animals to other locations so they could find forage. There has been a promise of an emergency decree.Marín also said that also hurting tourism in Tamarindo is the closing of the local airport due to asphalt breaking up on the runway.

WATER SHORTAGE AFFECTING TAMARINDO'S REAL ESTATE MARKET
August 8th, 2014  By Liisa Vexler 
Residents of Tamarindo and surrounding communities continue to be subject to water shortages, stoppages and restrictions after a drier than normal May, June and July. Scheduled and unscheduled water stoppages continue to affect the operation of businesses and the daily lives of community members.The biggest complaint from residents and businesses is the lack of communication about these stoppages.Despite the restrictions and pleas for voluntary water sparing, there are reports of businesses and individuals continuing to water gardens, wash cars, and polish facilities. One resident who asked to remain anonymous said, “Tourists in most cases have no idea about the water situation while residents have no water in their homes.”  Residents are asked to forgo use of water for cosmetic purposes (armpits?) until the water shortage passes.

New law comes into effect for those who overstay their visa
August 4th, 2014 (InsideCostaRica.com)
After a one-year extension on their implementation, new laws regarding those who overstay their visa in Costa Rica came into effect last Friday, August 1st.

Effective as of last Friday, August 1st, those who overstay any type of visa, including tourist visas, must pay a fine of $100 for each month they remained in the country after the expiration of their visa.

Those who are unable or unwilling to pay the fines will be barred from reentering the country for a period equal to three times the length of time they overstayed.  For instance, a person who overstays a tourist visa by three months can be barred from reentering the country for a period of nine months.

Fines must be paid 48 hours in advance of departing the country at any Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) branch.However, those who are already in the country past the expiration of their visa will apparently not have to pay the $100 per month fine for months before the law came into effect – thus, the first fines come into place starting September 1st.  As such, immigration authorities are urging those who are over their allowed stay to renew their visas or change their immigration status by the end of the month to avoid having to pay the fines. 

Other immigration laws came into effect on August 1st as well, including a fine of two to twelve times the base salary for hiring a foreign worker who does not have a work visa, as well as fines for people or businesses that provide accommodations for foreign nationals who are in the country without a valid visa.

Costa Rica named top tourism destination in new global survey
June 11, 2014 by Tico Times Zach Dyer  
A new global survey confirmed that tourists love Costa Rica, naming the country most recommended tourism destination in the world.

The Global Tourism Monitor Survey asked 23,000 globetrotters from 26 countries where they had traveled during the previous 12 months and which destination they would more recommend based on their experience there. The report, released Monday, ranked the top 65 most recommended destinations.

Austria came in second, followed by Israel, New Zealand and Italy.

Ukraine, Malaysia, China, Indonesia and Tunisia were the five least recommended destinations, according to the survey conducted by BDRC Continental.

While Costa Rica placed atop the list of most recommended destination, no other Latin American country made the top 10.

Latin America and the Caribbean placed among the least popular regions with only 6 percent of respondents saying they were “seriously” planning to travel to the region. Europe ranked the highest among potential travelers with 43 percent planning to travel there, followed by 27 percent in the Asian Pacific. Only 4 percent said they planned to take their holiday in Africa or the Middle East.

Costa Rica received a record-breaking 2.4 million tourists during 2013, according to the Costa Rican Tourism Board.Here’s the list of the top 10 most recommended destinations (with a three-way tie for 10th place):

1. Costa Rica
2. Austria
3. Israel
4. New Zealand
5. Italy
6. Japan
7. Croatia
8. USA
9. Norway
10. Canada
10. Greece
10. United Kingdom

…and the 10 least recommended:

56. Bulgaria
57. Russia
58. Albania
59. Cambodia
60. India
61. Ukraine
62. Malaysia
63. China
64. Indonesia
65. Tunisia

The Global Tourism Monitor Survey 
The Global Tourism Monitor survey was conducted in Q1 2014 by Global Market Research, a leading 
international network of market research agencies. The survey comprised more than 23,000 
interviews among nationally representative samples in 26 countries. 
 Europe: Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, 
Netherlands, Romania, Russia, UK, Ukraine 
 Asia Pacific: Australia, India, China, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, 
Vietnam 
 Americas: Brazil, Canada, Mexico, USA 
 
The survey captured information regarding the following: 
 Countries visited by respondents in the past 12 months; 
 Respondents’ likelihood to recommend the destination (or destinations) they visited in the past 
12 months (using a Net Promoter Score); 
 Which countries respondents seriously intended to visit on their next main holiday. 
 Influences behind holiday decisions, including recommendations from friends, destination 
advertising, travel agents promoting packages, special offers from airlines or hotel groups, 
destination reviews in print or online travel publications. 
 

Tomorrow's holiday begins the long vacation
April 10, 2014 By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Tomorrow not only is a legal holiday, the Día de Juan Santamaría, but it also is the beginning of a 10-day break for many government workers.The driver's licensing offices will be closed starting tomorrow. President Laura Chinchilla has decreed the long vacation for much of the executive branch. Other branches of government are doing the same.

The Instituto Nacional de Seguros will close its main office for the duration, but many departments in the state insurance agency only will be closed tomorrow and April 17 and 18. The insurance agency's medical and rehabilitation facilities will be open the entire time. Accident investigators will be on duty the entire time, too.

The Cruz Roja will be operating at full strength with 160 aid stations located strategically around the country for the benefit of vacationers. More than 1,000 Cruz Roja workers and volunteers will be on duty.
Naturally the traffic police will be at full strength. So will the Servicio Nacional de Guardacostas. 
Crew members will be patrolling off popular beaches.

From noon April 17, Holy Thursday, until 6 a.m. April 19, the day before Easter, toll booths will be closed on highways operated by the state. The toll booths on highway 27 to Jaco will be open as usual.

More good news is that the restrictions on license plates for the metro area are being suspended for tomorrow through Easter, April 20.

The Barrio Otoya offices of A.M. Costa Rica will be closed tomorrow, but a Friday edition will appear. 

The offices also will be closed all of Semana Santa, but the daily newspaper will be published each weekday except Good Friday, April 18. Telephones will be attended as usual, 24 hours a day.The festivities tomorrow are in Alajuela, the home of Juan Santamaría, the hero of the Battle of Rivas in 1856.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM COSTA RICA'S NEW PRESIDENT
April 9, 2014 Tico Times

Costa Rican President-elect Luis Guillermo Solís promised to balance the budget without raising taxes, while investing in public transportation, environmental protection and increased economic opportunities for women.

Originally released in December, the Citizen Action Party president-elect’s plan for governing contains a mix of centrist and progressive policy proposals. Forming the foundation of his specific proposals are what he called three pillars: fighting corruption, growing the economy and reducing inequality and poverty. Solís’ plan attacks previous administrations, whose economic liberalization of Costa Rica failed to deliver an equitable economy, according to PAC.

“The past generated two types of economy: one very dynamic, modern and generally oriented toward external markets, with limited possibilities to create new sources of employment, and the other, traditional, which created many jobs with low pay and where small and medium-sized businesses concentrated,” Solis’ plan said.

Solís promised to deliver a responsive government that distributed income more equally, while upholding Costa Rica’s commitment to human rights and ecological protections. However, Solís’ plan stopped short of calling for the rollback of some economic liberalization, such as free trade agreements, which he has criticized in the past.

Protecting the environment

The environmental plank of Solis’ plan was heavy on platitudes with specific proposals on water rights, involving local communities and reorganizing the Environment Ministry (MINAE).

His proposals focus heavily on management of aquifers and reservoirs, supporting the recently passed Water Resources Management Bill, which considers access a fundamental right, meaning private use of water would have to go through government concessions. His plan called for sanctioning those who violate sustainable water resource management.

For reorganizing MINAE, Solís proposed simplifying regulations while not diminishing them as his priority. He proposed a System of Application and Compliance with Environmental Laws to seek out critical areas. He asked that all government ministries make public information on their own environmental impact. In dealing with climate change, he proposed using the National Emergency Commission to evaluate risks and adaptation measures.

The reorganization proposed to focus on more local involvement and an ostensible increase in the power of local governments. Alongside this, Solís advocated for involving indigenous communities and residents who live near protected areas or national parks. His government plan calls for “adequate funding” for protected areas as well as improving the livelihood of employees such as park rangers. He also called for giving priority to artisanal fishermen in Costa Rica.

Public transportation gets a mention in his environment section and a more detailed layout in his infrastructure plan. Solís called for an electric train in San José’s metropolitan area, investment in alternative fuels and an electronic payment system such as a transit card to make public transportation easier.

Less defined environmental proposals called for increased public investment in alternative energy such as self-generation and improved municipal recycling.

Fixing the budget

Public deficits and debts have plagued Costa Rica for years, and Solís has promised to resolve this issue without increasing overall tax rates. His government plan laid out a combination of increased tax enforcement, some tweaks in sales taxes and controlling government spending.

Solís’ plan said his administration would target Anonymous Societies (the most common type of corporation in Costa Rica, known as S.A.s), the self-employed and high-income individuals for tax evasion. He would also increase collection measures on permits and concessions such as liquor licenses. Social welfare agencies such as the retirement system, the Caja and the Social Development and Family Allowance Fund would see an increase in their collection ability, according to Solís’ plan. He also called for a revision on taxing foreign companies.

The president-elect has called for changing the country’s sales tax to a more progressive value-added tax. Arguing it would protect the lower classes, Solis suggested a tax on luxury goods, capital gains and polluters. He further called for a modified tax on luxury homes and a new law to punish tax evaders.

His plan becomes slightly less concrete when talking about government spending, saying he would eliminate redundant and superfluous parts of the government. He called for prioritizing all government spending based on whether it creates a positive social, economic or environmental impact. His progressive philosophy remained as he called for government spending to be directed at the poorest sectors of the country. Solís said he would provide a stricter standard on increases in government salaries, which currently automatically increase.

Coming under special scrutiny was the health care and social security system of Costa Rica, which suffers under enormous deficits.

“[The health care system] has become a fragmented and segmented health system, with long waiting lines, conflicts of interest, corruption, a difficult financial situation, especially the CCSS [the Caja], among other things that have weakened,” Solís’ plan said.

In the section on the Caja, Solís strongly pushes for reform, saying the board of directors needs to be reorganized as well as the payment system.

Lastly, on monetary policy, Solís said the Central Bank should prioritize low levels of currency inflation, punish banks that loan at high interest rates and incentivize the export industry.

Women and human rights issues

Solís castigated free trade and market liberalization policies that have been the norm in Costa Rica for the past decades.

“Implemented neoliberal politics have led to the destruction of the supportive state and rights, with its negative effects in all aspects, and principally, for women,” Solís’ plan said. “The globalized world continues to exercise mechanisms of oppression on all women, and, in Costa Rica, it has continued to produce these patterns of oppression against women, which touch all aspects of daily life.”

In order to combat this regime, which he said has disproportionately affected women, he promised to improve health coverage, lower the income gap with men and reduce violence against women. Solis’ plan said he aims to lower the number of women without medical coverage by 15 percent. For income inequality his government will provide 1,250 loans per year to women entrepreneurs. His government also will fund 5,000 projects over four years through the small and medium-sized business branch of the Economy, Industry and Commerce Ministry.

For other groups, ethnic minorities and the disabled, Solís’ plan has called for providing loans or credits, though not with the specific numbers he has with women. He has promised to provide 5 percent of public employee positions to the disabled, and to provide college grants to indigenous youth.

With LGBT individuals, Solís has not advocated for marriage or civil unions, but his plan did extend the promise of property rights between same-sex partners, medical visitation rights and having sexuality as a status protected from discrimination.

Infrastructure

As said above, Solís promised a commitment to expanding public transportation, not only for environmental reasons, but to alleviate traffic congestion. He further said he would tackle a number of road projects in the National Transportation Plan of 2011-2031, which have stalled or lagged under President Laura Chinchilla.

These include: broadening the highway between San José and San Ramón (a project that befuddled Chinchilla’s administration), broadening Route 32 from San José to Limón, a highway between San Carlos and Sarapiquí, a highway between Ciudad Quesada and Bernardo Soto, improving the beltway around San José, improving a route between Zapote and Hacienda Vieja and maintaining Route 35 between Los Chiles and Muelle.

Solís’ plan said he would eliminate excessive road tolls and promised to devote 40 percent of road resources to municipalities with agricultural zones.

On the issue of public security, Solís’ promised to increase police resources and salaries. He also proposed a parole option for offenders who did not commit violent or property-related crimes, in order to alleviate prison overcrowding.

Holidays and Semana Santa break up April and reduce work time
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff  April 2, 2014
April is not a great month for commerce this year.Friday, April 11, is Día de Juan Santamaría, a national holiday. And both April 17 and 18 also are legal holidays.

On all three days, employers are obligated to give workers a paid holiday. If for some reason the employees agree to work at the request of the employer, they get double pay. Overtime means triple pay.

These are the obligations for employers as set out this week by the Ministerio de Trabajo y Seguridad Social.April 13 to 19 is Holy Week or Semana Santa leading up to Easter Sunday, April 20.  That Thursday and Friiday are the holidays.Lucky members of the workforce will embark on a vacation starting the evening of Thursday, April 10, and not return to the job until April 21. The ministry noted that workers can use vacation time for the first three work days of Semana Santa

Of course for the tourism industry, Semana Santa is hard work. The Cámera Nacional de Turismo said Tuesday that operators of some 78 hotels that were surveyed predicted an average occupancy over Semana Santa of about 75 percent. Those at the beaches estimated occupancy in the 80s. Most of the tourism operators expected the week to be the same as last year.

The average was thrown off somewhat by the Central Valley where occupancy was estimated at about 52 percent, about typical for a holiday week when vacationers go to the mountains or beaches.

Curiously only 55 percent of the hotel operators said they were offering any type of promotion for Semana Santa. Those who were said they offered  discounts, accepted coupons or provided an extra night's lodging for free.

Tourism over Semana Santa is heavily Costa Rican. Many do not bother with hotels. Some stay with relatives who live near at vacation spots. Others simply set up tents on the public beaches.

Costa Rica amongst safest countries in Latin America        March 25^th, 2014 (InsideCostaRica.com) Consulting firm, FTI Consulting has published its 2014 Latin America Security Index, ranking Costa Rica as the safest country in Central America and one of the safest countries in the whole of Latin America. 

Of the 19 countries identified in this ranking, the Latin America Security Index finds that Venezuela, Honduras and Guatemala are the most dangerous countries in Latin America, while Costa Rica, Chile and Uruguay are the safest.

“Over the past decade, Latin America has mostly demonstrated strong economic growth with better integration, more commitment to the weakest social sectors and with more entrenched democratic governments,” said Frank L. Holder, Chairman of Latin America for FTI Consulting and author of the Latin America Security Index. “However, social mobility and inclusion has not eliminated the scourge of public insecurity. It remains, together with organized crime, money laundering, corruption and drug trafficking, paramount on regional government agendas.”

The Latin America Security Index provides “Danger Level” rankings from one to five, with one representing a very safe country and five representing a very dangerous country.

Costa Rica, along with Uruguay and Chile ranked as twos.  No country in Latin America received a “one” rating, representing a “very safe” country.

The report ranks neighboring Nicaragua as a “four,” while at the same time seeming to uphold a widely-held belief that Nicaragua is a safe country: “[Nicaragua] continues to maintain the lowest rate of insecurity in the ‘Triangle of Central America,’” the report states.

“However, [in Nicaragua] robberies with violence are high and increasing.  For example, in the first month of this year, violent crimes increased by 15% in comparison to the same month the prior year,” the report adds.

Regarding Costa Rica, the report said, “[The Costa Rican government] continues with its plan to professionalize the security forces and its investment in public safety prevention programs. The country continues to maintain lower crime rates than other neighboring countries, although it has not been completely isolated from their problems.”

FTI says the report is “based on official federal, provincial and municipal-level figures, concerning areas such as homicides, felonies, organized crime and drug trafficking, cargo and warehouse theft, home invasion, kidnapping, political and labor unrest, riots and violent demonstrations, as well as analyses of the effectiveness of government programs intended to address these problems.”

In general, the report highlights that organized crime and extreme violence surrounding the activities of drug cartels and the movement of drugs from production to consumer markets continues to be a major source of public insecurity in parts of Central America and Mexico. The Index notes that social and political unrest has become a factor for some of the more troubled economies, such as Venezuela.

Costa Rican Security Minister, Mario Zamora, was quick to express his satisfaction with Costa Rica’s ranking, adding that the Ministry of Public Security has been investing heavily in security, including uniforms, body armor, communication equipment, as well as modern and fast patrol boats.  The Ministry has also acquired more than 600 vehicles to enhance security throughout the country, Zamora said.“[The ranking] will inevitably translate into better conditions for tourism and foreign investment,” Zamora said.FTI Consulting has published the Latin America Security Index since 2007.

NEW FLIGHTS ANNOUNCED FOR COSTA RICA
March 13, 2014 Tico Times

After dropping the route last year, Colombian airline Avianca apparently has changed its mind and will soon resume flights between San José, Costa Rica, and New York, Costa Rica Civil Aviation Authority (DGAV) Director Álvaro Vargas announced this week.
The route, which includes a stop in San Salvador, El Salvador, will take off on March 16.Avianca also canceled four other flights to Costa Rica last May, firing 261 Costa Rican employees in the process.

Last week, United Airlines announced it would add more nonstop flights between San José and hubs in Chicago and Washington-Dulles.Throughout this month United will offer two weekly flights between San José and Chicago on Saturdays and Sundays, and three weekly flights between San José and Washington on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Stunning surprise in the Costa Rica presidential race
Wednesday March 5th, 2014 was a very exciting day politically as the number 2 vote getter in the Presidential race held Feb. 2, and forcing an April 6thrunoff,  Johnny Araya,  suspended his presidential campaign in the face of discouraging opinion poll numbers, and Luis Guillermo Solís of the Partido Acción Ciudadana appears to be headed for a decisive win as Costa Rica’s next president on April 6th.

After National Liberation Party (PLN) candidate Johnny Araya made a historic announcement to drop out of Costa Rica’s presidential runoff, Citizen Action Party (PAC) candidate and Costa Rica’s new president elect, Luis Guillermo Solís convened a press conference to address supporters and the media about the newly cleared field.

According to the Supreme Elections Tribunal, 31.8 percent of Costa Ricans did not vote on Feb. 2. That number is expected to increase in the runoff vote, especially now that only one candidate remains actively campaigning.

Solís, a 55-year-old history professor/political advisor & a first time politician who earned a Masters degree at Tulane Uni. in New Orleans, also was a Fulbright

Scholar at the Uni. of Michigan, and heads the Citizen Acton Party (PAC) — won 30.8 percent of the vote, narrowly ahead of Johnny Araya from the ruling National Liberation Party (PLN), who had 29.6 percent and had been in power with the 2 past presidents.  Solis has never held political office and was largely unknown until months ago, though he has worked in several PLN administrations and once served as ambassador to Panama.

In early January, polls showed that Solis had only five-percent support among voters. His party, formed to fight corruption and support of better income distribution, is just 13 years old.  This is the first time in 50 years that a member of neither of the two leading parties — the PLN or the Social Christian party (PUSC) — is in power, and thus it’s an exciting change from “politics as usual.”

JACO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (CENPAC)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR 2013  March 2, 20134

The Central Pacific Chamber of Commerce, is a non-profit organization located in Jaco’s Pacific Center #26 and was founded in 2006. Over the years this organization has been a powerful voice and promoter for local businesses as well as being strong supporter of improving the quality of life in Jaco and surrounding areas in the Central Pacific coast.

With the support of our members, businesses, volunteers, institutions, organizations and others here are their achievements during 2013:

•         Several Beach Clean Ups. These involve soliciting donations of gloves, garbage and water for the volunteers. Determining which area needs attention and supervising the events.

•          Incredible continuing support of the Jaco Public Library

•         Attendance and support of the Central Pacific Women’s Group .

·         Collaboration in the IV Travel Medical Summit which was held in April 2013 at Los Sueños Marriott Ocean and Golf Resort. For this event our organization served as co-organizer.

·         Participation in DIPECHO VIII. This was a Red Cross project which involved institutions and community leaders. Helped with the establishment of the Local Emergency Commission, preparation of Emergency Plan of Jacó, delivering first aid equipment to the Central School, Municipal and Local Emergency Commission, maps where routes of evacuation  are established,  and created informational material.

·         Collaboration on the Eco SUP (Stand Up Paddle) tournament Los Sueños Marriott.

·         Collaboration in the Tope Parade Jaco 2014 by publicizing the event and finding sponsors.

·         Organization of the III Inter-institutional Fair Garabito 2013.  The main goal of this fair was to showcase the functions of community service providers (Fire, Police etc) and included various cultural, sporting and recreational activities during the event for the whole family to enjoy.

·         Collaboration with the Senior Center Josefina Ugalde Céspedes in the promotion and advertising  of the activities to raise funds. We are serving as point of sale of tickets for different events.

·         Management of donations for CEN CINAI Jaco, a public day care center.

·         Meetings with high officials of the Ministry of Security regarding the need to relocate the Tourist police delegation from Herradura and help speed up the new construction of the Tourist Police location in Jaco.

·         Organization of the Pro -Education soccer championship in which we collected school supplies through donations from institutions such as the Association of Taxi Drivers , Fire Department, Fuerza Publica, Municipal Police , OIJ and the Tourist Police among others.

·         Soccer Championship in May in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and Sports Committee to promote physical activity among institutions.

·         Attending meetings with CANATUR, the Costa Rican Tourist chamber.

·         Attending meetings with the Mayor every two weeks to inform him about our projects , discuss current and new municipal projects and coordinate .

·         Attendance at meetings of the Municipal Emergencies Commission.

·         Collaboration on the project "Caring a Heart "  for the donation of school supplies for children in high social risk areas.

·         Meetings with Chambers of Commerce and Tourism from other parts of the country to initiate joint projects for 2014.

·         Collection and management of funds for the National Wildlife Refuge Playa Hermosa - Punta Mala, as well as meetings with officers from Minae , ACOPAC and SINAC to develop plans to strengthen this protected area.

·         Support for the project of Fuerza Publica (local police) officers named Tortuga Segura (Safe Turtle) by managing donations of materials and electronic disclosure thereof. This initiative aims to assist in the conservation of sea turtles through the nursery which is now located in front of the old police station in Calle Bohio, Jaco.

·         Inauguration of the new building of Fuerza Publica and meeting with the Minister of Security Mr. Mario Zamora and Commissioner Juan José Andrade, in which we requested new vehicles for this area. The first week of January 2014 five new vehicles were delivered for the Garabito Police Station.

·         Collaboration in the campaign against Dengue by the Ministry of Health,  providing material related to this campaign.   Meeting with leaders of the Ministry of Health and City Council President to coordinate the purchase and delivery of spraying machines against the dengue mosquito. As a result, the City spent 12 million colones ($24k)  buying 2 spraying machines.

·         Working in conjunction with the Fuerza Publica and Fire Department to carry out the Christmas party for the children in Pueblo Nuevo .  Support for Integral Development Association and the Municipality of Garabito in holding the Annual Christmas Party for the children of Jacó.

·         Support to the Fuerza Publica to bring a Blood Donation Campaign to Jacó.

·         Work in conjunction with Fuerza Publica to bring a parent workshop to Jacó, which took place at the Hotel Amapola.

·         Collaboration with ICT (CR Institute of Tourism) for convening and dissemination of different events such as:  

-         Tourism Security Conference by individuals from the Embassy of the United States.

-         Meetings with the regional manager of ICT and the national manager of the Chambers in ICT, to start membership and the promotion of Jaco as a tourist destination both within and outside Costa Rica.

·         Support the Tourist Police, Fuerza Publica and other institutions in different areas such as kitchen utensils donations, supplies, vehicle repair, etc.

·         Support the Eco Golf Celebrities Tournament which was held at Los Sueños Marriott. During the event we collected $240 to support the Elementary School of Herradura.

·         We are part of the Solid Waste Management Commission whose main goal is to regulate the rates for garbage collection in Garabito.

·         Attendance at meetings of the Inter-institutional Environmental Commission every Thursday.

·         Attendance to the Business Breakfast and official launch of the municipal project Jaco’s Boulevard and Bike Beach Road and the disclosure in the newsletter and Facebook page.

·         Attendance at the 6th Tourism Travel Show Expo in San Jose.

·         Attendance at meetings of the very important Ecological Blue Flag Committee of Jaco.

·         Providing the CENPAC Newsletter 1 or 2 times a month where we present community projects , news of our affiliates and other upcoming events.

In addition office tasks such as:

-         Management Facebook page: Jaco Chamber,  Customer service both in the office and via telephone, Letters, Reports,  Attendance to several events and meetings,

-       Managing cenpac.chamber@gmail.com    and the Facebook page Jaco Chamber 

We appreciate the continued support during this time and we hope to see our efforts materialize in even greater advances in the future.

Lidia González Quirós

Directora / Director 

CENTRAL PACIFIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Cámara de Comercio del Pacífico Central

website:      www.jacochamber.com

phone:       (506) 2643-2853

cenpac.chamber@gmail.com  to join.

CR Beach has been a strong supporter and contributor to the Jaco Chamber 
and urges you to get on their mailing list, and check out their website.

These people work very very hard towards the improvement of Jaco Beach,
and all of the surrounding communities. Their fine efforts are revealed every
day, and it’s a pleasure to support such a wonderful organization.

Stronger dollar exchange rate UPDATED MARCH 6TH, 2014
BANCO BAC HAS 551 COLONES GIVEN FOR EVERY $1.00 u.s.
TO BUY DOLLARS COST 566 COLONES:

Feb. 9, By the Retire NOW in Costa Rica staff 
Expats and exporters benefited from a spike in the exchange rate between the dollar and the Costa Rican colon.The rate has been languishing at a point nearly 20 percent lower than it once was. That has been painful for expats because much of their income comes from overseas in dollars. Exporters, too, are paid in dollars for their products and must convert the money to colons to pay local bills and salaries.
On Jan. 13, someone buying colons would have gotten about 493 for each dollar. The Banco Central rate was 493.22. To purchase a dollar would have cost 505.82 colons at the official rate.
Todays exchange rate Feb. 17, 2014:
One would get  517.07 colones for each dollar. The price to exchange colones for one U.S. dollar is listed by the Banco Central at 531.56. That's about a 5 percent increase in less than a month. Bankers attribute the increase to the tightening of the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy.

Numbers Show Slight Increase in 2013 tourism  Jan 17, 2013 By www.amcostarica.com

Tourism officials were congratulating themselves Thursday as they reported a 3.6 percent increase in international arrivals over the number in 2012.A look at the statistics in detail, however, reveals less than a 1 percent increase from the United States with 8,305 more visitors.

Canada was up nearly 5 percent at 160,398 visitors, some 8,830 more than in 2012. Europe also was up nearly 6 percent with an increase of 15,946 visitors for a total of 300,942.Central America was up 2.1 percent, but because there were 736,161 recorded persons from there, that percentage represents 15,112 persons. Some 802,040 persons entered at one of the ground border crossings either from Nicaragua or Panamá.
The big jump was 20.3 percent more visitors from South America. That brought an additional 27,738 persons into the country. Arrivals from Venezuela and Colombia helped boost the number to 164,224.  

Canada and the United States jointly contributed 1,089,800 arrivals, 1.6 percent more than in 2012. Canada, the United States and Europe jointly contributed 1,389,742 visitors, an increase over 2012 of 33,081 or about 2.4 percent. 
All of the arrivals do not mean traditional tourists. One troubling aspect was a decrease of 807 arrivals at the Daniel Oduber airport in Liberia. This is the airport that feeds the Guanacaste beach resorts. Still, 330,309 persons arrived there in 2013, said the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo.

The tourism institute used statistics from the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería. The numbers did not include Costa Ricans or individuals arriving here on temporary work permits, said the institute. In the past, the statistics included cruise ship passengers who participate in land visits at Puntarenas or Limón. Allan Flores, the tourism minister, said in a news release that his agency has worked intensely to strengthen the country's presence in the principal tourism markets such as the United States, Canada and Europe with aggressive strategies of promotion and publicity as well as entering the new market in South America, China and Russia."
The Cámera Nacional de Turismo was quick to respond to the statistics, and their new tourism plan calls for annual increases of 5 percent, said the chamber.
Costa Rica's tourism institute has engaged in experimental promotions. The institute backed the creation of murals in European railway stations. In the United States it promoted the country with a talking sloth and more recently with advertisements at movie houses.
The tourism institute placed a major bet on the 2011 $6.4 million talking sloth campaign engineered by an Atlanta, Georgia, firm, 22Squared, which is a fan of the social media. The institute gave away about 80 trips to Costa Rica. The latest campaign presents a slick video to U.S. movie audiences.The tourism announcement also praised the institute's Web site, www.visitcostarica.com.Although there is a lot of information on the Web site, the Amazon.com Web monitoring subsidiary Alexa says that 54.6 percent of the visits never go further than the first page. The Web site has a global readership rank of 156,999 and a rank in the United States of 65,745, said Alexa. By contrast, A.M. Costa Rica has a global rank of 65,894 and a U.S. rank of 62,170.

Tax on luxury homes brings in $11 million
Jan 17, 2014 By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The tax this year is on homes and land that are estimated to be valued at $244,000( 121 million colones) or more. The tax is on a sliding scale with owners of more expensive properties paying a higher percentage. Owners of some 3,785 properties have paid their luxury home tax, the Dirección General de Tributación said Thursday. Some 5.5 billion colons have been collected, said the agency.The amount is about $11 million. The deadline was Jan. 15, and those who pay late face a fine of 199.700 colons, a little more than $400. The money is supposed to go toward building housing for the poor.

President Obama's visit to Costa Rica means a five-day weekend

April 30, 2013  A.M. Costa Rica staff

This is a week filled with activities and perhaps salted with a little confusion.

Wednesday is a legal holiday, and those with gripes will parade through the downtown.  

Costa Rica is favorite regional destination for European tourists   May 07, 2013 –Tico Times By L. Arias  European visitors to Central America increased by 16 percent last year.

Costa Rica received 248,996 European tourists in 2012, and it's their favorite tourist destination in the region, followed by Guatemala with 172,160 visitors from that continent.The figures were published in a report released this week by the Central American Tourism Promotion Agency, adding that the region as a whole increased tourist arrivals by 16 percent in 2012.
According to the report, 717,883 European tourists arrived in the region in 2011, while in 2012 the number rose to 832,576.
Germany and the United Kingdom are the countries that most contributed to these figures, as visitors from those countries accounted for 9.7 and 7 percent of visitors in the seven countries of the region.Spanish tourists are third, as they increased their visits to Central America by four percent.

Regional business leaders, Obama agree on need for better infrastructure and cheaper energy         May 04, 2013 - By Tico Times L. Arias 
Central American business leaders presented U.S. President Barack Obama and Central American presidents with a list of recommendations to make the region more competitive.
U.S. President Barack Obama wrapped up a two-day visit to Costa Rica on Saturday by talking business before taking off in Air Force One a few minutes after 12:30 p.m., bound for the United States.
Obama’s last activity in Costa Rica was a meeting with Central American business leaders at the Antigua Aduana facilities in downtown San José, where he received a list of recommendations drafted during discussions on Friday and early Saturday. Those talks were organized by the Costa Rica-based INCAE Business School and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).Although no official agreements were signed, business leaders presented proposals including a priority request for the U.S. to support alternative energy initiatives to lower production costs for companies.
“[Alternative] energy sources must be developed as part of a regional effort,” INCAE Rector Arturo Condo said. Condo served as moderator of the Saturday meeting, attended by Obama, Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla, Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli and Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina. The region's other presidents returned home on Friday night.
Obama said his government "is willing to support these issues, along with the help of the Inter-American Development Bank.” He added that “an energy market would benefit the region’s economy, as it would free up resources that then can be invested in education."
Costa Rican Environment Minister René Castro told The Tico Times that one of the main strategies the U.S. government can implement to support clean energy projects in the region is “spreading the word to U.S. universities and research centers on the advances of our research to encourage investment.”
Castro said Costa Rica currently is researching the use of hydrogen and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), but he noted that the research is still in its early stages, and collaboration from U.S. universities is crucial for the efforts to move forward.  “If we can get appropiate help, the transition to hydrogen could start in 5-10 years," Castro said. For LNG, “it could take up to 20-25 years,” he added.

Tico astronaut and entrepreneur Franklin Chang agreed with Castro and stressed that "everything that is good is also hard to achieve," referring to the use of new energy sources. “In some cases the technology already exists, but in others it is still under development. So, the participation of private, academic and scientific sectors is vital,” Chang said. (It was because of Chang that Costa Rica changed its constitution to allow for dual citizenship, as Chang also became a U.S. citizen!)

Obama said that Central American summits tend to heavily focus on security and immigration issues, and he had set out to emphasize trade and development opportunities during this week's meetings.

He also said that in coming months his administration would decide if the U.S. will begin exporting Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), a move that wouldn't happen at least until 2020.

Another popular proposal discussed Saturday was a request for help from the U.S. in building a gas pipeline that would extend across the isthmus and allow Central America to become more competitive by reducing energy costs.Lowering energy costs would “allow countries to establish an energy market to buy and sell energy," business leaders noted in their list of recommendations.

Chinchilla said buying LPG gas from the U.S. is a priority for the region, as it is one of the most viable options to reduce high energy costs. She and her colleagues also hope to study the creation of a regional electricity market, a project supported by the IDB.
Recommendations also included improving infrastructure, adding investment and adopting better customs legislation to improve trade. Towards that end, business groups hope the U.S. will finance improvements to highways that connect the countries of the region, as well as programs for better technology at border facilities. Central American legislators also must improve trade laws to expedite customs procedures, the report added.  Obama said he agreed with the recommendations, and that modernized legislation would make it easier to ship goods from any Central American country to the United States, instead of first transporting them through Central America.
He also mentioned the need to improve access to education, including for children “0-5 years old.” Better schooling should start at birth and aim to keep students engaged until they are prepared for college, the U.S. president said.  Chinchilla called Costa Rica a pioneer of educational improvements, including a national daycare program that was expanded under her administration, starting in 2010.

Bill to exempt coastal residents from Maritime Zone Law passes first-round vote       May 01, 2013 – Tico Times By Lindsay Fendt

A majority of lawmakers voted to pass a bill known as “TECOCOS,” which would protect them from demolition of property in coastal areas. The Coastal Territories Bill, or “TECOCOS,” passed a first round of debates at the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday after the ruling National Libertarian Party delayed voting Monday night.

The bill would permit exceptions to the current Maritime Zone Law, which restricts construction of buildings within 200 meters of the coastline.
TECOCOS would allow towns near the coast to be designated as coastal communities and to create zoning plans. With a zoning plan, these communities could give concessions for buildings within the restricted zone in areas where development has already occurred within the designated coastal limit.

The issue over the Maritime Zone Law, adopted in the 1970s, has become problematic in recent years, as judges have ordered the destruction of buildings in several coastal communities, which would affect thousands of mostly poor Costa Rican residents. If the current law were enforced, it would mean the demolition of approximately 60,000 homes. Businesses within 200 meters of the high tide line would also be affected.  “TECOCOS gives us the legitimacy to continue living and working in coastal territories and creates mechanisms to strengthen our economic activities,” National Front for Coastal Communities Coordinator Wilman Matarrita said after the vote. The bill still faces another round of debates in the Assembly before it can be passed on to President Laura Chinchilla for signing.

Holiday Schedule for the Week & Obama's Visit

Public offices will be closed, as will embassies. The holiday is International Labor Day. 

Then Friday U.S. President Barack Obama comes to town during the afternoon, and much of the downtown will be off-limits to the average citizen. The Instituto Nacional de Seguros already said it would give its workers a holiday. The headquarters, among the tallest in San José, overlooks the foreign ministry to the east. Obama will visit there to meet with President Laura Chinchilla. Workers were putting up tents at the ministry Monday in anticipation of stormy weather.

Many public employees in the central cantons will have a day off Friday, too, and many are making the weekend a five-day one by ducking work Thursday.

Lawmakers also will not work Thursday, purportedly to digest the state of the nation speech given Wednesday night by Ms. Chinchilla.  

Security officials are supposed to outline today the steps they have taken to protect Obama and other visiting Central American presidents. One measure that is likely is restricting access to that area four blocks around the foreign ministry. Expats will be unlikely to await Obama on the sidewalk.

Fuerza Pública officers already have compiled lists of those who live and work in this area. Some businesses, such as A.M. Costa Rica, will close offices for the day. This newspaper's office overlooks the foreign ministry.  The local police will be supervised by U.S. Secret Service agents who are not known for their humorous approaches to security.

Even credentialed reporters are likely to be herded into roped off sections like they were when George Bush's wife visited for the Óscar Arias inauguration. Spanish-language television and the major newspapers are trying to obtain face-to-face access with Obama for a few minutes.

Typically the White House favors U.S. reporters and television personalities even when the president is overseas. Obama is not expected to say anything earthshaking in public.

James Carney, the U.S. presidential press secretary said Monday that Obama's visits to the region "are always significant because of the president’s commitment to expanding our economic ties to the countries of Latin America.  That's very much a part of this trip.  Obama will be in México Thursday, although the White House has not yet released a full schedule. 

In advance of such visits the groundwork is prepared by aides, so Obama is expected to confine his discussions to general terms. Some businessmen hope Obama will champion U.S. companies that are facing problems in Costa Rica, such as a Denver oil firm that now faces a ban on drilling even though it has a concession.

Obama leaves Saturday afternoon, but Juan Santamaría airport is still closed to general aviation until midnight that day. Commercial flights might be delayed when the U.S. president actually is at the airport coming or going. Obama will be staying at the Hotel Real Intercontinental, which has been rented exclusively for the stay of the President.

Tourism institute makes a big bet on the silver screen
April 29, 2013  A.M. Costa Rica staff

The country's tourism ministry is turning to the Atlanta, Georgia, ad firm of 22 Squared to put an ad campaign in 1,345 movie theaters across the U.S. and Canada. This is the same agency that created the talking sloth that was the central figure in the "Gift of Happiness" campaign that consumed a third of the ministry's annual ad budget by giving 100 couples free trips to Costa Rica. Although not charting new territory this time, the ad agency has selected a medium that is under attack from Netflix, iTunes, YouTube and a host of other online video purveyors. 

In addition, the movie audience is skewed to persons younger or older than those likely to be Costa Rican tourists.

The Nielsen Co., the authority on advertising demographics,said the makeup of the moviegoing audience has remained relatively consistent over the last couple of years, but the proportion of younger moviegoers (12 to 24 years) and oldest moviegoers (65 to 74 years) has grown gradually at the expense of middle-aged moviegoers (25 to 54 years). Said Moviephone, which tracks attendance, "The studios are still geared toward making expensive event movies for young men under 25 (and overseas audiences for whom spectacle translates better than well-written dialogue), to the near exclusion of all other fare aimed at different audiences."   

In a YouTube summary 22 Squared said that there were 372,000 entries in the sloth contest and that Costa Rica received $6 million in media exposure for an investment of $1 million. It cites such events as giving away a free trip to a couple on a show with Anderson Cooper and a gift of a free trip to a weather reporter in a snowy state.

22 Squared is heavily into new media. Another aspect of the new campaign is an  iPad application, calls the Enviromixer, that lets users hear the sounds of Costa Rica.

Atlanta ad executive John Stapleton, the creator, received notice in The Wall Street Journal for "enabling users to create their own jungle music, syncing the sounds of howling monkeys, frogs, rain, fish and streams into a rhythmic symphony, free for children and potential adult visitors to download as a window into Costa Rica's biodiversity." Stapleton was quoted as saying he was working on a campaign for three weeks until he finally traveled to Costa Rica that he got the idea of making an ad based on something other than words.

 Digital parking meters begin operating this week

 April 29, 2013 – Tico Times, By L. Arias

Drivers can use debit and credit cards, or pay via text messages from cellphones.

The new digital system aims to eliminate the parking ticket system in the central canton of San José.  Some 1,500 digital parking meters began operating on Monday in the central canton of San José, starting at 10 a.m.

The new system for parking on public roads, implemented by the municipality, aims to eliminate the parking ticket system in the central canton of the capital.

Digital parking meters accept debit and credit cards, and those not wanting to use personal bank accounts can pay by sending an SMS from cellphones.

In order to use cellphones as a payment method, motorists must first create a parking account at a local bank, which will assign a Personal Identification Number (PIN).

Public officials inaugurated the new parking system at 10 a.m. in a brief act in front of the Foreign Ministry in downtown San José.

U.S. will distribute $1,850,000 for green energy projects

April 26, 2013  A.M. Costa Rica staff

The United States will donate $850,000 to support five different clean energy policies and projects in Costa Rica, U. S. Embassy officials said Thursday. This is in addition to $1 million for another project. 

These grants are part of a promise made by President Barack Obama to partner with energy and climate initiatives in the Americas during the 2009 presidential summit, they said. 

'”Our countries are making efforts to reduce our dependence on oil and promote technologies and policies of clean energy, as well as greater energy efficiency in all sectors,” said Ambassador Anne Andrew.   A regional contest was held last year to decide who would receive the donations.  Applicants submitted plans to develop clean energy technologies and clean energy policies.  Universidad de Costa Rica, Yo Emprendedor, the Academia de Profesionales Solares de las Américas, Purdue University and the Organización de Desarrollo de Holanda are the winning organizations.

The projects are as follows:

Yo Emprendedor (meaning "I, the entrepreneur") will receive $100,000 to help entrepreneurs design and obtain funds for green startups, processes, and policies.

Universidad de Costa Rica will receive $200,000 to develop a sustainable model for Central American coffee producers.  This model will implement, test and disseminate the best practices related to three alternative sources of energy: Solar, wind and biomass.

Academia de Profesionales Solares de las Américas will receive $190,000 to train professionals on how to better use solar energy.

Purdue University from the ambassador's home state of Indiana will receive $150,000 to deploy solar power distribution systems in the Caribbean.  This project is in conjunction with the Universidad de la Antillas in Puerto Rico.

SNV/Organización de Desarrollo de Holanda will receive $210,000 to generate electricity from bio-gas.

The United States will also donate $1,000,000 to Michigan State University to work with the Universidad de Costa Rica to develop solar bioengineering technology.  This system is scheduled to be presented the beginning of May next year. 

 Costa Rican exports increase by 3.5 percent in first quarter 

April 22, 2013 – Tico Times By L. Arias

The U.S. is the main destination for Tico products.

Costa Rica exports of goods during the first quarter of 2013 slightly surpassed $3 billion, which is 3.5 percent more than that recorded for the same period last year, when the figure reached almost $2.9 billion, the Foreign Trade Ministry said on Monday.

Trade Minister Anabel González said in a press release that "the international economic situation is not the best," and Costa Rica should keep looking for new markets in Latin America and Asia.

"We must take advantage of opportunities in regions and countries where we have established a trade platform, and where growth rates are more robust, such as those in Asia, Perú, Chile and Colombia," González said. The report indicates that Intel microprocessors lead the numbers with $776.9 million in export revenue, an increase of 24.8 percent compared to the first quarter of 2012.   

Costa Rica is the safest country in Latin America 
March 21st, 2013 InsideCostaRica.com 
Costa Rica is the safest country in Latin America, according to a study published yesterday by publisher-analyst, Latinvex.  It uses the latest available data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, The World Bank, Transparency International, Heritage Foundation and the World Economic Forum.

The index of 19 countries looks at six factors that measure a country’s law and crime environment: Homicide rates, reliability of police, judicial independence, corruption, property rights and overall rule of law.  Mario Zamora, Costa Rica’s Minister of Public Security said that the data matches the fact that authorities here have seen a decrease in reported crimes in recent times. Meanwhile, Minister of Communication, Francisco Chacon said that the government is fulfilling its promise of citizen security.

The study positions Venezuela and Haiti as being the most violent countries in the region.  Venezuela has seen a constant increase in its homicide rate, still the highest in Latin America after Honduras.
The ranking of 19 countries is based on data from public security departments, local police, governments, NGOs, and institutions responsible for crime investigation.  

What’s open, what’s closed during Semana Santa    
March 22, 2013 - By Tico Times L. Arias

Most public institutions will be closed all week. Others will open Monday through Wednesday.

While many folks flock to the beach and other destinations to enjoy the Easter Holy Week holiday, others just stay home.
Here’s a list of schedules for public offices, business and other services throughout the country:

Hospitals and pharmacies:  Public hospitals will remain open all week. Emergency services at all public hospitals and clinics in Costa Rica will be available to treat patients. Community health clinics, or EBAIS, also will keep normal schedules, as well as pharmacy and lab services, specialist consultations and maternity units. The Red Cross will attend emergencies at all hours.The emergency rooms and pharmacies at private hospitals Clínica Bíblica (2522-1000), in downtown San José, Clínica Católica (2283-6616), in the northeastern suburb of Guadalupe, and CIMA (2208-1000), in the southwestern suburb of Escazú, also will be open 24 hours a day.

-Central government offices and ministries will be closed all week. Lawmakers also will be on vacation, and the Legislative Assembly will be closed.

-The main facilities of the National Insurance Institute will close all week, as well as regional offices across the country. INS health services in San José will work Monday through Wednesday to attend to work- and traffic-related injuries.

-The  National Registry will be closed all week. Any procedure for personal IDs, property certificates, etc. will not be available. The National Registry will only be attending people in need of a birth certificate for traveling outside the country, at its main facilities.

-Most banks, private and public, will keep normal hours Monday through Wednesday.

Banco Nacional reported all branches will keep a normal schedule Monday and Tuesday, and limited hours on Wednesday, from 8:30 a.m.-3:45 p.m. The bank will close Thursday through Sunday.

-All Judicial Branch offices and courts will keep regular hours through Wednesday. They will close Thursday through Sunday. The Judicial Investigation Police and the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court will keep a normal 24/7 schedule. The Comptroller General's Office will be close on Friday, March 22, and reopen on April 1.Either way, if you're in Costa Rica you should be aware that as of August 2012 all local governments are entitled to decide whether to apply a dry law or not during the holiday. It is up to each municipality or district council to prohibit the sale of alcohol from midnight Wednesday until midnight Saturday. These are the communities that will not be enforcing a dry law this year: (It appears from the following list that the Jaco
and surrounding areas will be sort of preventing liquor sales, so stock up before Wed. 12am. This generally does not affect hotels that cater to Tourists seeking alcohol.)
In Puntarenas: Osa, Aguirre, Guácimo, Coto Brus, Buenos Aires, Corredores and Parrita.
In Guanacaste: Tilarán, Cañas, Nicoya and the district of Monteverde.In Alajuela: San Ramón, San Carlos and Guatuso. In Limón: Talamanca, Guácimo.
In San José: Central Canton, Curridabat and Desamparados.

However, officials from the Municipality of San José noted that the absence of a dry law does not allow the consumption of liquor in public spaces or at religious activities. Those failing to comply with this regulation will be fined ₡157,000 ($315).

Seasonal transition beginning at start of April
By Kayla Pearson of the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Costa Rican summer is coming to an end, as indicated by the first big storm of the season Thursday afternoon in the Central Valley.  Residents can expect the rainy season to officially begin next month in the Pacific regions.The Instituto Meteorológico Nacional is predicting that  all the areas are expected to have rain 20 percent above average. The Caribbean coast and the northern zone are always out of step with the rest of the country and generally have rain when the rest of Costa Rica experiences a dry season. The weather institute is predicting rains through June from 5 to 15 percent below average.

This 2013 prediction is more positive than what happened last year, said Juan Carlos Fallas, general director of the weather institute.  2012 had a rain deficit that ranged from 31 to 70 percent, the highest being in the north Pacific where there was drought.

There is also a high probability that there will be  no El Niño or La Niña phenomenon, but a neutral climate, said Fallas. In the Atlantic Ocean, temperatures will be slightly warmer, but normal, he added. Also, when compared to the last 10 years, the number of cyclones is also predicted to be normal.
For the Caribbean, the prognosis is around 4 tropical cyclones, Carlos said.

Next week, the country will celebrate Semana Santa or Holy Week.  It will be a time of religious celebrations and vacations.  The weather prediction is that most of the country will be warm and clear and cloud cover at the beaches.Estimated start  of 2013 rainy season*
Central Pacific  April 21 to 25     Central Valley  May 1 to 5   South Pacific  April 1 to 5
North Pacific  May 6 to 10       *Source: Instituto Meteorológico Nacional

Young singers from Calgary will perform next week in Jacó 
Feb. 14, 2013 A.M. Costa Rica
The Youth Singers of Calgary, a group from Alberta, Canada, will perform for the first time on a Costa Rican stage Tuesday at Teatro Jacó. 
At this venue the theater will present a talent night where individual and small groups of the ensemble will show the audience their talents, a release said.
Shirley Penner formed Youth Singers of Calgary in 1985.  Darlene Dusevic and Tricia Penner joined her team, and together they developed a program that allowed youth to communicate through music, dance and theater.
The Youth Singers of Calgary have won numerous awards and competitions and have performed with such stars as Roch Voisine, Reba McEntire, Sarah Brightman, Kenny Rogers and Paul Brandt to name a few, spokespersons said, adding: “Their international tours have taken their productions across Canada, the United States, Europe, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, Bahamas and South America.”   Talent night begins at 8 p.m. and is free to the public.  After the performance, the group will tour the country. For more information about The Youth Singers of Calgary visit www.youthsingers.org.

P&G selects Costa Rica for new $5 million regional planning center    
 February 4, 2013 Cinde.org
Procter & Gamble (P&G), the largest company of consumer products in the world, will open the headquarters of its Regional Supply Chain Planning Center for Latin America in Costa Rica.  This new Center will direct the planning processes to supply each plant and market in the region.  Thus, Costa Rica becomes the control center for Latin American experts in managing the supply chain for P&G.  This expansion will represent an additional investment of approximately US $5 million.

“Costa Rica is now the undisputed leader in the services sector whose exports, according to estimates based on data of the Central Bank, reached the amount of US $5.577 million in 2012.  P&G’s recent decision to continue growing and diversifying its operations in the country is the result of a wide-ranging and competitive process in which the company appraised various destinations and is also a clear sign of Costa Rica’s strengths in this area.  To be selected as the intelligence headquarters for the supply chain of this consumer goods giant, evidences the capability, the outstanding performance and the great potential Costa Rica enjoys.” stated Anabel Gonzalez, Minister of Foreign Trade.    

Evolution and growth in Costa Rica:  P&G employs more than 1300 specialized associates in the finance, accounting, computing and procurement areas.  By opening this new center, P&G will create 500 new jobs for professionals in the fields of industrial engineering, logistics, customs and other related engineering disciplines.

The new Regional Planning Center joins the Financial Services Center and the Business Transformation Center of P&G which have been in operation in Costa Rica since 1999 and 2008, respectively.  

“The success achieved by P&G in Costa Rica during more than a decade, its solid relationship with the government and communities, as well as the economic and political stability and good quality of life, are some of the determinant factors P&G considered when deciding this ambitious and innovative project could be successfully developed in Costa Rica.”, affirmed Alejandra Cobb, Associate Communications Director of P&G. 
According to the Director General of CINDE, Ms. Gabriela Llobet “Costa Rica competes against countries of the entire world in order to attract important value added strategic projects within the operations of the companies.  It is greatly satisfying and a very important achievement that a leader such as P&G keeps on selecting us to continue growing in the country and opening important employment opportunities for Costa Rican professionals”.

U.S. agency donates $1 million to Tico NGOs 
February 05, 2013 Tico Times By L. Arias  
The U.S. Central America Regional Security Initiative on Monday made ​​a donation of $1 million to five nongovernmental organizations operating in Costa Rica. Fundavida, Acción Joven, World Vision, MarViva and Boy with a Ball, received funds for their work with at-risk youth.
The donation will be used to develop programs to combat violence, illicit drug use and school dropout rates.  The NGOs must use the funds on programs that benefit at-risk youth and to fight poverty across the country.
U.S. Ambassador Anne S. Andrew stressed the importance of the work performed by these agencies: “As an embassy, our goal is to partner with innovative organizations that are achieving a sustainable impact. By offering opportunities for at-risk youth and to support activities that create economic opportunities for communities, you are sowing the seeds of a more prosperous and secure future for Costa Rica.”

Cirque du Soleil coming to Costa Rica  
February 05, 2013 – Tico Times  
No official date here has been announced. World-renowned entertainers Cirque du Soleil announced on their website an upcoming visit to Costa Rica, likely following a performance in Colombia on March 21.
No official date here has been announced for their show “Varekai,” but the circus group will perform in Lima, Peru, in coming days.
Founded in Quebec, Canada, as a blend of circus art and street entertainment, Cirque du Soleil has become one of the world’s most popular touring shows. It was created by two former street artists in 1984 and currently employs 5,000 people in 10 different traveling shows.
Varekai is a story about a fantasy world located in a forest atop a volcano. A boy falls from the sky and discovers a mysterious and magical world where “anything is possible.”
According to the online daily crhoy.com, the show will be promoted and sponsored by Credomatic and OCESA.  See a trailer of Varekai at: http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/varekai/default.aspx.

Exports Higher than Expected for 2012
January 2nd, 2013   Costa Rica News –

Costa Rica export numbers was 7.25 percent higher than the projections for 2012, reaching an $16.9 billion in revenues. Exports in November 2012 increased from $9.7 billion in 2011 to $10.4 billion this year, according to the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER).

The main reasons for this growth in exports is the European Free Trade Association (Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Iceland, EFTA), which accounted for 95.2 percent to the same period in 2011, and exports increased by 8.7 percent to the European Union (EU).

Increases in coffee, bananas, palm oil, and medical devices showed the highest gains.

The majority of Costa Rica’s exports go to the US, 38.9%, Holland second with 7.6 percent; Panama third with 5.2 percent of domestic goods, PROCOMER reported.Exports exceeded the projection of $15.7 billion by $1.1 billion, the Foreign Trade Ministry (COMEX) reported.

Many analysts were surprised by this growth in light of the global economic slowdown and further indication of strong positive growth for Costa Rica in 2013.The Costa Rica News (TCRN)

Costa Rica Closes 2012 with Positive Economic Numbers
January 2nd, 2013 Costa Rica News –
Costa Rica closes 2012 with positive economic numbers, even though the poverty rate has not dropped significantly and a persistent fiscal deficit close to 4.5% of gross domestic product (GDP).

“Economic growth for 2012 could be around 5%, slightly higher than expected in the macroeconomic program,” said the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR).The Central Bank of Costa Rica noted that the average annual rate of monthly economic activity index was up 5.7% in September, driven by growth in sectors such as manufacturing and service industries.

Inflation reached 4.3% in November and 5.2% as annual rate, which remained within the target Central Bank of Costa Rica close the year between 4% and 6%, the bank said.
Regarding exports of goods in the first eleven months of 2012 totaled U.S. $ 10.45 million, up 8.2% compared to ammount accrued in the same period of 2011.

Foreign Trade Minister, Anabel González said a few weeks ago to Costa Rica in 2013 will focus on legislative approval of free trade agreements (FTA) has already signed with Singapore and Peru, and to end the negotiation an FTA with Colombia and have commercial approaches with South Korea, Brazil, Qatar and Kuwait.

Among the main challenges for the government of President Laura Chinchilla for 2013 include reducing poverty, and the push back against fiscal deficit to be around 4.5% of GDP.

Poverty in 2012 amounted to 20.6% of households in the country, representing a decrease of one percentage point compared with 21.6% in 2011, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC) .That 20.6% of poor households is equivalent to 1.1 million people (23.6% of the population), while extreme poverty amounted to 6.3% of poor families, a figure similar to last year when it was of 6.4%.
Meanwhile, the accumulated deficit in November totaled approximately $ 1,771,000, which represents 4% of GDP and remained within Government projects did not exceed 4.7% this year.

Old banknotes lose their value from January 1, & only to be accepted in banks     December 31, 2012 - By L. Arias Tico Times
Beginning January 1, 2013,  Ticos can pay only using the new bills introduced by the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR). “As for this Tuesday Jan. 1 and until April 30, 2013, old bills can only be redeemed at branches and agencies of local banks,” said the BCCR in a press release. From May 1,  the old banknotes may be exchanged only at the BCCR offices.

This measure completes the transition in which all Costa Rica’s banknotes were renewed. Last August the BCCR introduced new ₡5,000 and ₡10,000 bills, the last two of the "new family."  Central Bank in 2010 began phasing out the old bills and put into circulation new ₡1,000, ₡2,000 and ₡20,000 banknotes.
All include security features to prevent counterfeiting, such as translucent watermarks, color-changing shapes and textured images.
They also have features that facilitate recognition by the visually impaired.

Higher corporation tax will be 189,700 OR $380  $190 FOR INACTIVE CORPS

Dec. 26, 2012 By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
As expected, the base judicial salary on which the tax on corporations is figured has increased.

Owners of active corporations will have to pay 189,700 colons by Jan. 15 to avoid interest and the freezing of the company. That is about $380. ASK YOUR ATTORNEY OR ACCOUNTANT!

Those owning inactive corporations include many expats who hold vehicles and real estate is sociedades anónimas or limited liability corporations. The tax bill for inactive corporations will be half that for active entities or 94,850 colons, about $190.

Costa Rica law sets many fines and taxes on what is called base salary. It is the salary of an auxiliar administrativo 1 who works in the Poder Judicial. When the president signed the bill for the new tax in 2011, the base salary was 316,200 colons or about $622. So the tax on corporations, which went into force this April 1 was half that, $311.

But before the ink was dry, judicial workers got a raise to 360,000 colons a month, so the tax increased, too.  This is the first year that owners of corporations will pay the full tax.The base salary affects many other aspects of daily life. The base salary system is used so that taxes and fines keep pace with inflation.

Judicial officials are generous to employees. The 19,400-colon raise to the auxiliar administrativo 1 represents an increase of about 5.4 percent. That is more than the annual increase in the nation's minimum wages and for salaries elsewhere in the government.

United to fly non-stop between Chicago and Costa Rica
December 20, 2012 - Tico Times By L. Arias 

The airline also plans to launch a Washington-San José flight in coming days.

Tourism Minister Allan Flores said in a press release that one of the reasons for the improvement is the increase in the frequency of flights, as well as the arrival of new airlines into the country. According to ICT figures, most foreign visitors arrived by air.

This year, several airlines increased flights to Costa Rica, including Iberia Airlines (5 percent increase in the number of flights from Madrid to San José), AeroMexico (two new daily flights between San José and Mexico City), and Copa Airlines (two weekly flights from Liberia to Panama).Flores also noted that between September 2011 and June 2012, Costa Rica participated in 27 international events to promote itself as a tourist destination.One of the government projects for next year is the construction of the National Congress and Convention Center, which could also help increase the number of tourists.However, some groups dispute the official tourism numbers released by the ICT, saying they include temporary workers and other non-tourism visitors.

Foreign direct investment from high-tech companies to reach $574 million

  December 12, 2012 – Tico Times, By L. Arias 
Technology services and medical supplies firms are the most important.Foreign firms from the high-technology sector in Costa Rica generated some $574 million and created 8,236 direct jobs in 2012, government officials said on Wednesday.

Foreign Trade Minister Anabel González and the president of the Costa Rican Coalition for Development Initiatives (CINDE), José Rossi, reported that these figures establish a new record for Costa Rica, as they exceed those obtained in 2011, when the country reached the highest numbers of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for the sector in the last decade.

The previous year, high-tech FDI was $470 million, and 7,728 new jobs were created.

One of the factors that helped achieve the record was the arrival of 40 new high-tech investment projects that set up operations in Costa Rica. The new firms belong to the Technology Services, Life Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing and Clean Technologies sectors.“Most of them come from the United States, India, Korea, Japan, Germany, Spain, England and Colombia,” González added.

A new website offers detailed information of 125 doctors in Costa Rica

 December 14, 2012 – Tico Times By Alberto Fony
The new digital company HuliHealth is helping link patients and the country’s top doctors through an online format that allows users to comment and rate the quality of private health care services.Need a doctor in Costa Rica and don’t know where to look? Want to know if the doctor you chose is recommended and trustworthy?
The digital company HuliHealth, now online, provides patients help with choosing the best doctors and specialists in all areas of health in the country.

“Our mission is to provide the tools necessary for both Costa Ricans and expats to find the best health professionals based on personal criteria. You can find a doctor by specialty, treatment, cost and location, and then view a doctor’s profile and comments from other patients. You also can make an appointment,” HuliHealth founder Alejandro Vega said.  HuliHealth began as an idea a year and a half ago, when Vega realized that Costa Ricans and foreigners living or visiting here had difficulty finding information about specific doctors.The HuliHealth founder took his idea and applied for the 2011 “Intel Challenge,” a competition to promote entrepreneurialism and the use of technology in Latin America.

Through the program, participants receive training, mentorship and access to the best practices of Silicon Valley, one of the most technologically important regions on the planet. Vega won the Intel Challenge in Costa Rica with his idea for HuliHealth.

He then sought alliances, built a team and starting creating the site www.hulihealth.com. He selected the country’s best doctors and added them to the online database. To find them, Vega worked with what he calls “leaders of opinion” in different specialties. They in turn recommended the best doctors.

“We met with the heads of post-graduate studies in cosmetic surgery, dentistry and other fields at the University of Costa Rica, and they helped us choose the doctors. Once doctors are part of the HuliHealth network, they can recommend other doctors. “We only accept doctors through references from other members,” Vega said.In addition to reading up on doctors, making appointments and other useful tools, users also can ask doctors questions to help narrow their search. After an appointment, they can rate care and leave comments. Doctors with the best reviews are strategically placed on the site. Plus, patients who make appointments through HuliHealth receive a 5 percent discount on treatment. To date, some 125 doctors are registered at the site.

“There are advantages to belonging to a group that is recognized on a national and international level,” Padilla said. She added that patients also win: “One advantage to HuliHealth is that membership is not completely open [to doctors]. You have to meet certain standards, including commitment to providing quality health care and medical ethics, and that says a lot.”

Ophthalmologist David Flikier said he joined HuliHealth because he found the team that created it responsible and well organized. “The tendency is to drift toward the digitalized and globalized world, and we believe that HuliHealth is an option that can put us in contact with more patients and allow us to reach a wider audience, not only in the country, but also in other countries,” Flikier said.He said it’s also important to him that HuliHealth only accepts the most recognized and respected doctors, which ensures trust between patients and doctors. Down the road, HuliHealth plans on expanding to other countries and managing electronic medical records. Said Vega: “We’re constantly improving the site and adding the best doctors.”

New wind farm in Santa Ana will go into service Thursday
Dec. 12, 2012 By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz, S.A. will put into service Thursday its wind farm in Pabellón de Santa Ana with a ceremony involving dignitaries.
The 17 wind generators are designed to provide enough electricity to feed 5,700 homes.

The wind farm is part of a government strategy to use the windy months of the Costa Rican summer to augment the generating capacity of the various hydro plants when the water level is low. These would be from December until about May, depending on the year.The turnkey project was done with a German firm and financed by the Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica. The project has the support of the municipality of Santa Ana, said the electric company.
Officials also hope that by using wind instead of petroleum-fired generators during the dry season that amount of carbon dioxide released into the air will be lessened. Electric generation, mostly by the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, known as ICE, has become expensive as the price of petroleum increases.ICE has a large wind complex that has been in service for years at Tilarán in Guanacaste near Lake Arenal. The government and the electrical utilities also are installing solar arrays to general power.

Smashburger opens first Latin American restaurant in Costa Rica

  December 03, 2012 – Tico Times By L. Arias

 The U.S.-based fast food chain Smashburger opened its first Latin American restaurant in Costa Rica on Dec. 1.   The restaurant, located at Lincoln Plaza mall northeast of San José, is the first of 18 franchises planned for the region by partner Richard Eisenberg of QSR International. Eisenberg plans to open other locations in Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

The new restaurant marks the third international market for the brand. It currently operates locations in Kuwait and Canada, and plans to open its next international locations in Saudi Arabia in early 2013, Smashburger CEO David Prokupek said.

“Our expansion into Latin America is an important milestone for Smashburger,“ he said. “We’ve built a brand that has a strong, passionate following well beyond the borders of the United States. Costa Rica is certain to be a great market for us.”

Carl's Jr. to open five new restaurants in Costa Rica in 2013

Posted: Tuesday, November 13, 2012 – Tico Times By L. Arias
The burger chain will invest some $4.5 million in the venture.
California-based hamburger chain Carl’s Jr. opened its first-ever location near the Central Park in downtown San José a year ago.
After opening its sixth restaurant in Costa Rica earlier this month in the province Heredia, California-based hamburger chain Carl’s Jr. now plans to open five more locations here next year.

The fast food franchise arrived in the country in 2011, and by 2013 plans to open new restaurants in Curridabat (east of San José), San Francisco (Heredia), Alajuela, Escazú (southwest of San José) and Tibás (northwest of San José).
General Manager Andrés Fachler told the weekly El Financiero that the expansion of the franchise means an investment of some $4.5 million, as it includes four free-standing locales and one located in a food court.   According to Fachler, “the chain’s sales have exceeded company expectations, and combined with commercial sector growth, [the company] will boost its expansion in Costa Rica.”
The burger chain, which operates 3,182 restaurants worldwide, plans to open 25 locations in Costa Rica during the next five years, Fachler said during the opening of their first location near Central Park in San José, in November 2011.

ICT RECOGNIZED IN WORLD TRAVEL AWARDS™ 2012,
Official ICT Website  October 24, 2012

• Costa Rica receives nine acknowledgements in various categories during the award ceremony

The World Travel Awards 2012,held on September 14th, in Italy, awarded Costa Rica in nine categories within the Mexican and Central American region, among them was an award given to the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) as the ¨Primary Tourism Board or Institute,¨ which was the first time the institute received this award.
Costa Rica was up for 41 nominations, of which they won nine. The hotel, Barceló San José Palacio, was the winner of the “Primary Airport-Hotel,” and the Tabacón Resort & Spa in La Fortuna, won in two categories, “Best Green Hotel” and “Primary Luxury Resort”. The Hotel Real Intercontinental won the “Primary Business Hotel” of the area.

The Westin Resort & Spa Playa Conchal won the “Primary Family Resort”. The JW Marriott Guanacaste came away with the “Best Luxury Hotel” in Mexico and Central America. Rounding out the list was the Four Seasons Guanacaste, winner of the “Best Golf Resort” and the Hotel & Reserva Gaía in Manuel Antonio, won the “Best Boutique Hotel”. 
Some of the more notable nominations were the Juan Santamaría International Airport, which won the “Primary Airport” of the area, which it also won in 2008 and since then, has been nominated every year in this category.

The World Travel Awards™ has been held every year since 1994, which honors the best of the best in the tourism industry. According to The Wall Street Journal, winning in this event is equivalent to the Oscars of the tourism industry.To see the complete list winners and nominees of the World Travel Awards™ 2012, go to the following link: http://www.worldtravelawards.com/winners2012-7

COSTA RICA SWEEPS CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER’S 2012 READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS,   Official ICT Website: October 24, 2012

The Costa Rica Tourism Board is thrilled to announce that Costa Rica was the most celebrated destination in Central America in the 2012 Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards released this week. The top honors went to the region’s favorite hotels and resorts, as voted by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler.
In the list of the top resorts in Central and South America, seven of the 15 properties were from Costa Rica, and two Costa Rican properties made the list of top hotels in Central America. The winners highlight the country’s various regions and offerings, showcasing a broad view of Costa Rica’s attractions appealing to every type of traveler. The list takes into account factors such as rooms, service, food, location, design and activities, and the winners ranged from beachfront properties in Guanacaste, to a honeymooners’ favorite in Manuel Antonio National Park, to a sustainable and highly acclaimed resort and spa in the Central Valley, to one of San Jose’s most beloved treasures, and many more.
Among the top resorts in Central and South America are:

- Los Sueños Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort – Herradura, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

- Xandari Resort & Spa – Alajuela, Costa Rica

- Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo – Guanacaste, Costa Rica

- Hotel Punta Islita – Guanacaste, Costa Rica

- El Silencio Lodge & Spa – Alajuela, Costa Rica

- Arenas del Mar – Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica

- Westin Golf Resort & Spa, Playa Conchal – Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Among the top hotels in Central America are:

- Hotel Grano de Oro – San José, Costa Rica

- Hotel Villa Caletas – Puntarenas, Costa Rica

“We are honored to see how readers of Condé Nast Traveler rate their experiences in Costa Rica, and how their favorites cover various corners and climates of the country’s landscape showing how there really is something for everyone and considered the best of the best,” said Ireth Rodriguez, Deputy Marketing Director for the Costa Rica Tourism Board.

The Readers’ Choice Awards, now in its 25th edition, drew a record number of reader participation this year with 46,476 readers voting for their favorite hotels, resorts and cruise lines. This annual survey ultimately awarded 1,306 winners what is considered to be one of the industry’s most esteemed recognitions.

CAFTA Passes 5 Years in Action 
October 29,  2012 11:25 Written by Rod Hughes, Fijatevos
It has been five years this month since the free trade pact with the United States (CAFTA) was narrowly approved by the country's first national referendum.

Since that time, when a hard-fought political battle convulsed and riveted public discussion, none of the disasters or panaceas hysterically predicted by left and right have occurred. Certainly, the trade picture is bright with exports fairly brisk to the nation's favorite trade partner, the United States. But it falls far short of the promises of CAFTA's biggest booster, then-President Oscar Arias.
But the treaty has not resulted in the dire predictions of the U.S. dumping a flood of goods on the local market, nor cultural dominance of that country that would shortly swallow the Tico way of life.

Two of the most important changes were to break the state-owned ICE telecommunications monopoly and the INS insurance deadlock on that market. Yet, today, INS is strong because it adapted well to the free enterprise market place, although ICE -- which initially resisted -- still struggles.
The harshest critic of CAFTA is economist Luis Paulino Vargas who laments that the treaty did not result in a promised spike of jobs which remains at 10.3% unemployment, 13% under-employed and another 30% in "informal" activities such as door-to-door sales.

But, in an interview with Minister of Foreign Trade Anabel Gonzalez (who lauded the treaty for increasing trade and foreign investment) she praised the treaty for forcing the offering of choices for Costa Ricans of a variety of insurance policies and prices as well as cell phone companies.
Meanwhile, negotiations continue in the third round with Colombia over a yet another free trade pact with a fourth round envisioned for December and January. But the devil is in the details in such talks and those have delayed the negotiations a bit.

Nation Easier to Do Business, Study Says
 26 October 2012  Written by Rod Hughes, Fijatevos
Almost unnoticed in the turmoil surrounding numerous scandals, the Chinchilla Administration's vow to make Costa Rica an easier place to do business seems to have borne some fruit.

The nation jumped 12 places in the Doing Business ranking by the World Bank. Vice President Luis Liberman, among others in both the Oscar Arias and Chinchilla administrations, have been working on the problem. Previously, the survey has given Costa Rica a very low ranking due to difficulties caused by stifling bureaucracy for running a business here. But both administrations, spanning 2006-12, have cleared away some underbrush.

For 2013, the country is ranked at 110 out of 185 countries, a lot better than their 2012 ranking of 122 but a long way from where Liberman would like to see the nation.

The country jumped 14 places in the obtaining credit category, 11 in ease of granting construction permits, 11 in international trade and 10 in payment of taxes. The last undoubtedly because of on line methods put in place.

But the country backslid three places in the opening of a new business, something that is vital for brisk foreign investment. But Economy Minister Mayi Antillon notes that a new electronic access, www.crearempresa.go.cr reduces to 20 days the time needed to establish a new firm--if there are no unexpected complications.  Shirley Saborio, director of the Costa Rican Union of Private Sector Chambers and Associations, while happy with the improvement, says the most urgent work needs to be done with obtaining environmental and health permits. 

Tourism industry has fingers crossed for the high season

U.N. agency forecasts a 5 percent growth rate for Costa Rica
Oct. 3, 2012 By Aaron Knapp of the A.M. Costa Rica staff

An international assessment of Latin America’s economic status found that Costa Rica is among the countries with highest projected growths in 2012 of all nations in the region.

Researchers who compiled the report expect that Costa Rica will grow by about 5 percent in its gross domestic product this year.

At the beginning of the year, researchers expected that the economy of Latin America overall would grow by 3.7 percent, but they lowered that number to 3.2 in this report.

The report was created by a subsidiary of the United Nations called the Economic Commission for Latin America, also known as ECLAC or CEPAL in Spanish. Commission administrators released the study Tuesday at a conference that took place at their headquarters in Santiago, Chile.

The report mostly dwelled on why researchers had concluded that the economy of Latin America would not grow as much as they initially expected.

They laid the blame on three economic punches over the last four years that began in the global economic powerhouses of the United States, China and Europe and spread to other countries around the world. These difficulties were the global increase in food and fuel prices in 2008, the economic recession in late 2008 and 2009 and the international uncertainty that slowed the global economy late in 2011.

However, the researchers said in the report that increased private demand in most countries’ local markets have kept 

economies progressing slowly but surely. Additionally, the study says that many governments initiated policies that have kept economies stable.  

Overall, the report predicts that Central America will grow far more than the rest of Latin America. It indicates that the region will grow by 4.4 percent of its overall gross domestic product while South America will grow by 2.8 and the Caribbean by only 1.8.

Panamá is expected to lead the growth by far with 9.5 percent, followed by Haiti with 6 and Peru with 5.9. Nicaragua is also expected to grow at the same rate as Costa Rica at 5 percent. 

The downgrade of Latin America’s expected economic growth overall is attributed to particularly a slow year in the regional commercial powerhouses of Brazil and Argentina. Additionally Paraguay is the only country that researchers expect to shrink this year, by 2 percent, because of an extremely poor soy harvest.

Costa Rica’s growth since 2010 has been fluctuating according to the study, falling from 4.7 that year to 4.2 in 2011. This year researchers expect that growth will shoot up again to 5 percent and then slow again next year to 4.

Researchers wrote in the report that they expect that most countries with higher than average growth this year to slow down next year, while those countries with less growth will speed up at the same time. This excludes Haiti, whose economy they expect to continue skyrocketing since it was devastated by an earthquake in 2010.

Hooters, Chili’s, Applebee's expanding in Costa Rica

Posted: Monday, October 01, 2012 - By Tico Times

A pair of foreign franchises opened their first restaurants in Costa Rica in the past month. Several other restaurants have announced plans to increase their number of locations.

Before the end of this year, Hooters will open its fourth Costa Rican restaurant – in Paseo Metrópoli in Cartago, east of San José. Owners invested $1 million in the location, according to El Financiero. The franchise hopes to double the number of Hooters in the country by 2014. The first Hooters opened in Escazú, in west San José, in 2005.  In addition, Hooters plans to add a Costa Rican headquarters. The site will train employees, store food and standardize recipes. Hooters General Manager Veronica Caballero told El Financiero that construction on the site begins this month at a cost of $200,000.  Hooters restaurants also plan to start offering frequent customer cards that provide discounts to clients.

In September, restaurant Chili’s and El Salvadoran sports bar BW Buffalo Wings opened their first Costa Rican locations.

The first Chili’s opened in Multiplaza Escazú. Chili’s announced plans to open a second franchise before the end of the year in Plaza Lincoln in Moravia, and five total in the next three years.  

BW Buffalo Wings debuted last weekend in Plaza Tempo in shopping center Avenida Escazú, after an investment of $700.000. The restaurant plans to add four more franchises by 2014.

Applebee's signed a contract to start on a new restaurant in La Aurora in Heredia, El Financiero wrote.

The Tico Times reported in May on the influx of U.S. chains entering the country in the past couple of years. Some of the new franchises include Starbucks, Pollo Tropical, Smashburger, Carl’s Jr. and Moe’s Southwestern Grill.

Other long-time staples in Costa Rica include Subway, Quizno’s, McDonald’s, KFC and Teriyaki Experience. All continue opening stores. 

Correction: The original story stated the U.S. franchise Buffalo Wild Wings is opening in Costa Rica Buffalo Wild Wings is not opening in Costa Rica. The El Salvadoran wing chain BW Buffalo Wings opened its first Costa Rican franchise in September. The story has been modified to reflect this change.

Expats 65 and older can get immigration amnesty

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff  Sept 17, 2012

Expats 65 years and older who have lived in Costa Rica illegally for five years or more can become legal residents under the current amnesty program.

That was the word Monday from Javier Zavaleta of Residency in Costa Rica. He provides a service for foreigners who wish to become residents here.

Zavaleta said his firm has studied the regulations that apply to the amnesty and discovered the loophole that might help North Americans. Until now the general belief was that the amnesty program was geared mainly to help Nicaraguans living here illegally become legal. There are several categories specified in the regulations that do not seem to apply to most expats. For example, persons under 25 who came to Costa Rica as children are eligible. Also eligible are parents of Costa Rican or resident children.

Already reported is that foreigners who let their residency lapse since 2003 could bring their paperwork up to date.

Zavaleta said that the deadline for filing for the amnesty programs is Nov. 17.  He said the application is paperwork intensive, similar to that for pensionado and rentista applications. Birth certificates are required for each applicant as well as a police clearance letter from the overseas residence.

The Nicaraguan Embassy on Avenida Central has been flooded with citizens from that country seeking birth certificates and other documents to apply for residency. Also flooded has been the security ministry office that provides fingerprinting, which also is required.

The regulations released by the Dirección General de Migración do not specifically say a person 65 years or older. 

The rules use the terms persona extranjera adulta mayor, which is generally accepted to be someone that age or older.

Costa Rica Makes Strong Presence at International Tourism Fairs

Sept 18, 2012 Emerging Terrains News 

Article Summary:Original Article Text From Prensa Grafica via Google Translate :

Costa Rica will promote its natural attractions in 26 international tourism fairs in the next eight months, as the country tries to attract visitors and enter into new tourism markets.

The state Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) said in a statement that the fairs will be held in the United States, Canada, Spain, Germany, France, Holland, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Russia, Sweden and Belgium.

This “fair season” attend at least 89 representatives of Costa Rican tourism companies, in order to promote their products and services.

The Costa Rican Tourism Minister, Allan Flores, said international fairs represent a “great showcase” to promote Costa Rica as a tourist destination in key markets.

Miracles do happen: San Jose to get street signs
 September 26th, 2012 Inside Costa Rica
 Have trouble finding your way around San Jose?  Well, it might get a little bit easier when tomorrow the municipality of San Jose begins to put up street signs to identify the streets and avenues of the city.

New Traffic Laws for Costa Rica
September 19th, 2012 – The new traffic law (Le de Transito) has been approved in 2nd debate, and therefore, traffic fines will be changed once again.

The most expensive tickets will be for reckless driving, illegal overtaking, invasion of lanes, and driving under the influence of drugs or drunk driving. These will each result in a fine of 280,000 colones (approximately $560). Authorities say these infractions are responsible for up to 75% of the deaths and serious injuries that occur on Costa Rican roadways.

Seven other infractions will carry a fine of 189,000 ($378) colones. These include running a red light or not respecting a stop sign, and exceeding the speed limit by 40km/hour or more, among others.  The remaining 90 infractions will have fines that vary between 20,000 ($40) and 94,000 ($187) colones.

The alcohol limit for drunk driving will also be lowered for “professional drivers” as well as “inexperienced” motorists. Professional drivers are those who drive buses, taxis, and heavy vehicles, among others and Inexperienced drivers are those who have possessed a driver’s license for less than 3 years.

These two classes of drivers will receive a fine when found to have over 0.2 grams of alcohol per liter of blood, and are penalized with jail when this amount is over 0.5 grams.

For other motorists, the fine will be applied when having more than 0.5 grams of alcohol and will be penalized with jail when the amount is over 0.75 grams of alcohol per liter of blood.

Not known is how the law may apply to foreigners who have possessed a Costa Rican driver’s license for less than three years.

Costa Rica ranks 42nd in World Economic Freedom Index
September 19th, 2012 Inside Costa Rica – Costa Rica obtained a 7.3 grade out of on a 1 to 10 scale in the most recent world economic freedom report.  The country ranked in 42nd place, amongst 144 participating countries. Those judged to have the most economic freedom were Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Australia, whereas Angola, Congo, Zimbabwe, Birmania and Venezuela ranked lowest.

The world average was 6.83, compared to 6.79 last year.

The study is produced by the Washington Cato Institute and the Fraser Institute in Canada, and uses data from two years ago. As such, the current study is based on data from 2010.

The United States ranked in 18th place, 10 spots lower than last year and behind countries such as Denmark, Ireland, Finland and Estonia.  Among the most common variables that the study uses is the size of government, legal system, property rights, freedom of foreign trade, freedom from corruption, and regulations to open new businesses. In Latin America, Chile is in 1st place.

New regulation forces banks to quickly resolve complaints  
September 19th, 2012 Inside Costa Rica – A bank client should have to wait no longer then 2 weeks to receive an answer regarding a complaint, according to new regulation that came into effect last month. Banks must now also offer complete information regarding the prices of the services that they offer.

According to the regulation, all complaints must now be resolved within ten business days.

If by the 9th day, the bank has not resolved the issue, it must inform the client that the matter will take additional time. All banks must also have information on their websites regarding commissions for services such as payment of public services, transfers, account fees, and debit and credit card fees, amongst others. The majority of banks already comply with this measure.The regulation provides a 6-month period, which began last month, for all financial institutions to adopt the new standards.

Foreign Investment in Costa Rica continues to Grow
 Tico Times September 07, 2012 - By Fernando Quirós  
Costa Rica has had great success in attracting corporate foreign direct investment.FDI is projected by CINDE, the very successful nongovernmental organization in charge of investment promotion, to grow 7 percent in 2012 and fulfill the Central Bank’s target of $2.25 billion for this year.

This country’s well-oiled FDI promotion machine is so successful that the Financial Times Group’s FDI Intelligence Unit named Costa Rica the “Best Country of the Future for Foreign Direct Investment in Central America and the Caribbean” in its “FDI Countries of the Future” report for 2011-2012. The bulk of corporate FDI investment is high-tech and in industrial parks, with favorable tax treatment and simplified regulatory requirements.
This new business start-up success at the corporate-exporter level is all well and good. Unfortunately, there is a huge gap in Costa Rica between the well-paved regulatory highway that CINDE and the government have set up for deep-pocketed foreign companies, and the pothole-filled obstacle course that ordinary Costa Ricans who just want to start up a mechanic’s shop or a restaurant are forced to navigate.

On the World Bank’s “Doing Business”  rankings, which measure the ease or difficulty of the nuts and bolts of starting and growing a business for ordinary citizens – things like legally incorporating, registering property, dealing with construction permits, enforcing contracts – Costa Rica ranks 121st of 183 countries. In Latin America and the Caribbean, Costa Rica ranks 25th out of 32 countries, behind every other Central American country except Honduras.
These figures only confirm what is obvious to anyone who tries to get business done here: Costa Rica is drowning in red tape. So how can ordinary Ticos, as well as entrepreneurial expats, better deal with the maze of requirements that gets in the way of starting businesses and creating jobs?

Laura Chinchilla’s National Liberation Party administration has started a low-key project to apply technology to help get government off ordinary citizens’ and entrepreneurs’ backs. Called the Digital Government project, it is operationally a division of ICE, the country’s power and telecommunications utility, but answers to a government commission presided over by Chinchilla.

The project seeks to leverage the information technology expertise of ICE to put as many government processes online as possible. The basic building block, the “digital signature,” is already developed.
This is a card with a chip on it, which is inserted into a reader connected to a computer. Anyone who has downloaded pictures from a photo data card to a computer using a USB card reader will recognize the set-up.
Although the card is called a “signature,” a “digital cédula” (the ubiquitous national ID card required for any transaction in Costa Rica) would be a more accurate description. Each digital cédula is unique and personal for its owner, whether a person or a company, and is protected by a pin number which must be typed in, along with the card computer connection, to log in and do online transactions. The cards are issued by banks, two state-owned (Banco Nacional and Banco Popular) and two private (BAC San José and Banco BCT).
Digital cédulas are already in use by banks for clients that move large amounts of money electronically. For chartering companies, an online system for notaries (lawyers) is already being implemented, with the idea of future expansion so that ordinary citizens can track progress of their paperwork.
The government’s goal is to set up and activate a company in 20 days.
For individuals, no end of online transactions is planned: residence permits and cédulas, passports, drivers’ licenses. For municipal governments, ICE is working on putting construction permits, business permits (patentes) and activity zoning (uso de suelo) processes online.  

One Digital Government project, On- Time Positive Silence, definitely cuts in favor of ordinary citizens and businesspersons. In March 2002, Costa Rica passed law 8,220, the Law for Protection of Citizens against Excessive Requirements and Administrative Processes. Article 7 of this law introduces the concept of Positive Silence: that once all paperwork is presented, the government authorization requested will be deemed granted if the government institution does not respond within three days.This potentially game-changing law, which makes approval the default outcome if the organization does not respond (Positive Silence), has been a dead letter because ordinary citizens cannot drag a notary around to certify presentation of every paper required in bureaucratic processes. But if presentation is online, digitally documented by means of a digital cédula, the government authorization game could change radically in favor of ordinary citizens. 

Costa Rica Receives Recognition Award for Protecting the Ozone Layer September 2nd, 2012   The Costa Rica News In August, the Ozone Secretariat of the United Nations Environment Program gave Costa Rica a recognition award for the protection of the ozone layer, as part of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty that seeks to protect the earth’s Ozone layer by decreasing the production and consumption of ozone depleting substances.

Costa Rica has earned this distinction by being actively involved in the processes of reduction of theses substances. This has been accomplished thanks to the changes that have been implemented in the production systems as well as the changes in legislation controlling ozone depleting substances.

For instance, in December 2009, Costa Rica implemented an import licensing system which has lead to the complete elimination of chlorofluorocarbon use.

In addition, through the use of alternative technologies, Costa Rica has managed to reduce the use of methyl bromide, a substance used in agriculture, primarily for soil fumigation. The country plans to completely eliminate the use of this chemical by the end of this year.

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete de Ozone Layer was created on September 16th, 1987. With 197 parties, it is the most widely ratified treaty in United Nations history,

and have, to date, enabled reductions of over 97% of all global consumption of controlled ozone depleting substances, as reported in the official website of the UN Environment Program.For more information visit http://ozone.unep.org 

Costa Rica’s competitiveness rating up 4 spots 
 September 7th, 2012 Inside Costa Rica
The Global Competitiveness Report by the World Economic Forum placed Costa Rica in the 57th spot, up a few spots from the last study where the country ranked 61st.

The United States scored 7th, Hong Kong, 9th, and Japan earned the number 10 spot.

According to the report, Costa Rica must resolve the bad shape if its roads, bridges, and general transportation infrastructure, which the report describes as poor. Other weak areas, according to the report, is the availability of commercial financing and the processes required to start a new business in the country.

In reaching their conclusions, the Economic Forum analyzed the potential for growth and prosperity of each country. In Costa Rica’s case, it was recognized for its improvements in macro economic conditions, as it decreased the internal shortage of money and lowered its level of debt. The Forum also highlighted Costa Rica’s increased use of Information technologies and its capacity for innovation.

Switzerland tops the list
According to the competitiveness ranking, Switzerland is the leader, followed by Singapore and Finland. This is the 4th year in which Switzerland ranks first place.  Countries in Europe, Germany, and the United Kingdom occupy the top 10 places.

In regards to Latin American countries , Chile occupies the 33rd spot, Brazil 48 and Mexico 53. In Central America, Panama stands out with a ranking of 40, and the rest have less favorable spots such as Guatemala, 84th place, El Salvador, number 101, Honduras, 90, and Nicaragua, 108.  

Amazon opens third operations center in Costa Rica
Aug. 31, 2012 Inside Costa Rica
Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) opened its third call center operation here in Costa Rica with a fresh supply of 300 new jobs to service several countries including Spain as well as Portuguese-speaking countries.

U.S. franchise to invest $40 million in new Costa Rica hotel
August 20, 2012 - By Tico Times  
A Las Vegas-style 24-hour casino will be built in Escazú.
Sonesta Collection Group this month began the main construction of its first hotel in Costa Rica (and their first in Central America), expected to open by the second half of 2013.

Wendy's Expands
Aug 17, 2012 AM Costa Rica    
The fast food chain, Wendy’s confirmed the opening of six new restaurants in the San Jose metropolitan area between 2012 and 2013. Food courts at the Multiplaza (Escazu) and Lincoln Plaza (Moravia) malls will also receive Wendy’s restaurants. The franchise expects to have a total of 15 to 16 locations in Costa Rica by the close of 2013.

Costa Rican inflation: The 2007 breakthrough
  August 03, 2012 - By Fernando Quirós Tico Times
Costa Rica is now operating in an inflation range that was an impossible dream for two generations.

Walmart in Costa Rica Begins Construction of Mega Distribution Center

Aug. 17, 2012 Inside Costa Rica

Walmart announced the start of construction of the largest distribution center in the region, a building with an area of 49.493 square metres, located in Alajuela. 

The new center, which will begin operations in the fist half of 2013, comes at a cost of US$68 million dollars and will generate more than 200 direct jobs in the next five years.

The company says the facility located in Coyol (west of the San José airport) will allow greater centralization of suppliers and provide greater product availability in the stores for client satisfaction. The project also includes a modern logistical support team, to optimize performance and increase efficiency according to Aquileo Sánchez, director of corporate affairs for Central America.

"With this new CEDI, which will be the largest in Central America, we meet the growing demand of our Walmar, Masxmenos, Maxi Pali and Pali stores in Costa Rica, and thus give them greater supply and availability of product to meet the needs of customers, " said Sanchez.

The Mayor of Alajuela, Robert Thompson, said he was very pleased that "a company as responsible as Walmart has decided Alajuela choose to make this important investment".

In a company blurb, Walmart Mexico & Central America says its mission is to help families save so they can live better.facilities.

Walmart de México y Centroamérica is one of the largest private employers in Costa Rica, with more than 9,000 associates working in distribution centres, agro-industrial plants, offices and 203 stores across the country.

Nomura Securities Gives Costa Rica Economy The Thumbs Up 
Tuesday 10 July 2012 Inside Costa Rica
Amid the gloom of the world economy, Costa Rica sparkles like a little gem. The country is famous for having no army and working hard to protect its environment.

And now Nomura Securities has polished Costa Rica’s halo with a report that says its economy is “flying”. First-quarter growth was 6.9 per cent year-on-year, while foreign investment rose by 10.4 per cent.

As a result, Nomura has raised its projection to 5.5 per cent this year for Costa Rica’s gross domestic product, up from an earlier estimate of 4 per cent. “For the first time in recent memory, Costa Rica is poised to show real GDP growth that exceeds its inflation rate,” says Nomura.

The ratio of investment to economic growth is likely to rise to almost 21 per cent, says Nomura. And it adds: “Public consumption in real terms grew by only 1.8 per cent; this confirms the Chinchilla administration’s commitment to fiscal prudence.”  The Chinchilla in question is Laura Chinchilla, the president, and there’s the rub. Costa Rica was recently rated the happiest country in the world, yet Chinchilla has also been rated as the most unpopular leader in Central America. Quite why Chinchilla is so unpopular remains unclear, though the clue might lie in the fiscal prudence, which has led to conflicts in the public sector.

Nor is it clear where the growth in the economy is coming from. Tourism perhaps, but also possibly tropical farm products, such as pineapples.

And Nomura opines that, while the fiscal deterioration over the last few years is likely to be contained in the short run, the report urges a full-fledged fiscal reform. A reform was proposed by Chinchilla but rejected by legislators.

However, fiscal reform is neither urgent nor essential, says Fred Blaser, publisher of Centralamericalink.com and Costa Rica’s daily business paper, La República. “Deficit-cutting can include shrinking the size of government, which is bloated here,” he says.

“The overall ratio of debt against GDP is reasonable, which means Costa Rica can borrow a bit more and still manage, which is what will probably happen, at least in the short term.”

Nomura is a financial services group and global investment bank. Based in Tokyo and with regional headquarters in Hong Kong, London, and New York, Nomura employs about 26,000 staff worldwide. It operates through five business divisions: retail (in Japan), global markets, investment banking, merchant banking, and asset management.

Prediction calls for drier than normal rainy season
July 11, 2012 By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Most of Costa Rica will experience a rainy season drier than normal, according to predictions released Tuesday by the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional.However, the Caribbean will see from 10 to 15 percent more rain for the last six months of the year, said the forecast.

The predictions say that Guanacaste will face a 20 percent decrease from normal rainfall levels. This is the country's driest area in any season, and a reduction of some 270 millimeters, about 19.6 inches, can mean trouble for cattle ranchers and farmers. This is the area where the predictions say there will be the highest percentage of deviation from the normal rainfall.

The Central and south Pacific can expect less rain, too, but the percentages are less. For the central Pacific, the forecasters say some 245 millimeters less rain will fall. That's about 8.7 inches and 10 percent less of the normal amount.The usually rainy south Pacific will see 5.5 fewer inches of rain, but that is just 5 percent of the normal rainfall.The forecast calls for a 5 percent reduction in rain in the northern zone, too, about 105 millimeters or 4.1 inches.
The populous Central Valley will be down by about 15 percent, according to the forecasts. That's 200 millimeters or 7.9 inches of rain.

The U.S. National Weather Service's  Climate Prediction Center is keeping a close eye on the Pacific. Forecasters there expect to see an increase in El Niño conditions through September. The El Niño phenomenon means that weather in the central Pacific will become slightly warmer. This has dramatic effects all over the world. For Costa Rica, it means drier weather. Costa Rican forecasters usually depend to some extent on U.S. predictions.From nine to 12 cyclones or hurricanes are expected in the Atlantic during this year year, according to local predictions. There already have been three named storms.

Hurricane forecasters at Colorado State University have increased the number of named storms they expect from in the Atlantic. Now they are saying 13 with five reaching hurricane strength.

There already have been five named storms in the Pacific with Hurricane Emilia heading away from Central America at a slow pace.  Hurricanes are closely related to El Niño conditions. A final hurricane forecast will come from the Colorado university Aug.3.

Costa Rican forecasters noted that last month was the third driest June in the recorded history of Juan Santamaría airport. Typically, the Costa Rican rainy season runs from May until Mid-December. However, July has been unusually dry in the Central Valley while the Pacific coast and northern Costa Rica have seen some strong storms.

Costa Rica: 20 Year Lag in Traffic Fines
Tuesday 10 July 2012 Inside Costa Rica
Although the most recent legislation was approved in 2008 and went into effect in 2010, Costa Rica lags behind in traffic fines, most of the current fines dating back to the 1993 law.  This is because the country's Constitutional Court considered most of the fines set in 2008 as disproportionate and rolling back fines to the previous law.

The road conditions today are much different that in 1993.  For instance, in 1993 there were some380.000 vehicles on the road. Today, the number of vehicles is more than one million - almost three times that of two decades ago - and with more or less the same road infrastructure.

In 2008, legislators passed a tough traffic law. After experiencing delays, it was finally enacted in full on March 2010, when fines went from the maximum of ¢20.000 colones set in 1993 to almost ¢400.000 colones. In addition, a point system was introduced.

Until last year, when the Constitutional Court began rolling back fines, transport officials reported a reduction in traffic fatalities. Since then, the numbers of deaths and injuries have begun to increase again.

In the last 12 months, Constitutional Court rulings rolled back the ¢351.000 fine for reckless driving to ¢20.000. Driving without wearing a seat belt costs only ¢15.000 instead of ¢237.000, and not having the Riteve (vehicular inspection) was rolled back from ¢205.000, for example.

Transit authorities are insisting on the urgency of the implementation of the new legislation that was approved last month in first vote and is currently being sent to the Constitutional Court for a review, to avoid the constitutional issues experienced with the current law.

The fines proposed in the new law are lower than those in the 2008 legislation, but hefty enough to become a deterrent to reckless driving.

Municipalities Sign Agreement To Process Construction Permits Online Tuesday 10 July 2012 Inside Costa Rica- Costa Rica News Home  

Costa Rica enters a new phase in development that will benefit housing and infrastructure in general, with 100% of the municipalities signing an agreement for all construction procedures be performed digitally. 

The development is sponsored by the Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y de Arquitectos (CFIA) - Association of Engineers and Architects - that has been working with the municipalities since last year.

The project is called "Administrador de Proyectos de Construcción” (APC) - Construction Project Management.

Thus, municipalities may link to, review and receive plans from some institutions like the Instituto Nacional de Vivienda y Urbanismo (National Institute of Housing), the Ministerio de Salud (Ministry of Health), the Cuerpo de Bomberos (Fire department), the Acueductos y Alcantarillados (water and sewer utility) and the CFIA.

As part of the program the CFIA has been training municipal officials on the APC. 

Canadian Tourism Increasing in Costa Rica

July 10, 2012 Inside Costa Rica / Costaricanorth.com
The interest of Canadian travelers to fly into Costa Rican territory is growing. This was determined by interest of airlines to open new flights from Canada. 

There are currently three existing airlines that fly from Toronto and Montreal to both national airports in Costa Rica. 
The arrival of more Canadians could be important income for the Costa Rican economy because the country is one of the wealthiest in the world.

"The increase of flights from Canada is in part due to the signing of the Air Transport Agreement between the two countries," said Luis Carlos Araya, Deputy of Air Transportation.

TACA was the first to launch into full force to attract the Canadian market. Since July 1st, TACA expanded its flights between San Jose and Toronto from three flights weekly to a one daily.

The strategy of TACA to expand the market doesn’t stop there; it is in the process of adding a direct flight from Juan Santamaria to Montreal. The flight to Montreal, which has no start date, will stop at the airport in El Salvador.
Air Canada also increased its operations to Costa Rica, but not from the capital. Liberia, Guanacaste is the next destination the U.S. Company is interested in exploring next semester.

These aren't the only airlines that are interested in connecting Canada with Costa Rica.

West Jet, a Canadian airline is also exploring flights to Costa Rica. Although the low-cost airline is interested in adding Costa Rica to its flight schedule, they have not made a formal proposal.

There are two main purposes of Canadian tourists wanting to travel to Costa Rica; the first is to enjoy recreation and adventure offered by national tourist regions and secondly are those traveling for medical tourism.  For Costa Ricans, the arrival of these new flights will provide them with more opportunity to travel to Canada. Those who know Montreal say nobody can leave without trying the smoked beef sandwich at Schwartz's restaurant.

Teatro Jacó has full slate of comedy for July

July 11, 2012 By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
This month Jacó Beach will be the scene of virtually non-stop comedy with Teatro Jaco's inaugural “JACO Ha Ha 2012,” featuring two weekends of acts from the United States, two weekends of Costa Rican acts and comedy workshops in both English and Spanish.

The first half of the month will be devoted to English acts, which started yesterday with “Faye Lane's Beauty Shop Stories” until the Monday, then the next night comedy troupe, Upright Citizen's Brigade will take over with two nights of workshops followed by five nights of performances.

Breaking for one day, the second half of the month with feature comedy acts in Spanish, starting off with two nights of workshops, followed by three nights of Sergio Masis' “Maldito Murphy,” and concluding with three performances of a sit-com-styled show called “Qué Zambrote!”

“Now everybody's on vacation in Costa Rica. It's nice to have something for people to enjoy and laugh at,” said Ulrike Gutiérrez, production assistant at Teatro Jacó. “It's a good month for that.”

Founded in 2010 by Darren Lee Cole, who also co-owns an off-Broadway theater in New York City called SoHo Playhouse, Teatro Jacó opened at the Oceans Center, last December.

Although Ms. Gutiérrez says that the two shows in English have already been performed at Cole's theater in New York City and were fairly easy to book for Teatro Jacó, but she says this is still a very busy month compared to what they are used to.

“Faye Lane's Beauty Shop Stories” is an autobiographical stand-up performance by Rhonda Faye Gunnels, in which she tells stories of growing up in her mother's beauty salon. She will give four more performances until Monday.

Next up is two evenings of workshops and five performances by Upright Citizens Brigade, an improvisational theater group with performance spaces in New York City and Hollywood, California. Upright Citizens once had its own television show on Comedy Central from 1998 until 2000, and has had members such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sans over the years.For the local acts performing in Spanish, Ms. Gutiérrez says that Teatro Jacó had little trouble  recruiting the acts from San José, where most performers are based.   After the cast of “Qué Zambrote!” gives two workshops on the 18th and 19th, one actor and one actress will perform 21 shorts about how Murphy's Law affects all stages of life, in actor, director and playwrightttt Sergio Masis' “Maldito Murphy,” which will run three nights that weekend.After a three-day pause, “Qué Zambrote!” will return for three performances, from July 26 to 28, in which local comedians Rita Fields and Ricardo Segura will play 14 characters and depict comedic scenes of everyday Costa Rican life.

For the performances in English, general tickets cost $20 for general admission and $30 for VIP seating which includes two drinks. Performances in Spanish are $10 for general admission and $20 for VIP seating. The workshops in English are $20 for one night and $30 for both nights. The workshops in Spanish cost 5,000 colons for one night and 7,500 for both.  All shows start at 8 p.m., and all workshops start at 6 p.m.

Costa Rica is Once Again the Happiest Nation According to New Report
Costa Rica Star14 Jun 2012  

The 2012 Happy Planet Index (HPI) was issued earlier today, and Costa Rica tops the list as the happiest country on Earth. The HPI is compiled and release by the New Economics Foundation (NEF), an independent think tank based in the United Kingdom that focuses economic well-being. The NEF describes the HPI as a report that measures and focuses on what really matters: sustainable well-being and how nations are doing in terms of supporting their inhabitants to live good lives now, while ensuring that others can do the same in future.
According to the official press release by the NEF, the HPI is the leading global measure of sustainable well-being. The rationale for the index is described by the foundation as a new measure of human progress. It considers the following empirical data: 
“[ ]the extent to which countries deliver long, happy, sustainable lives for the people that live in them. The 2012 HPI report, published today, ranks 151 countries based on their efficiency – the extent to which each nation produces long and happy lives per unit of environmental input.”

The headline indicator of the HPI report is described by the simple formula of happy life years divided by the ecological footprint. The HPI is, in essence, a measure of efficiency. Costa Rica may top the list, but the overall report:  “confirms that we are still not living on a happy planet with no country achieving high and sustainable well-being and only nine are close to doing so.

The HPI is a headline indicator that provides an overall picture, but countries which do well on the HPI can still suffer many problems. Other indicators will also be necessary to fully assess how societies are doing. nef (the new economics foundation) has developed a measurement framework of which HPI is one component; it sits alongside other measures such as economic performance and environmental pressure.”Nations in Latin America and the Caribbean top the list, even though many of them, like Costa Rica, are still considered Third World nations with very modest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) output.

The United Kingdom is listed at position number 41 on the list, while the United States scored 105 out of 151 nations.   In previous years, the HPI has seen its fair share of criticism, but the interest in the overall happiness of the population and the interaction between state of mind, social welfare, and the environment has recently increased. Nations such as Costa Rica and Bhutan are now consulted by member states of the United Nations on policy-making advice that can directly appeal to the happiness of their people.

For exchange rate, 5 years of stability
 June 15, 2012 - By Fernando Quirós Tico Times

In the late 1970s and early ’80s, Costa Rica suffered its worst currency devaluation in history. Today, exchange-rate stability is considered one of the country’s economic victories.

 A major achievement of the Costa Rican economy is that the colón-dollar exchange rate – which has hovered around ₡500 to the dollar since 2007 – is no longer a source of anxiety for Ticos or companies. Once the country’s most important economic indicator, the exchange rate has dropped off the radar for short- to medium-term economic planning.

To appreciate how unprecedented exchange rate stability is, observers should take a long-term view by looking at the Central Bank’s exchange rate on Jan. 1 for each of the past 30 years (see graph).

Clearly, something happened in 2007. Up to that year, devaluation of the colón averaged 11.18 percent during 23 years. Since 2007, despite a slip to 11.52 percent in 2009, devaluation of Costa Rica’s currency has averaged only 0.71 percent, with the colón actually gaining value against the dollar in 2007, 2011 and 2012.

It’s not surprising that the Central Bank’s records only go back to 1983. From 1978-1982, Costa Rica suffered its worst currency devaluation ever, from 8.6 to 45.2, an average of 107 percent per year. These disastrous numbers cannot communicate the chaos they entailed, as the Central Bank ran completely out of dollars, and then defaulted on bonds it issued to pay its dollar debts. Those  who went through those hyper-inflationary times and saw prominent Costa Rican companies go bankrupt, will never forget. But big upheavals enable major change: Costa Rica junked its import-substitution model, nationalization of dollars by the Central Bank was abolished, and the country switched to a modern, open, export-oriented economy.

Once things settled down, the long climb from 45.20 colones per dollar in 1983 to 517.90 in 2007 reflects a natural strategy for a country exporting principally agricultural commodities, including coffee, sugar and bananas. The 10 percent or so of devaluation every year helps keep the dollar price of these types of exports competitive in international markets.

But the world changes, and Costa Rica has done a pretty fair job of adapting. The original basket of three commodities became much more varied, including ornamental plants, fish, seafood and tourism, among others. As low-cost producers of coffee, such as Vietnam, emerged in commodity markets, Costa Rica was able to brand itself as a premier gourmet coffee producer and command premium prices for its golden beans. Most important of all, Costa Rica managed to diversify away from agricultural commodities as its main dollar earners, towards services and high-tech manufacturing.

The change in the devaluation pattern that became evident in 2007 was the result of a change in how the exchange rate was set by the Central Bank, adopted in September 2006. Until then, the Central Bank led the dollar foreign-exchange market under a mini-devaluation strategy, with frequent, very small devaluations, in a predictable pattern that businesses could forecast. The Central Bank would set buy and sell exchange rates, which other exchange- market participants (mostly banks and securities brokerages) then fell in line with.

Starting in September 2006, the Central Bank changed its approach. Instead of directly setting an exchange rate, it would now set upper and lower “bands,” or intervention rates at which it would enter the market to keep the exchange rate within reasonable bounds. As long as the exchange rate stayed within the upper and lower exchange rate bands, the Central Bank would stay on the sidelines and let supply and demand between other market players determine the rate.

The lower band was set at ₡500 to the dollar, and since 2007, investment flows into the country became big and steady enough so that, together with the much more varied export-revenue mix, the exchange rate under the new, basically free-market foreign-exchange regime, stabilized. This stability proved solid enough for the exchange rate to get through the 2008-2010 world economic downturn with only one slip – the 11.52 percent devaluation in 2009 – followed by immediate recovery, with slight revaluations in 2011 and 2012.

Though traditional exporters grumble that lack of colón devaluation hurts their competitive position in the world market, the stable exchange rate since 2007 has been the single biggest factor allowing Costa Rica to finally bring its inflation rate into single digits. This is the biggest contribution that the Central Bank and the government can make to the economic well-being of the poor. 

Tourists to Costa Rica will spend $1.3 Billion during 2012
Posted by Marcel Evans on June 13, 2012 in Business Miami, June 13, 2012: & Costa Rica Star

Tourists are in love with Costa Rica. This is indicated by the US$1.3 billion to spend this year in our country, 15% more than in 2011, according to the second annual Global Destinations Cities Index from MasterCard. The research reveals that San Jose, Costa Rica, ranks sixth in disbursement of money for tourists. The first place is Mexico, the second Buenos Aires, the third Sao Paulo, the fourth Lima, and the fifth Bogota.

The amount of international travelers visiting top destination cities in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is expected to increase, totaling 16.6 million visitors in 2012. The growth figures for Latin America show real signs of positivity, with projected visitor numbers up by 7.3% for the top ten destination cities in the region and total predictions for international spend growth at 7.9%.

According to the Index, despite a challenging economic climate, the overall travel and tourism picture is predicted to improve, with the number of international visitors and their spending projected to increase in 2012.

“In spite of a challenging global economic backdrop, this year’s Index projects that there are hotspots of robust growth around the globe, in terms of both international visitor arrivals and expenditure,” said Dr Yuwa Hedrick- Wong, Global Economic Advisor for MasterCard Worldwide and author of the report.
Meanwhile, other cities including Quito, Bogota and San Jose are predicted to enjoy increased international visitor spend this year.
“It is important to understand the role Latin American cities play when taking a look at global commerce and how electronic payments enable international travelers to make safe, simple and smart payments anywhere in the world,” said Richard Hartzell, President, MasterCard Latin America and Caribbean region. “This Index indicates that Latin America and the Caribbean are attracting more international travelers and we want to help facilitate the growth of cashless commerce.”

The MasterCard Index of Global Destination Cities ranks cities in terms of the number of their total international visitor arrivals and the cross-border spending by these same visitors in the destination cities, and gives visitor and passenger growth forecasts for 2012.  This Index and the accompanying reports are not based on MasterCard volumes or transactional data.

LAC Rankings for the 2012 Global Destinations Cities Index
Topping the charts as destination cities from the region by international travelers are: 1) Mexico City, Mexico; 2) Buenos Aires, Argentina; 3) São Paulo, Brazil; 4) Lima, Peru; 5) Bogota, Colombia; 6) San Jose, Costa Rica; 7) Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; 8) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 9) Caracas, Venezuela and 10) Quito, Ecuador.

The top ten destination cities in LAC by international visitor spend are: 1) Buenos Aires, Argentina; 2) São Paulo, Brazil; 3) Mexico City, Mexico; 4) Lima, Peru; 5) Bogota, Colombia; 6) San Jose, Costa Rica; 7) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 8) Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; 9) Caracas, Venezuela and 10) Quito, Ecuador  -Quito, who shows an expected growth rate of 18.8%, moves into the LAC Top Ten list for the first time.  -Mexico City, with 3.5 million arrivals, is expected to receive more visitors than any other city in Latin America making it the top destination in the region. Buenos Aires follows in second place with 2.6 million visitors. In fact, more international travelers are expected to visit Mexico City and Buenos Aires (3.5 million and 2.6 million) than San Francisco, Washington D.C, Atlanta, Vancouver and Houston.

Inbound Travelers to LAC Mostly Come From the US or the Region Itself
-Based on air travel, most visitors traveling to the top destination city in LAC – Mexico City – are coming from the US including Miami, Houston, New York and Los Angeles. While visitors from Miami and New York to Mexico City are growing at 17.1% and 12.5% respectively, visitors from Los Angeles and Houston are declining by 20.7% and 0.8% respectively.

Visitor Spending in LAC
-Aside from high numbers of visitor arrivals, Buenos Aires currently ranks highest among LAC cities by visitor expenditure, with US $3.0 billion. Sao Paulo follows closely with US $2.9 billion, dropping to second place after being top ranked in 2011 with international visitor spending declining by 5%.-Quito, coming in tenth place, shows the strongest growth rate for amount spent by visitors at an astonishing 26.3%, followed by Bogota at an impressive 24.8%.-International visitor spending in Caracas is expected to see a sharp decline of 9.3% compared with the 2011 level.-Though there is set to be a lower average international spend per visit of $982 in LAC, this figure is up by 0.6% from last year.

For the second year in a row, London comes in as the world’s most popular destination city for overseas travelers. The top overall ranking is based on a predicted uplift of international visitor numbers by 1.1% to a record 16.9 million, while visitors’ spend is set to increase by a sizzling 10.3% to $21.1 million. MasterCard also projects that if current growth continues, London may well be a so-called ‘cashless capital’ by 2025, when the number of electronic payments will be greater than the number of cash transactions.

Methodology
The MasterCard Worldwide Index of Global Destination Cities is compiled using international flight and flight capacity information purchased from OAG Global, a provider of international aviation data. Flight schedules are also used for calculating flight frequency between pairs of cities. Airlines also publish on a regular basis their historical load factor, and advance flight schedules, which are then used to estimate the actual outbound passenger departures, and for forecasting outbound passenger departures in the coming year.

On any given flight there are visitors from the departure country, returning residents of the destination city after visiting the departure country, and a third group: non-residents connecting through the departure country to the destination city on their way to a second destination city. This group can be a low proportion of the passengers for typically non-hub cities, but very high for destination cities that are “hubs” such as Singapore, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt.On a country level, the UN Database of “Trade in Service” in the “Travel Component” provides estimates of how much each year residents spend abroad (air fare paid in home country not included). An algorithm is applied to this total outbound expenditure and estimated total number of outbound passengers to derive an estimate of average per outbound passenger’s expenditure overseas.A margin of error is also unavoidable in such estimates, as not all outbound trips are of equal length, and the cost of living varies a great between arrival cities such that even if each trip of equal length, expenditure per passenger between different arrival cities would still be very different.This margin of error is reduced significantly by imposing a minimum of expenditures in the algorithm, after a number of iterative testing (US$500 per trip for bordering arrival country and US$700 per trip for non-bordering arrival country).Please note the city rankings from the 2011 MasterCard Index of Global Destination Cities are altered retrospectively as updates in data become available.About Dr Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, Ph.D., Global Economic Advisor, MasterCard Worldwide.  Dr Yuwa Hedrick-Wong is a business strategist and economist with 25 years of experience gained in over thirty countries. He was appointed Global Economic Advisor to MasterCard Worldwide in 2009. Prior to this role, he was Economic Advisor to MasterCard in Asia/Pacific, a position he held since 2001. As economic advisor, he chairs a MasterCard Knowledge Panel of leading economists, policy analysts, academics and business strategists for regular exchange and knowledge sharing. In 2007 he was appointed Advisor at Southern Capital Group, a private equity fund; and in 2008 he was appointed to the Investment Council of ICICI, India’s largest private bank.

Costa Rica Still The Happiest Place On Earth
June 15, 2012 Inside Costa Rica
• Vietnam and Colombia Follow
The weather is warm, the beaches are sublime and people hate pollution -- no wonder Costa Ricans are smiling. The country has been dubbed the happiest in the world according to the New Economics Foundation’s Happy Planet Index.
Costa Rica achieves a Happy Planet Index Score of 64.0 and ranks #1 of all the countries analyzed. Costa Rica's HPI score reflects a high life expectancy, high levels of experienced well-being, and a moderate ecological footprint.


Click here for the data.

The organization ranked all of the countries in the world by from data culled from the Gallup World Poll, asking people how they felt their lives measured up on a scale of one to 10.
They then factored in life expectancy and the country’s ecological ‘footprint’ -- the amount of land needed to sustain the its way of life.

By this measure Costa Rica is the happiest place on Earth, with Vietnam and Colombia coming in second and third.

The United States ranked a dismal 105th place, way behind Libya, Bangladesh and Turkmenistan.

The NEF drubbed America and the United Kingdom for its poor use of resources.

These scores may seem odd considering the amount of poverty in many of these Latin American countries countries -- but money isn’t everything, NEF says.

Rich and poor countries -- the U.S. and Central African Republic both scored miserably.

As the same time, many of the countries that scored high -- such as El Salvador and Nicargua -- have experiences vicious outbreaks of violence in recent years.

“Countries that do well on the HPI suffer many problems and many high-ranking countries are tainted by important human rights issues,” the NEF explains in its findings. “Though one would expect the infringement of rights to negatively impact on the well-being of some people in the country, the HPI does not set out to directly measure those rights.”

The NEF said that it doesn’t believe its Happy Planet Index is the only way the measure the success of a country -- but it’s a valid indicator of the state of a nation.

“By only using indicators like GDP to measure success we are not accounting for what really matters, producing happy lives people now and in the future,” it said.

Qatar, Chad and Botswana were given ranked the ‘unhappiest’ places on the planet.

75 percent of companies unpaid new corporate tax
May 22, 2012 Published in Diario Extra
Of the approximately 575,000 registered corporations in the country only 145,045 have paid the new flat rate corporate tax. The deadline came on April 30th, and those requiring documents or changes through the commercial registry will be required to settle unpaid taxes and interest.

Non-U.S. friends will be welcome at July 4 picnic
May 24, 2012 A.M. Costa Rica staff

U.S citizens who attend the July 4 bash at the beer company grounds will be able to bring a non-U.S. friend. A member of the American Colony Committee board of directors confirmed this Wednesday. The committee sponsors the picnic.

A.M. Costa Rica reported May 3 that the picnic once again will be held at the Cervercería Costa Rica picnic grounds west of San José.

The decision by the committee to admit non-U.S. citizens is a major change from past years. Until now those who attended had to be U.S. citizens with passports or be close relatives of citizens.

Naturally, some expats were irked by this rule, and some U.S. citizens did not attend because they thought that their boy or girl friend or non-U.S. business associate would be denied entry.

Expat workers at the gate were much more flexible than the written rules, but the bar to non-U.S. citizens generated some ill will over the years.The members of the committee had argued that the picnic would be flooded by persons simply seeking free beer and hot dogs.

Now there is a small entry fee, and the requirement that a non-U.S. citizen be accompanied by an American is expected to keep that from happening. Much of the food and drink is donated.

The time this year is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Last year the committee joined with Avenida Escazú, the shopping center, to hold the event in the afternoon. But heavy rains dampened the event and cut attendance.

The picnic has grown over more than 50 years from a U.S. expat gathering at the home of the U.S. ambassador, to the present event that draws thousands. This picnic will be the 52nd organized by the committee, it said.

The picnic was designed to provide the children of U.S. expats with a real July 4 celebration. Children still are a priority with games and rides in previous years.

 The Cervercería grounds west of San José contains a large field for all types of games. Usually service clubs, the U.S. Embassy and veteran groups set up informational booths for visitors. The committee Web site is about to be updated with information for this year. The committee also is seeking donations from expats, local businesses and others to help support the event.

Costa Rica aspires to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development   May 22, 2012 - By Tico Times

President Laura Chinchilla announced the country’s membership goals during a Paris forum titled “A Better Quality of Life 2.0.”Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla on Tuesday reaffirmed the country’s intentions of joining the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

During a tour of Europe, Chinchilla participated in Paris as a speaker at a forum titled “A Better Quality of Life 2.0,” organized by the OECD. Chinchilla said her country is committed to participating in the group, where major economic and development decisions are made. “The OECD has been a beacon in our journey towards development, and for more than half a century has provided guidance, analysis, reflection and inspiration,” she said. The forum’s focus is discussing actions to achieve better living conditions for the world’s residents, and Chinchilla referred to three main areas that Costa Rica could work with the OECD: social investment, protection of the planet and free-trade promotion.

Chinchilla will be in Europe until May 31 to promote cooperation between Central America and the EU and to attract investment. After France, she is scheduled to visit Germany, Italy, and the Vatican, where she will meet with Pope Benedict XVI. Last year, the OECD removed Costa Rica from its list of “tax havens,” where the country had appeared since 2009.

 New immigration rules have good news on rentistas  
May 21, 2012  A.M. Costa Rica staff

The second set of immigration regulations became public Thursday, and there was no crackdown on perpetual tourists.The new rules did lower to $60,000 the amount a foreigner would need to become a rentista, according to Javier Zavaleta of Residency in Costa Rica.  He follows the issues from his California office.

“New income requirement for rentista is still $2,500 per month of unearned income BUT for only 2 years (24 months) instead of five years or sixty months,” he wrote. “In terms of money:  a rentista applicant will now need only $60,000 in the bank instead of $150,000 previously required.”

The $60,000 requirement was the amount required through March 1, 2010, when the new immigration law upped the requirement. The rules published Thursday in the La Gaceta official newspaper represent the second set that defines the details in how the law is applied.

The requirement for pensionado remains at a lifelong income of at least $1,000 a month.
The regulations did not mention perpetual tourists as many had feared. But it did repeat the legal definition of tourist. That is a person authorized to enter the country only for the ends of rest or relaxation and who has the economic means of subsistence sufficient for the authorized period.

That definition could cause problems for the perpetual tourists who have businesses here or who work via the Internet. For years, many real estate salesmen were perpetual tourists who left the country every 90 days to renew their visa.

The 214-page document bears the signature of President Laura Chinchilla Miranda and Mario  Zamora Cordero, the security minster. The Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería is in his ministry.

The document is full of rules and regulations that will never affect expats. These include the statues of persons living along the nation's borders or truckers who enter the country regularly. Also treated in detail are foreigners who come to Costa Rica as sports participants, members of religious groups or news people.

“This is a very good change for potential applicants under the rentista program, “ said Zavaleta. “It points out that Migración realizes that the only time the rentista needs to prove income is at the time the application is filed and at the time of the first renewal -- two years after the initial approval as a temporary resident. Why? Because after three years of being a temp resident, the temp resident can apply for permanent residency, which has no income requirement."

The regulations accept the new system of apostille for foreign documents, which means the paperwork will not have to be passed through a Costa Rican consulate.

The rules also clearly state that foreigners married to a Costa Rican can obtain temporary residency for a year.

The rules also spell out for the first time how persons who come to Costa Rica for medical care can obtain a form of authorization to remain in the country. The requirements are much the same as other forms of residency and cost $100. Most medical visitors, unless they plan a very long stay, probably will continue to come under a tourism visa.

The rules also outline that a resident who loses documents will have to pay $98 for replacement. 

   Honey & Salt Added To List  Of Sales Tax Exempt Items
May 15, 2012 Inside Costa Rica
Bee honey, salt, shrimp and certain types of cuts of meat and fish for public consumption, such as tilapia, are now also exempt from the 13% sales tax. 

The exemptions were added to the list of products without sales tax with the announcement by the ministro de Hacienda, Edgar Ayales, on Monday.
Ayales said that the decree for the exemptions will be published today or tomorrow in the La Gaceta and will include the items in the Canasta Basic (Basic Basket), correcting the errors made last week in changes to the sales tax items.

Among the items that will remain taxable are Porterhouse and T-Bone steaks, salmon, jasmine rice, artichokes, peaches, figs, mushrooms, grapefruit and nectarines, among others.  "We want the lower income class to be affected less", said Ayales.The government uses the Encuesta de Ingresos y Gastos to determine which products are taxable and not. 

   IBM to invest $300 million in new Costa Rica IT center 
 May 14, 2012 - By Tico Times
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) on Thursday opened a new Costa Rica Delivery Center in the province of Heredia, north of the capital.

The company announced it will invest $300 million over the next 10 years and intends to employ up to 1,000 people by 2014, affirming the country's position as a strategic services hub for the technology giant.The new facility will support clients in the areas of IT security, data storage, business analytics, cloud computing and other services in demand. Additionally, the center will provide technology capabilities that can anticipate and help prevent fraud and IT hacking.
“With IBM’s state-of-the-art facilities, thousands of Costa Ricans will be able to showcase their talent, pushing Costa Rica further down the path of innovation, knowledge and technology; a path that we have bravely undertaken with courage and commitment, but most of all, with great confidence in the talent of our people,” President Laura Chinchilla said during an opening ceremony held at the America Free Zone.
 

Manuel Antonio park gets another trail for visitors   
May 15, 2012  A.M. Costa Rica staff  
Park and environmental officials inaugurated another trail at Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio Monday.The trail is to Punta Catedral and has a 10-year life expectancy. The Ministerio de Ambiente, Energía y Telecomunicaciones said that environmentally friendly materials were used for the rebuilt trail. In some sections where erosion was anticipated, concrete was used. The cost of the project was 58 million colons or about $116,000.

One purpose of the trail is to take pressure off existing routes, which are much used by tourists. The project was under the jurisdiction of the  Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación.The project was designed to have a minimal impact on the environment, officials said.

Costa Rica's Central Bank Ensures the Stability Foreign Capital Wants    May 14, 2012 Inside Costa Rica
While the global economy dominates financial news headlines, many consumers are unaware that the major issues that face the developed economies of the world are often magnified when viewed from a small country perspective.   For a nation like Costa Rica, the only “buffer” that exists between the economic challenges facing global commerce and the domestic priorities of its local economy is its central bank.
The primary mission for all central banks is to maintain price stability by controlling inflation, and when achieved, a country’s business environment becomes very attractive for foreign investment.
The central bank of Costa Rica is the Banco Central de Costa Rica, or “BCCR” for short. It has developed an international reputation for credibility, efficiency, and transparency while keeping inflation and general prices in check through its various policies. The published operating objectives of the bank are as follows:

• Maintain internal stability of the national currency, seeking to turn the full employment of productive resources.

• Maintain external stability of the national currency and ensure their free conversion to other currencies.

• Promote a stable system of financial intermediation, efficient and competitive.

Costa Rica, like many other emerging economies in the world, has benefited from strong growth characteristics over the past decade.
Since 2000, GDP growth has averaged 4.2% for the past eleven years. Yes, there was a slight contraction in 2009 of 1.3% during the “Great Recession”, but each of the other ten years exhibited positive growth with many exceeding 5% annually, a record that many developed countries would hope to achieve in one year.

Growth at this level over an extended period of time, however, can create demand pressure on prices resulting in inflation. For the better part of the past decade, inflation in Costa Rica has exceeded ten percent, but through the policies of the BCCR, inflation has been fortunately brought under control in recent years.
In 2010, 5.8% was the official rate, but that figure has been reduced to 4.7% for both 2011 and 2012. Interest rates tend to be high in developing countries in order to curb inflation.
In Costa Rica, the central bank rate stands at 8.5%, much less than double-digit rates when inflation was higher.

Controlling inflation has also led to a stable national currency, the “Colón” or “CRC”, for Costa Rica. In 2006, the central bank allowed the currency to float in international foreign exchange markets within two bands, a method tried previously in Chile. A forex trader with the best forex platform will typically avoid speculating on a currency with these constraints. As a result the currency’s value has been maintained within 495 and 515 versus the greenback for the past few years. A stable foreign exchange balance of $4.7 billion has been accumulated to facilitate international trade, as well.

This stable financial environment has attracted both increased tourism and foreign investment.
Costa Rica is now the most visited nation in the Central American region, with tourism contributing over $2.2 billion annually to the economy. Tourism now earns more foreign exchange revenue than the combined exports for coffee, pineapples, and bananas, the country’s three primary cash crops.

This year is also marks the fifteenth anniversary of Intel’s arrival in Costa Rica. Investing over $900 million in equipment and infrastructure since it began domestic operations, Intel is now the country’s largest exporter, accounting for 6% of the nation’s gross domestic product and providing nearly 3,000 jobs for local citizens.
A stable business atmosphere will always attract foreign capital, and the BCCR has done its part to facilitate many local success stories, such as Intel and others.

 Starbucks to sell Tico brand in Costa Rica store
May 11, 2012 - By Tico Times
Bella Vista Coffee, hailing from Tres Ríos, southeast of San José, will be the first Tico coffee for sale in Starbucks’ new Escazú location, southwest of the capital, the daily La Nación reported.

The new store is the coffee giant’s first in Costa Rica. The chain, which has been a major buyer of Costa Rican coffee for years, will open its new store on Avenida Escazú sometime in the next two weeks, where patrons will find 250 gram bags of Bella Vista beans for sale.

“We are some of the principal suppliers of Starbucks, and they are the No. 1 individual buyer that Costa Rica has for its coffee,” Ronald Peters, executive director of the Coffee Institute of Costa Rica told The Tico Times in February. “Opening a café here gives national consumers a style [of drinking coffee] that is known globally, and in this way promotes the consumption of coffee. That is important for us” (TT, Feb. 3).

Starbucks administrators told La Nación they selected Bella Vista Coffee because it is grown between 1,350 and 1,500 meters above sea level, and has good quality, flavor and acidity.
 

Costa Rica is region’s best country to raise children, study says 
 May 09, 2012 - By Tico Times

A study released on Tuesday by nonprofit group Save the Children ranks Costa Rica 13th among a list of 80 countries based on conditions for raising children.

Following Costa Rica in the region is Panama (24th), El Salvador (37th), Belize (42th), Nicaragua (49th), Honduras (60th) and Guatemala (68th).

The list divided 165 countries into three categories: more-developed (43 countries), less-developed (80) and least-developed (42). Costa Rica appears on the less-developed countries list.

Norway, Iceland and Sweden top the more-developed list, while the United States ranks 25th. Cuba, Israel and Barbados are the top three among less-developed countries.

Rwanda, Bhutan and Malawi headed the least-developed list, while Yemen, Afghanistan and Niger ranked at the bottom.

The study also ranked factors such as mothers' health, education and economic status, as well as child indicators such as health and nutrition.  Save the Children called for more global action to tackle the cycle of maternal and child malnutrition when G8 leaders gather in Camp David, in the U.S., at the end of the month.

Grainger comes to Costa Rica  May 11, 2012 - Tico Times
Grainger, a U.S.-based industrial supply giant, opened its first Costa Rica location on Tuesday in the northwestern San José district of La Uruca.

“Our clients in Costa Rica have said they want an inventory available locally and we’ve responded,” said Eduardo Sauma, general manager of Grainger Costa Rica. “Local businesses are looking for products and solutions that help them be more efficient, reduce operating costs and keep their employees safe at work. We are obliged to help them accomplish these goals.”

The new location is a 1,000 square meter warehouse stocked with everything from drive belts to fluid cleanup kits, and work boots to tool bags. The warehouse will be staffed by area residents and will employ about 15 people by the end of the year, said Mauricio Ganem, general manager of Central America and the Caribbean for Grainger.  In 2011, Grainger racked up some $8.1 billion in sales. The company serves approximately two million countries worldwide in 157 countries, and employs more than 21,500 individuals.

15 years later, Bill Clinton returns to Costa Rica
 May 10, 2012 - By Tico Tiimes Matt Levin
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton visited Costa Rica to promote sustainable economies and the benefits of taking action on climate change. He met with President Laura Chinchilla on Wednesday, and spoke Wednesday night at the Sustainability and Happiness Business Forum, held at Hotel InterContinental in Escazú. The two discussed Costa Rica’s role in the growing global market for “green” technology.
Naturally, the payment for Wednesday night’s speech was not disclosed. Each of the 650-plus seats looked filled during Clinton’s presentation at the Hotel InterContinental in Escazú, southwest of the capital. Tickets for the two-day congress, known as the Sustainability and Happiness Business Forum, cost $750 (see box).

Clinton did his part by delivering a message on environmental sustainability. He cited statistics and gave colorful anecdotes, while relying on a practical theme: Green economies save the environment and money. “My advice to everybody is to do something [so] that other people can see that the only economics that can make sense in the long run are sustainable economics,” Clinton said.

He gave the typical platitudes about Costa Rica. The former U.S. president praised the country’s protection of jungles and use of hydropower, and he lauded Costa Rica as an example for the rest of the world on how green economies can succeed.

Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla met with Clinton before the speech at Casa Presidencial, in the southeastern San José district of Zapote, where he suggested Costa Rica could be a leader in renewable energy technology.
Clinton also recalled his first visit to Costa Rica for the 1997 Summit of the Americas, where he joined Latin American leaders in pledging commitments to sustainable development.
At last year’s Sustainability and Happiness Business Forum, the keynote speaker was former Vice President Gore. Figueres – who returned to Costa Rica from a seven-year self-exile at the end of 2011 – spoke at this year’s forum, as did special guests former Brazilian Environment Minister Marina Silva and an expert on the Bhutanese government’s National Happiness Index, Lhaba Tshering, among others.
A campaign launched by the Clinton Foundation called the Clinton Climate Initiative attempts to address climate change by working with governments to reduce emissions, utilize clean energy and prevent deforestation. He touched on all three of these issues during his speech, heaping abundant accolades on Brazil and Costa Rica.

Seventh Costa Rican qualifies for 2012 Summer Olympics
May 09, 2012 - By Tico Times 
Osman Murillo, 27, became the seventh Costa Rican to qualify for the upcoming 2012 Olympics Games in London. Murillo discovered Wednesday morning on the website of the International Judo Federation that his ranking qualified him for a spot in the upcoming summer games, which begin July 27.

Murillo competes in the 73 kilogram weight class, where he is ranked 267th in the world. The Tico will train for four weeks in Costa Rica before going to Europe for six months of preparation for the Olympics.
Other national athletes who have qualified for the Olympics are triathlete Leonardo Chacón, marathon runners Gabriela Traña and César Lizano, Nery Brenes for the 400 meter race, Heiner Oviedo for Taekwondo and Andrey Amador in men’s road cycling.

Caja invests $29,000 in cervical cancer treatment 
 May 08, 2012 - By Tico Times
Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer type among women in Costa Rica.
The Social Security System, or Caja, on Tuesday announced an investment of ₡148 million ($29,000) in diagnostic and treatment equipment for patients with cervical cancer, one of the top three causes of death in Costa Rica.  Caja Executive President Ileana Balmaceda said “with this equipment the institution increases care for women and improves early diagnosis of lesions in the cervix, to reduce the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer.”  The equipment was distributed to the Caja’s 12 hospitals.
Cervical cancer is the third most-common type among women in Costa Rica. Of every 100 women diagnosed with cancer, 21 suffer from skin cancer, 19 from breast cancer and 13 from cervical cancer. It is also third in terms of mortality rate (7 percent), behind breast cancer (15 percent) and stomach cancer (13 percent).

Sales Tax On Some Food & Cigarettes Take Effect Today  
May 7, 2012 Inside Costa Rica
If you are a smoker prepare to shell out ¢400 colones more for a 20 pack of cigarettes, as the new tax on cigarettes takes effect today, which will put cigarettes between $1.80-$2.80. The Ley Antitabaco was passed and in effect at the end of March, but it is today, May 7, when the new tax of ¢20 colones per cigarette goes into effect.

A check of supermarkets on Saturday show a low stock of all tobacco products. At Pricesmart in Escazú not a cigarette was to be found in the store.

Also today goes into effect the 13% sales tax on some 90 products that include certain cuts of beef and pork, as well as imported fruits like plums & peaches and lobster, shrimp and oysters.The tax on food is prt of the action taken by the government after the failure of the Plan Fiscal (Tax Reform).

Government officials say the increase will not affect the low-income population, as the foods now subject to the sales tax are primarily consumed by higher-income families.Retailers, starting today, must collect the sales tax and include it in its sales declarations to the tax collector.

May 8, 2012  A.M. Costa Rica staff
The list of untaxed items that went into effect Monday is heavy on fresh products. In most cases, canned products, except tuna, are subject to the 13 percent tax.Many cuts of meat are not taxed but tenderloin, T-bone, delmonico and sirloin are. This followed the Chinchilla administration's goal of keeping tax-free those food items that the lower-income families might purchase.
The Cámara Costarricense de la Industria Alimentaria asked President Laura Chinchilla Friday to suspend the decree that she issued setting the new rules for taxing food items.
Monday the Cámara de Industrias also asked for the decree to be set aside. The chamber noted that some 90 products are now being taxed that were not taxed previously. The decree created uncertainty, the chamber said.   Some of the uncertainty, noted the chamber, is due to the vague language describing some of the products that should be taxed. The chamber also said that by favoring fresh products over processed foods, which are now being taxed, the president overlooks the health benefits of packaging.    The chamber also said that had the decree been published on the Casa Presidencial Web site before the effective date, there would have been an opportunity for those affected to comment.

The Ministerio de Hacienda published a press release on its Web site Monday which sought to clarify some aspects of the tax. It also reminded vendors that some of them now are obligated to collect sales tax and that they must register to do so. The tax for May should be reported and paid by June 15, the statement said.

Among some of the products that are being taxed now is olive oil, a staple of many types of food. Sunflower and corn oil are exempt, as is lard and vegetable oil.A wide variety of meats are tax exempt, including bacon, ox tails, tripe, chicken breast, pork chops, whole chickens, ground meat and chicken wings.  Chorizo and hot dogs also are exempt, as well as sandwich meat.

All kinds of fresh fruit are exempt until they are canned or dehydrated. 
Similar is true with vegetables. They are tax free if they are fresh, refrigerated or dried.
Taxable vegetables are those that are in jars, packed in cans or sold in sealed plastic.

Of course, rice and beans, the national staple are tax free unless they are canned.
So is oatmeal, corn flour and regular coffee but not decaffeinated.
Tamales are tax free, as well as most pastas and bread products.

Most fresh, refrigerated or frozen fish are tax free, but if the product is in a can there probably is a tax.
Shell fish packaged in jars, cans or sealed plastic also are taxed.

Many milk products, fresh eggs and sour cream are tax free as well as fresh cheese that have no additional ingredients unless the cheese is canned. Vinegar also is tax-free.

Diapers, many school products, including texts, candles (unless they are decorative, aromatic or colored), mops, brooms and potable water are exempt from the tax, as is most soaps.  Toilet paper, toothbrushes, toothpaste, hearing aides and wheelchairs also are in the exempt category.

Among the missing appear to be jellies and preserves. Several large manufacturers of these products exist in Costa Rica and each has a large work force. Sardines also are listed as tax-free unless they are canned. Also missing from the tax-free list are a number of oriental products and specialty items, including matzoh, the Jewish unleavened bread.

The decree issued by the president followed a negative Sala IV constitutional court decision on her massive tax plan for a 14 percent value added tax that would cover many more transactions. 

 Former US President Bill Clinton to Speak in Costa Rica at the 2nd Annual Global Forum on Sustainability and Happiness  May 7, 2012 Inside Costa Rica 

Starting tomorrow, May 8th and 9th, Costa Rica will host the 2nd Annual Forum on Sustainability and Happiness that will be led by Bill Clinton, former US president, Dasho Karam Ura, President of Research Center in Bhutan, and Marina Silva, ex Minister of the Environment of Brasil.

The gathering, which will take place at the Intercontinental hotel in Escazú, aims to raise awareness and insight into the importance of governments and business on integrating environmental sustainability and overall happiness into policy and practice.The first event, which took place several years ago and included the participation of Ex Vice President Al Gore, takes on terms related to the importance of ecology, sustainability and also integrates the importance of social programs on national and corporate levels which insure the happiness of those involved.

This past month as the United Nations met, they exposed the need for nations to begin measuring their success not only by GDP, but also by the levels of happiness and satisfaction of their populace. Bhutan, a leading Asian nation in these aspects has gone so far as to create Gross Internal Happiness index, measured much like a GDP to insure that their policies and systems are fomenting the happiness of their people.

Costa Rica, a world leader in both ecological sustainability and its happiness index has embraced the importance of both elements perhaps more than any other country on the planet. The nation has seen droves of foreign investment due to its well educated, well cared for and happy populace, which combined with a green vision for its future have made it haven for all types of investments. Corporate investment, near sourcing and technological investments are booming in San José and Escazú. In addition and perhaps as important to Costa Rica's international recognition are the amount of tourists who are flocking to this country for the opportunity to experience both its natural beauty and laid back lifestyle.

The numbers of North Americans, Europeans and Asians investing here for retirement purposes, traveling to take advantage of the quality and affordable health care, and the desire to own properties in progressively ecological nations are rising sharply. The upcoming forum will highlight both Costa Rica's role as a leader in these field as well as inspire dialogue and ideas for integration of these principles in the global economy. 

   Bob Dylan lives up to his legend at historic Costa Rica concert  
 May 06, 2012 - By Tico Times David Boddiger

Anticipation was high Saturday night for legendary singer Bob Dylan’s first appearance in Central America.

Organizers worried they wouldn’t sell enough tickets to fill the Palacio de los Deportes, a 4,500-seat, 1980s-era basketball arena in Heredia, north of the capital. Concertgoers – who paid up to $150 for tickets – worried the sound would be muddled given the venue’s penchant for bad acoustics. And just before doors opened, Dylan barred news media from photographing the show.

But anxiety turned to euphoria when the 70-year-old poet-singer, smiling slyly, walked on stage dressed in his trademark brown porkpie hat. He settled into his role as musical barker with the opening chords of “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat.”

Thousands of fans, who descended on the Central Valley from all corners of Costa Rica and other parts of Central America, rose to their feet in a collective roar of adoration. Yes, that was Bob Dylan on stage.

The crowd’s diversity ran the gamut from gray-haired hippies to teenagers, musicians, writers, bankers, all linked by a rare opportunity to see a man who’s been transcribing life into song for half a century.

In a set that lasted just under two hours, Dylan performed 18 songs from his 600-song repertoire, spending most of the night behind a Korg organ and filling in interludes with an array of harmonicas that drove fans into a frenzy with every note.

As expected, Dylan’s traveling band is well-versed in the different genres that characterize his music – swing, blues, jazz, country and rock – and with two guitars, electric and upright bass, drums and lap steel guitar, they provided a flamboyant sound that was well-suited to Dylan’s aging, gravely voice.

Playing with the legend requires one to be on his toes. There is an unmistakably impromptu approach to Dylan’s live performances, which don’t sound like earlier recordings or the classic hits we grew up listening to on the radio. He sometimes forgets lyrics. He sets up a guitar solo only to launch into another verse. He gives orders on the run. And sometimes the music takes a back seat to smartly worded lyrics.

But the band seems to take it in stride. They’ve done this before.

On his second song, “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” fans responded to each lyric with hoots and hollers, and the band brought it home in grand style.

 “Highway 61 Revisited” brought everyone to his and her feet again, and the energy in the room was as electric as the 1965 album of the same name.

Fans also appreciated Dylan’s choice of popular tunes to end out the historic evening, including “Like a Rolling Stone,” “All Along the Watchtower” and “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” (although with no alcohol sales at the venue and no smoking allowed, no one was getting stoned).

At the curtain call, Dylan noticed a particularly euphoric group of young concertgoers in the balcony to his left. During an encore performance of “Blowin’ in the Wind,” he walked to stage left and delivered a personalized harmonica solo for the group of ecstatic fans, providing them an unforgettable moment from an unforgettable night.  And he left the stage as he entered it, smiling slyly.

Costa Rican astronaut becomes first Hispanic member of U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame    
May 06, 2012 - By Tico Times
Franklin Chang, who holds the record for most space flights, was inducted into the hall of fame during a ceremony Saturday afternoon at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Costa Rican astronaut Franklin Chang was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame on Saturday afternoon. Chang, 62, is the first Hispanic astronaut to enter the hall of fame.“To be recognized by those who you admire is even more powerful than just to be recognized at all,” Chang said, at his induction ceremony.

The Costa Rican-born astronaut began training at NASA in 1980, and partook in his first space flight in 1986. He would finish his career with seven space flights, tied for the most ever. Astronaut George Nelson introduced Chang at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Nelson told the audience about how the Costa Rican came to the U.S. without knowing how to speak English. Chang later earned a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a plasma physicist before joining NASA and being launched into space.

Nelson said Chang “seemed to be the most comfortable astronaut, seemed to fit up there.” Chang spent more than 1,600 hours in space.

In 2005, Chang left NASA to start his own business, Ad Astra Rocket. The technology company is working to create a plasma engine, which could revolutionize space travel and make it easier to travel to far off places like Mars.

During his induction speech, Chang thanked in Spanish his mother, who was in attendance, and his wife, Peggy, among others. He showed his appreciation for Costa Rica and the United States for supporting his dreams.
“I am the product of two cultures,” Chang said.
The 11th class of the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame also included Kevin Chilton, the military’s highest-ranking astronaut, and Charles Precourt, former chief of the NASA astronaut corps. Chang, Chilton and Precourt all logged hours on the Russian Mir space station.   The hall of fame counts 82 astronauts among its inductees including Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Alan Shepard.

U.S.-based franchises finding open market in Costa Rica
 May 04, 2012 - By Tico Times Matt Levin
The new Pollo Tropical restaurant chain opened its first location in Costa Rica at the beginning of April, and has plans for four more sites here. But not even two weeks after it opened, Pollo Tropical lost its status as the latest chicken franchise in town.

On April 13, Popeyes, a U.S. fried-chicken franchise from Louisiana, opened a $1.5 million Costa Rican restaurant in the eastern San José suburb of Curridabat.

In the same market, the two must square off against U.S. franchises KFC and Church’s Chicken, Guatemalan brand Pollo Campero and Costa Rica’s own Rostipollos, among others.

The sector of restaurants specializing in chicken embodies only a small part of the influx of U.S. brands that are moving here. The arrivals could oversaturate the market and result in fierce competition between both international and local brands, market analysts said. But franchise expansion continues because customers like Mora enjoy the increasing number of options. “I think it’s good because you have more to choose from,” Mora, 37, said. “[There are] more options for food, for fast food. … There’s a lot of variety. It’s always hard to find authentic Costa Rican food in central San José. At home, we eat casados, [Costa Rica’s traditional dish, with] rice, beans, meat and plantains. When we leave the house we want to try something different.”

The Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce said 171 foreign franchises operate in Costa Rica, an increase from 147 in 2011, and they operate approximately 900 stores. Not all new franchises arrive from the United States, although 60 percent of foreign franchises are U.S.-based. Spanish clothing store Zara will bolster its number of locations in the country. Brazilian restaurant chain Spoleto is set for an expansion of 15 franchises in five years. Costa Rican eatery Bagelman’s  intends to expand.

But the trend seems to be toward bringing in more U.S. franchises. The reason seems to be both Costa Rica’s eagerness for foreign investment and an improving U.S. economy that allows U.S. companies to invest in store construction and brand promotion. And Costa Rica’s middle class is a worthy target market.

“Costa Rica is a good market for many kinds of international brands, including Pollo Tropical,” wrote Marc Mushkin, Pollo Tropical’s senior vice president of international development, in an email. “This is because of a number of factors, including the growing purchasing power of consumers, high levels of international tourism, an educated workforce and good supply chains for most products.”

A large list of U.S. brands has opened stores in Costa Rica in the past year. Carl Jr.’s opened multiple stores near the end of 2011. They’ll try to compete in a burger market that has dozens of McDonald’s (the first-ever Costa Rica franchise was a McDonald’s, which opened in 1979), Burger Kings and Wendy’s. And coming soon: Denver, Colorado’s fast-casual burger chain Smashburger.

Family restaurant Applebee’s inaugurated its second Costa Rican location in the spring, in Sabanilla, east of San José. The chain plans to open two more restaurants in the provinces of Alajuela and Guanacaste by the end of 2014. In November, Applebee’s will be joined by Chili’s, another member of the casual dining brethren that will open in Mall Multiplaza, in the southwestern suburb of Escazú.

Moe’s Southwestern Grill will introduce Tex-Mex to Central America in June, also in Escazú. Salads and sandwich franchise Cosi’s is christening multiple stores here in 2012 and 2013. That brand has plenty of catching up to do, as sandwich shop Quizno’s opened its 20th location in the country last month.

On Wednesday, Quizno’s won an eight -year contract to operate the food court at Juan Santamaría International Airport, the busiest airport in the country. With a $4 million investment, QSR International will open another Quizno’s, and a KFC, Smashburger and Teriyaki Experience in the airport food court. Still, Quizno’s has less than half the number of franchises in the country as sandwich king Subway.

Restaurants constitute about a quarter of the foreign franchises in Costa Rica. Clothing stores and hotels each represent another 20 percent.
In April, Starwood Hotels opened two more lodgings, compounding a market that contains big names like Holiday Inn and Hilton Hotels.
Grupo Roble, the Salvadoran group that owns Mall Multiplaza Escazú, Multiplaza del Este in San José and other projects, closed the Escazú location of Honduran department store Carrión at the beginning of the year. Carrión will be replaced by Tico department store Cemaco and three popular U.S. clothing stores: The Gap, Banana Republic and Forever 21.
The rest of the U.S. franchises fall under a wide gamut of categories ranging from beauty shops to auto rentals. But those brands are showing less noticeable growth than the biggest areas of food, clothing and hotels.

Bad News for Tico Brands?
The number of Costa Rican chains is increasing alongside foreign companies. But the risk of oversaturating the market rises with each store opening.
José Andrés Masís, a franchise legal expert, said he believes U.S. brands can survive in Costa Rica because many already are well-known by young Ticos. “The No. 1 factor for foreign chains, is the openness of Costa Ricans toward foreign brands, especially U.S. ones,” Masís said.

The relatively strong economy in Costa Rica, compared to the rest of the region, means Costa Ricans are aware of many of the brands that hope to break into the market. Many U.S. brands already have a toehold in the country since locals know products from vacations in the U.S., via the Internet or from television commercials.

Local malls are providing more spaces for foreign brands. Avenida Escazú, the plaza that will be home to Starbucks by May, keeps growing.
In 2013, Costa Rica will see the inauguration of two major complexes: Lincoln Plaza in Moravia, northeast of San José, and Mango Plaza in the northern Alajuela province. 
It’s difficult to say if these foreign businesses are taking spaces that would go to Costa Rican brands, or if there is more opportunity for investment. But certainly there’s a demand for more foreign products. Elsa Rojas, marketing manager of Grupo Roble in Costa Rica, said that’s part of the reason the company wants to bring clothing stores like Gap and Forever 21 to the isthmus. “[Consumers] like to touch and to buy things here, like they would in the United States,” Rojas said.

In many instances, Costa Ricans prefer foreign products, which complicates business for national chains, Masís said. He could list only a few items that Costa Ricans took pride in buying local, citing sustainable tourism, fruits and vegetables or coffee.

Starbucks is one foreign company Masís feels might struggle here. He said, “If Starbucks does not promote Costa Rican coffee, if it does not make it obvious that its product will be Costa Rican, then it’s going to suffer problems, because we are very proud of our coffee.”

However, for products like clothing or shoes, Costa Ricans shrug their shoulders about the item’s origin, Masís said. Their main concern is buying something that’s affordable and fashionable.

That does not make it impossible for national businesses to best foreign products, and some national brands have succeeded in not only dominating the Costa Rican market, but also expanding outside the country to the rest of Central America. Pops Ice Cream serves as an apotheosis for Costa Rican business owners. The ice cream store even has its own U.S. location in Florida, where it goes by a name that brims national pride, Pops Costa Rica’s Creamery.

Masís said to survive, local retailers need to reassess their focus and emphasize promoting products that are local, cheaper and better than the competition. With the right strategy, Costa Rica can avoid a future where Starbucks and McDonald’s are on every corner. But that will depend on how national business owners approach this surmounting challenge.
“If Costa Rican businesses cling to old ways, then yes, they could suffer enormous losses in sales, and it’s possible they could disappear,” Masís said. “If they learn how to adjust mindsets, if they learn how to suit themselves to the games of the competition, they’re going to produce better products, because they will toughen up. If they leave their comfort zones what they can do is create tools, create products that can compete directly with foreign chains.”is create tools, create products that can compete directly with foreign chains.” 

Costa Rican Raw Material Will Be Used In Japanese Cars

April 30, 2012 Inside Costa Rica

Soon Japanese manufactured vehicles will have a little of "pura vida" in them, as the first container of raw materials from Costa Rica left this week for Japan.

The product shipped, made out of shredded plastic from agrochemicals, will be use by Japanese to manufacture car fenders and bumpers.

The initiative is part of an agreement between the Fundación Limpiemos Nuestros Campos (FLNC) and the Japanese firm Transtek.

The raw material is obtained through FLNC programs, part of the Cámara de Insumos Agropecuarios (CIA).

Luis Matarrita Díaz, manager of the FLNC, explained that the plastic used to make other industrial components contributes to environmental conservation.

To increase production, the FLNC hopes to install a new mill in La Garita de Alajuela, which would have the capacity to shred up to two tons of plastic daily.

"This year we expect to exceed the expectations of collecting 180 tons of plastic", said Matarrita. 

Sala IV throws out two more traffic penalties 
April 26, 2012 By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The Sala IV constitutional court threw out two more stiff traffic penalties in a decision announced  Wednesday.

In both cases the penalty was a fine of 277,500 colons or about $555. The court found the fines to be unconstitutionally disproportional. Due to the court action, the fines revert to the amount previous to passage of the new traffic law, abut 10,000 colons or $20.

The illegal actions were going through a red light or ignoring a sign that permitted only a right turn.

740.000 Tourist Arrivals In First Quarter of 2012
April 26, 2012 Inside Costa Rica        • Number represents an 8% increase over same period in 2011
At a workshop for the press on Wednesday, the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) - Costa Rican Tourism Institute - released data on visitor arrivals, spending, reasons why and who come to Costa Rica.
In all of 2011, arrivals to the country 2.192.000 people all ports. So far this year, 740.000 tourists have arrived, surpassing the 8 percent level for the same period of 2011.
Why come to Costa Rica? According to surveys taken by the ICT at the airport Juan Santamaría and Daniel Oduber, the vast majority come for vacation, leisure or pleasure, 16% for business, 7% to visit family or friends and 0.5% for health treatments. Do they come alone? For respondents at the Juan Santamaria, 30% arrived alone, 27% with family and 22% with their spouse or significant other. Eight of every 10 tourists stay in hotels or cabins. Specialist Rodolfo Lizano, explained that the estimate of tourist spending is higher for those entering through the airport in Liberia, although those arriving at Juan Santamaria stay more days in the country.

What do tourists like to do in Costa Rica? The majority come for the sun and beaches. As for Costa Rican tourists, most prefer the beach, especially Guanacaste and Puntarenas. About 45% stay at friends' homes and an average of 2.8 nights.
To accommodate tourists, Costa Rica has 2.476 hotels and over 44.300 rooms, according to 2011 ICT data.

President salutes Intel Costa Rica  
April 26, 2012 A.M. Costa Rica staff

Intel celebrated its 15 years of business in Costa Rica at the Museos del Banco Central underneath the Plaza de la Cultura in downtown San José Wednesday. President Laura Chinchilla joined the festivities. During her speech she challenged the company to invest $500 million into the country within the next five years.

The firm brings in $180 million, that is approximately 9 percent of all exports in the country. For the past four years the company has made up 6 percent of the country's gross domestic product. That is approximately $2 billion a year.

Intel also celebrated the company as the No. 1 exporter.

The president was awarded a plaque from Intel to show the firm's gratitude for her constant support of the company.
Intel has 2,850 employees in the country. According to a study, Intel hires more women than any other business in the country's labor market.

The firm provides approximately $25 million to the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social as social security payments on worker's salaries. The firm has paid nearly $900 million since starting operations here in 1997.
In its Ribera de Belén, Heredia, plant Intel makes microprocessors and handles Intel's finances.  In Aurora de Heredia the company is involved in information technology.Other businesses that have outsourced or relocated operations in Costa Rica include Amazon, Firestone and the medical group St. Jude. Procter & Gamble entered Costa Rica one year after Intel. 

Study concludes Costa Rica is fourth in competitiveness
April 25, 2012 - By Tico Times

Costa Rica remains one of the most competitive countries in Latin America, according to the latest competitiveness ranking developed by Aden Business School in Argentina.
In April, Costa Rica ranked number four, up one spot from the previous year, in which it ranked fifth.

According to the study, the most competitive nations are Chile, Panamá and México.To build the ranking, Aden experts calculated an index of competitiveness in each country and then compared them. The index took into account 123 variables, such as coverage of basic needs, infrastructure, macroeconomic stability, health and education.It also incorporates other factors, such as access to technology and job markets.
Despite the good results, there are some indicators like public perception and market competitiveness where Costa Rica faltered. The Aden Competitiveness Institute takes measurements every six months in 18 countries in Latin America.

Costa Rican exports up 16 percent in first quarter 
April 23, 2012 - By Tico Times
Growth attributed to a strong performance by the country’s free-zone businesses.

Costa Rica exported $2.9 billion worth of goods during the first quarter of 2012, an increase of $403 million – or 16 percent – compared to the same period in 2011, according to the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER). March exports exceeded $1 billion, an increase of 11.6 percent over the previous year.

Costa Rica’s main trading partners are North America (41.9 percent), the European Union (18.8 percent), Central America (13.9 percent) and Asia (13.5 percent).

PROCOMER also noted that exports from Costa Rica’s free zones are largely responsible for the quarterly increase, as the sector grew by 22.6 percent, from $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion during the first three months of 2012.“These quarterly growth rates are the highest since the third quarter of 2006,” Foreign Trade Vice Minister Fernando Ocampo said.The firm provides approximately $25 million to the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social as social security payments on worker's salaries. The firm has paid nearly $900 million since starting operations here in 1997.In its Ribera de Belén, Heredia, plant Intel makes microprocessors and handles Intel's finances.  In Aurora de Heredia the company is involved in information technology. Other businesses that have outsourced or relocated operations in Costa Rica include Amazon, Firestone and the medical group St. Jude. Procter & Gamble entered Costa Rica one year after Intel. 

Costa Rica To Host The Ibero-American Meeting On Climate Change   
April 21, 2012 Inside Costa Rica
Costa Rica will host the first "Intergenerational Stewardship Iberoamerican Meeting on Climate Change", in which Heads of State and youth representatives will be participating.

A statement by Costa Rica's Foreign Ministry said, "The meeting will encourage the intergenerational responsibility as an innovative strategy to improve the impact and ensure sustainability of major global responses to climate change, that are being discussed today".

The statement added "the activity will focus worldwide attention on Costa Rica, because it is an environmental issue".The announcement was made Costa Rica's Chancellor Enrique Castillo, along with the Minister of Culture and Youth, Manuel Obregon and the minister of the Environment, René Castro who are to participate in today's launch meeting, at a ceremony held in Madrid, and with assistance Iberoamerican Secretary General, Enrique Iglesias.
The Summit will be held at a date set in April 2013 on the premises of the Escuela de Agricultura de la Región del Trópico Húmedo (EARTH), located in Liberia, Guanacaste.

Costa Rica to host Adventure Race World Championship 2013   
April 21, 2012 Inside Costa Rica
Costa Rica has been selected for the first time in the country’s sporting history as the host of the 2013 Adventure Racing World Championship 2013, scheduled to take place in the first two weeks of November next year.

Making the announcement this week, the Marketing Director and Deputy Manager of the Costa Rica Tourist Board, Ireth Rodriguez, said that the country’s selection is proof of the international recognition of Costa Rica as a top adventure tourism destination. AR World Series Director, Craig Bycroft, said “Costa Rica will be a stunning destination for international athletes and provide superb terrain and environment for a very adventurous World Championship”.

A total of 360 participants, in 90 teams of four people each, will compete in disciplines such as rafting, kayaking, mountain biking, trekking, inner tubing, coasteering and canyoning over a 700km course. It will be a non-stop competition over four to eight days. Between 26 and 30 countries will be represented, including the UK, US, Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, France, Australia and New Zealand. More than 50 specialist media from around the world will cover the event.

The Adventure Race World Series consists of 11 Qualifier events around the world leading to the final Adventure Race World Championship. Costa Rica has hosted Qualifier events in three consecutive years, one of the requirements to host the final. The Costa Rica Adventure Race was held in the north of the country in 2010 and on the Caribbean coast in 2011. The 2012 Costa Rica Adventure Race takes place from 21-28 April in Puntarenas and Guanacaste, on the Pacific coast.

According to Johana Arguello, organizer of Costa Rica Adventure Race 2012, Costa Rica beat competition from other candidates, including the US, to host next year’s final because of the country’s lush nature, the quality of its tourism infrastructure, and its sustainable approach.

Costa Rica was voted one of the Top 10 most popular adventure tourism destinations by International Business Times magazine. In 2011, 72 per cent of visitors to Costa Rica enjoyed some kind of adventure sports such as canopy tours, surfing, rafting, sea kayaking, diving or bungee jumping.

Changes In Visa Application and Fees To The US
April 13-16, 2012 Inside Costa Rica
Starting  (April 13) the cost of applying for a tourist or business visa to travel to the United States increases to a unified single fee of $160.
This means that applicants no longer have to pay the $14 for a call for an appointment or pay for the delivery of their passport to courier.

The changes are worldwide, with the main purpose of unifying the systems, processes and charges for the costs and make the process easier and more convenient.
Starting next week on April 20, the second major change is in the process of the visa applications, when any person applying for a vise to the United States has several options, although in all cases they must completet the electronic visa application form (DS-160).

1. By fully electronically through the embassy website at http://costarica.usembassy.gov

  • Filling in the visa application

• Pay the applicable fee (us$160 for tourist or business visa)

• Set a convenient date for the appointment

• and indicate to which of the more than 100 branches of the Correos de Costa Rica (post office) they wish they passport delivered

2. Place a call through the call centre at 4000-1976. There is no cost for the phone call is local. However applicants still have to fill out the DS-160 form electronically.

According to the US Embassy in San José, is the advantages of the new process is that people can apply 100% electronically for their visa which is available on a 24/7 basis.

The cost of the visa for travel to the United States is based on the type of visa requested. The table below sets out the old and new fees:

  Old         New

Tourist, Business, Transit, Crew Member, Student, Exchange Visitor, and Journalist visas
$140 $160

Petition-Based visas (H, L, O, P, Q, and R) $150 $190

Treaty Investor and Trader visas (E) $390 $270

Fiancé(e) visas (K) $350 $240 

All applicants will pay the fees at the Banco Nacional. All applicants for visas which have a higher fee can pay the difference at the Embassy. On and after April 13, 2012, applicants must pay the new fee regardless of whether the old fee was collected prior to this date. Each applicant must present the following required documents:

DS-160 confirmation (DO NOT PRINT the entire form, just the confirmation is needed)

Passport valid for at least 6 months from date of proposed travel;

Receipt for payment of the application fee (in colones) from any Banco Nacional; and

If you cannot upload your photo to the DS-160 application, bring an unmounted full face photo taken within the past six months. If you cannot take a photo in advance, a photographer is also available at the Embassy at minimal cost. The photo should be 2' X 2 inches (in color against a white background.) The photo must be clearly in focus facing the camera with the face covering about 50% of the photo. Eyeglasses, hats, or anything that covers the face must be removed before taking the photo.
In addition, applicants for certain types of visas are required to present additional documentation.  For more on visas go to the US Embassy San José website for details.  Source: US Embassy San José.

More Competition That Benefits Cell Phone Consumers
April 14-16, 2012 Inside Costa Rica 
Changes to cell phones rates could heat up the competition between the three major operators in Costa Rica: Claro, Movistar and the state owned, Kolbi (ICE) and among other telecom providers in the country.
This due to a change by the Superintendencia General de Telecomunicaciones (Sutel) - government regulator - to some 202 price limits on telecommunications services that now will up to the operator to fix and will have no controls on minimums or maximums.
Items like the fixed cost of purchasing and/or replacement of a SIM card, a number change, security deposit, and reconnection costs, among others are items at the discretion of the operator. However, now, items like caller ID and private numbers are a right of the consumer and the operator cannot charge for them.
The president of the Sutel, Carlos Raúl Gutiérrez, explained that under the new telecommunications law, the Sutel can only regulate the retail price of services and not its components.
Gutiérrez added that the new operators want the user to have a good service experience, with an all inclusive rate rather than being nickle and dimed for each additional service.
The change will allow the telephone operators to attract more customers and generate benefits for the user as part of their business strategies.
Under regulation will continue 120 items, like the ceiling price for cost per minute of each call and text messages.
Some of the changes:  Now   Then

Cost of purchasing or replacing a SIM card No limits   ¢1.996 + taxes

Change of number No limits   ¢760 + taxes

Security deposit No limits   ¢12.500

Reconnection No limits   ¢1.520 + taxes

Caller ID Free   ¢250 + taxes

Private Number Free   ¢250 + taxes

Costa Rica Has The Lowest Infant Mortality Rate in The Isthmus  
April 15, 2012 Inside Costa Rica
Costa Rica has the lowest infant mortality in all Central America, and this parameter is also one of the most reduced in Latin America.
The infant mortality rate (IMR) is an indicator of child deaths per thousand live births recorded in the first year of life, which reflects the living conditions of the population and to measure the development of a country.

The isthmus is the only nation that holds the infant mortality rate in single digits, which is a huge achievement.

In Latin America and the Caribbean (from a list of 37 countries), the country ranks number six, behind Cuba (first), Chile, Puerto Rico and Guadeloupe and Martinique.

The data is from a 2011 report from the Population Reference Bureau, an organization in Washington, US.

"We're an example throughout Latin America to take mortality into a single figure. The idea is to maintain or reduce it further", said Ileana Balmaceda, chief executive of the CCSS.

Balmaceda noted that Costa Rica has is competing against countries where abortion is permitted in cases of malformations, as in Cuba.

An adequate prenatal care, care for high risk pregnancies, timely care to the newborn, care for 97 percent of deliveries in health centres and immunization programs and to promote breastfeeding have led to a sustained reduction in child mortality.

This is compounded by more and better specialists and high-tech equipment to help keep a steady decline throughout history in the deaths of children under one year. 
For Maria Luisa Avila, former Minister of Health, the advantage has been the social investment that the country has made, starting with access to drinking water, sewers, nutrition, access to health services and literacy.

According to the Statistics and Census Institute (INEC), last year there were 666 deaths (five less than in 2010) and there were 73,459 births, 2,537 more than 2010. Thus, the mortality rate showed a slight decrease in passing of 9.46 deaths per thousand births in the first year in 2010 to 9.07 deaths in 2011.
This is the third lowest rate recorded in Costa Rica since 2001. The lowest in history was in 2009, when it stood at 8.84 deaths per thousand births. In 2004 he was able to reduce the figure to single digits.

Banco Nacional’s New Security Measure for Online Banking  
April 15, 2012 Inside Costa Rica
When it comes to online banking, security is the main concern. In Costa Rica, the online banking platform of Banco Nacional (BN) is known for its strong security measures like security certificates, virtual keyboards, password policies, and physical tokens.For account holders who want an even stronger chain of trust between their computers and bank accounts, Banco Nacional now offers Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC).At the recent Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers conference (ICANN 43) in San Jose, one of the most sensitive topics of discussion was security and what the domain registration industry can do to improve it, particularly with regard to phishing and spoofing attacks.One of the functions of ICANN is to establish good practices for the safe operation of root Domain Name Servers (DNS). These servers are the primal link in a chain of trust that keeps online banking clients safe from phishing and spoofing attacks. These attacks aim to fool people into surrendering their personal account information through deceitful emails, pop ups, search results, and cloned web sites. In the past, sophisticated phishing and spoofing schemes have tricked web surfers into entering their information on nefarious web sites that looked exactly like their banks’.DNSSEC for Banco Nacional is a security protocol that lets account holders know they are actually navigating to the www.bnonline.fi.cr online banking platform. According to a detailed article written by Pablo Fonseca in La Nacion, DNSSEC issues a security certificate that is only issued to trusted institutions right from the root DNS, thereby insuring that no phishing, spoofing or questionable third parties are involved.
Implementation of DNSSEC by Banco Nacional for all online banking users will probably roll out in the days to come, but its functionality can be tested now by users of Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome browsers. The DNSSEC Validator browser extension is now available from download from CZ NIC Labs and can be installed and used with Banco Nacional accounts. Once DNSSEC is installed in your computer, you can safely conduct online banking transactions, knowing that Costa Rica is the first Latin American country to implement this new security measure. By Jaime Lopez, Costa Rica Star 

Costa Rican Authorities To Get Tough On Smokers Starting This Week 
April 10, 2012 Inside Costa Rica 
Although the regulations and enforcements, nor where to pay the fines, is in place the Ministerio de Salud says it will start this week visiting bars and restaurants around the country to ensure compliance to the Ley de Antitabaco."From next week we will visit these places, the Minister also informed by the regional establishments must remove any sign that indicates smoking area" said Roberto Castro, Director of Surveillance of the Ministry of Health, to the press last week.
With the move the the smoking ban comes into its full rigor this week, and that all establishments are aware, if not met will take the necessary measures.

The sanctions against bars and restauarants, for example, can be a fine and include the suspension of the operating permit.If a bar or restaurant loses their "permiso sanitario" it will then have to then initiate the complicated of getting it back. Reports sent in to Inside Costa Rica indicate that the local municipal police in San José last week visited a number of bars and restaurants and issued warnings.

In many places smokers are being asked to go outside to feed their habit, some having to take to the sidewalks of the public streets as the debate centres on whether a parking lot is deemed part of the bar or restaurant.

In malls, like Multiplaza in Escazú, an ICR reader informs that he was asked by a security guard to snuff out while sitting his his vehicle, parked in the malls parking lot, while smoking. "Where am I to go, to the pista?", was the rhetorical question. One of the requirements under the law is that establishments post anti-smoking signs.

Bill Clinton to give keynote address in Costa Rica sustainability forum May 9  April 10, 2012 – Tico Times By Matt Levin
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton will speak at an environmental forum on May 9 in Escazú, filling the role performed by Clinton's vice president, Al Gore, last year.

Javier del Campo, director of forum organizer Terra Partners, announced the ex-president as the keynote speaker of the second annual Sustainability and Environment Business Forum during a press conference Tuesday morning at Hotel InterContinental in Escazú, in west San José.

Clinton, who was the U.S. president from 1993 to 2001, highlights a forum that takes place May 8 and 9. Brazil's ex-Environment Minister and former presidential candidate Marina Silva will speak at the end of the first night. Bhutan's Director of the Center for Bhutanese Studies Dasho Karma Ura will speak the morning of May 9, and several other speakers will talk throughout the day before Clinton's speech at 7 p.m.

The presentation called "Embracing our Common Humanity" will go for an hour to an hour and 20 minutes.

Del Campo said the goal for the forum was to bring in "high level" speakers "to represent different zones, cultures, and ideas of the world." "I think we succeeded," he said.

Registration for the two-day summit costs $750 (discounts for groups), which takes place at the Hotel InterContinental. Capacity for Clinton's forum is 650 guests. For more information go to www.forosostenibilidadcostarica.com.

Così restaurant chain to open five locations in Costa Rica
April 09, 2012 - By Tico Times
Così Inc., a “fast-casual” restaurant company, last week announced that it has entered into a development agreement with a Costa Rican franchisee, Fast Casual S.A., to develop Così restaurants in the country. The Costa Rican locations will join a chain of 136 restaurants in the U.S. and United Arab Emirates.

The agreement calls for Fast Casual S.A. to develop five locations over five years beginning with their first location expected to open later this year, the company stated in a press release.

“We are excited to be growing the Così brand again with our new franchise partners, Fast Casual S.A.,” said Così President and CEO Carin Stutz. “I look forward to working with Luis Diego Escalante, Maria Cristina Escalante and their partners to successfully launch Così in Costa Rica.”

“Costa Rica is a leader in the trend towards healthy eating and we believe the Così brand fits well in this category,” said Luis Diego Escalante, a spokesman for Fast Casual S.A.

The restaurant’s menu features sandwiches, salads, breakfast wraps, soups, flatbread pizzas, snacks, desserts, and a wide range of coffee drinks and other specialty beverages.

Costa Rica Looking At Medical Tourism & Conventions As The Future
April 10, 2012 Inside Costa Rica
The Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) has awakened to the fact that "eco tourism" is not enough to attract foreign visitors to Costa Rica and will now focused on promoting medical tourism and conventions. The head of the ICT, Allan Flores, says that the investment in promoting the services is key to attracting new markets.
Costa Rica is well known as a green destination par excellence and the economy around the eco tourism has been well developed and will remain, however, the country has to look beyond that, according to Flores.

To achieve the goal of attracting new markets the ICT will be represented in at least seven international tourism fairs.
According to the ICT, in 2011 medical tourism generated some $288 million dollars in revenue.

Costa Rica's popularity in the medical tourism industry has been growing steadily over the years. Currently there are 3 Joint Commission International accredited (JCI) Hospitals all of which are currently located in San José. Recently announced by JCI accredited Clinica Biblica, is a us$40 million dollar hospital in Guanacaste designed to target the influx of medical tourism arriving in the Liberia International airport every year. This will make for a total of over six major private hospitals and 22 public hospitals.

When the World Health Organization (WHO) ranked the world’s health systems in the year 2000, Costa Rica was ranked as # 36, which was higher than the U.S., and together with Dominica it dominated the list amongst the Central American countries.Costa Rica offers these levels of care ranging from Intermediate Life Saving capabilities, Complex Life Saving Treatment Capabilities, Advanced Life Savings Treatment Capabilities, and Life Style Treatment Services (Full range of dental work and cosmetic surgery).

Costa Rica's proximity to the U.S. helps attract over 20.000 U.S. patients a year. The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, in their 2009 report "Medical Tourism Consumers in Search of Value" reported cost savings average of between 30-70% of US prices.Medical tourism (also called medical travel, health tourism or global healthcare) is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of travelling across international borders to obtain health care.
Services typically sought by travelers include elective procedures as well as complex specialized surgeries such as joint replacement (knee/hip), cardiac surgery, dental surgery, and cosmetic surgeries. However, virtually every type of health care, including psychiatry, alternative treatments, convalescent care and even burial services are available.

Intel effect awaits full transformation
Full Article Published in El Financiero on Apr 9, 2012
Fifteen years after Intel Corporation put Costa Rica on the map for foreign direct investment the total amount of capital inflow has increased from $406 million in 1997 to $1.85 billion in 2011.

 Last year Intel with its 2,800 employees alone accounted for 5 percent of the GDP for Costa Rica, and 18 percent of export value.  Costa Rica with the goal of creating wealth from innovation, the advent of Intel 15 years ago was the most decisive stride, at least until today. The technology  whale in the pool of an economy centered on manufacturing, swelled basic macroeconomic indicators, and placed the country on the map of foreign direct investment (FDI) when executives  .The country has fallen short in taking advantage of the transfer of knowledge, that translates into a large school of entrepreneurship.  

The announcement that Intel spent $ 115 million to build and operate a plant in Belen, Heredia, shocked the country. Even more surprised were Mexico and Chile, which had courted hard the tech giant.And other companies such as Baxter also decided to come to the country, but Intel was a big shot.   The effect was felt. About 130 companies opened operations in the country since 1997.
The entry of foreign investment soared from $ 406.9 million in 1997 to $ 1,851.8 million last year. "Today no one, here or outside, calls into question the ability of Costa Rica to get companies like IBM, Abbott, Boston Scientific, and St. Jude Medical HP," said Joseph Rossi, president of the Costa Rican Coalition for Development Initiatives ( Cinde) and Minister of Commerce during the Figueres Olsen administration.

The start of the operation of Intel is heavily reflected in indicators such as production and exports. Over time, its relative importance has diminished. It is still a whale, but in a growing pond. In 1999, GDP grew 8% unused. The company's shipments accounted for 17% of production that year. The unit has been reduced to 5% last year. The weight of the company in the country's trade is felt more strongly.

 In the 2011 exported $ 1,887 million represented 18% of the total. 12 years ago the figure was 38%, the highest in Intel's history in the country. "There has been a diversification of exports from Costa Rica, where other activities, and services, has increased in importance. It is good that the importance of Intel is reduced, to not depend on only one company, "said economist Ronulfo Jimenez.
With its 2,800 employees, Intel is, alone, 0.3% of total private employment in the country.

It is the largest private employer in the country, although Walmart is gaining strength.   Less successful has been the transfer of knowledge into the nudge needed to jump from an economy that competes for their efficiency to one that innovates. "This development is crucial," said Anabel Gonzalez, Minister of Foreign Trade. The process underway, government officials say but not with enough verve, say analysts and economists.

Only 15.6% of those who have worked for a multinational high technology open their own business after leaving the company, according to a study by Ricardo Monge, the Foundation's High Technology Advisory Committee.

The good news is that 83.3% of the enterprises created during the study period (2001-2007) were still operating in 2010. "The obstacles are what any small business has to emerge. Access to financing, and not talking about cheap credit but seed money ", stated the economist Luis Mesalles of the Central Academy.  It is only recently that the Banking System Development has a program to fund ventures.

 Costa Rica ranked 45 out of 125 countries in the Global Innovation Index of the Insead business school. It seems good news, however, the country was only 37.9 out of 100 points in 2011, and the creation of knowledge is the most critical categories.

Laura Chinchilla with her meetings with representatives of Toyota Japan raised expectations, and the arrival of the Dutch APM Terminals in Limon is rated as "their Intel."

So, 15 years after arrival, the Intel effect remains. It remains a giant in exports and a promise of knowledge transfer. But Intel came to do business, not to develop the country. It is the responsibility of government, academia and the Costa Ricans to take full advantage of the opportunities that did bring.

Sala IV (CR Supreme Court) faults way in which tax plan won approval 
April 11, 2012 A.M. Costa Rica staff
Without making a decision on the contents of President Laura Chinchilla's tax plan, the Sala IV constitutional court has ruled that the process by which the measure passed through committee and ended up being approved in an initial vote was unconstitutional.
The Poder Judicial announced the decision Tuesday afternoon. The decision means that the Asamblea Legislative will have to start all over again to consider the measure which seeks to impose a 14 percent value-added tax among other levies.
The decision by the magistrates was unanimous. The summary of the decision said that there were problems with the the procedure. The summary cited the fact that the president of the special legislative commission considering the bill extended the life of the body without approval of the full legislature.
The magistrates also noted that amendments approved in the special commission were done without publication.

Happiness report seeks to promote sustainability over GNP 
April 5, 2012  A.M. Costa Rica staff
The World Happiness Report is an ambitious effort by academics to, as they say, recast the environmental debate by changing fundamental objectives from economic growth to building and sustaining the quality of lives.
The report issued this month became well-known because it figured in a United Nations seminar on happiness Monday sponsored by the Government of Butan. That nation has, since 1972, used a gross national happiness index to assist with national policy.

The best known author of the report is Jeffrey Sachs, the director of The Earth Institute at New York's Columbia University. He also was Director of the U.N. Millennium Project from 2002 to 2006 and special adviser to U. N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. The Millennium Development Goals are the international agreement to reduce extreme poverty, disease, and hunger by the year 2015.  Other principal authors are John F. Helliwell, professor emeritus of economics, University of British Columbia,  and Richard Layard, director, Well-being Programme, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics.
The report has no new data. Instead it uses existing surveys and tries to integrate some of them to assess the happiness of the nations of the world. The report notes that happiness is subjective.
One of the most universal measures is the Gallup World Poll in which the internationally known survey company sought responses from about 1,000 persons in more than 150 countries. Respondents were asked to assess their happiness in several ways on a 10-point scale with 10 being the best possible happiness. The authors put together poll results from 2005 to 2011.
Costa Rica has received high rankings on a number of happiness reports, but some of the studies were highly ideological, such as the 2009 Happy Planet Index.

The Laura Chinchilla administration also promotes sustainability at the expense of economic growth. The central government has outlawed all but small-scale gold mining and is trying to keep a company that has a concession from drilling test wells for petroleum in the northern zone.
According to the summary of the Gallup World Polls, Costa Rica ranks 12th in happiness just after the United States. The country was not included in some of the other polling data that the authors used.

The top 10 countries, led by Denmark, are all First World nations. Canada ranked fifth. Curiously, Venezuela came in 19th.
Costa Rica ranked first on a summary of Gallup Polls from 2007 to 2011 on life satisfaction followed by Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Finland, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Australia and the United States.But the authors are not happy with the domination of First World countries on both lists. They said:“. . . the lifestyles of the rich imperil the survival of the poor. Human-induced climate change is already hitting the poorest regions and claiming lives and livelihoods. It is telling that in much of the rich world, affluent populations are so separated from those they are imperiling that there is little recognition, practical or moral, of the adverse spillovers (or “externalities”) from their own behavior.”

Report's list of happy countries*

1. Denmark

2. Finland

3, Norway

4, Netherlands

5, Canada

6. Switzerland

7. Sweden

8. New Zealand

9. Australia

10. Ireland

11. United States

12. Costa Rica

13. Austria

14. Israel

15. Belgium

16. Luxembourg

*Based on six years of Gallup World Poll data
The report suggests that happiness measurements can be used by governments as an aid to setting policies instead of devotion to gross national product, the sum of goods and services, expressed as GNP.
But the authors promote their own opinion: “Should the world pursue GNP to the point of environmental ruin, even when incremental gains in GNP are not increasing much (or at all) the happiness of affluent societies? Should we crave higher personal incomes at the cost of community and social trust? Should our governments spend even a tiny fraction of the $500 billion or so spent on advertising each year to help individuals and families to understand better their own motivations, wants, and needs as consumers?”

In summary, the report suggests that the way to increase happiness is for people to work for a common cause:“The assumption that individuals are only interested in their own material standards of life has made the possibilities for preserving the environment seem unrealistic to many observers. But such pessimism is misplaced.
On the contrary people gain in happiness by working together for a higher purpose. There can be no higher purpose than promoting the Earth’s environmental balance, the well-being of future generations, and the survival and thriving of other species as well.”The report will get more consideration at the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development that will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 20 to 22. The meeting is called Rio+20. The report is available HERE! 

CR #1 Tax Director Resigns Over Tax Evasion

April 4, 2012 Inside Costa Rica
In two days the Ministerio de Hacienda loses its top tax collectors with the resignation on Tuesday of Francisco Villalobos, the director general de Tributación (taxation director of Costa Rica’s version of the IRS), for apparent delinquency in income tax payment since 2008.

According to a report published by La Nacion, Villalobos owes the tax department ¢1.8 million colones ($3.500).

In tendering his resignation, Villalobos said "it was his own fault,,, I speak for myself and I assume responsibility, the mistake was mine". The reference was in contrast to the his boss' comments, Fernando Herrero, who last week blamed the municipalities for their error and the undervaluation of his properties.

Herrero, the ministro de Hacienda (Finance Minister), resigned on Monday for allegedly not paying up to ¢300.000 in property taxes for the last 12 years.However, the payment was too late for Villalobos to save his job, tendering his resignation to presidenta Laura Chinchilla on her arrival back from New York on Tuesday.
Before entering public service Villalobos was a partner in a tax consulting firm that included politicians, professionals, Gringos like Jeff, and entrepreneurs as clients.The scandal at Hacienda has caused a stir in the social networks as users offered comments such as: "A finance minister evading taxes?  "Stealing from the country", "corruption", "fraud", "embezzlement" and expletives were common as people reacted to the news.

The overall tone of the comments was that these two - and others who have yet to be uncovered - should pay up and never again hold public office.Villalobos admitted his mistake to the presidenta who accepted immediately his resignation that he failed to declare the full amount of taxes on income in 2008. On arrival at the San José airport Tuesday night, presidenta Chinchilla emphasized to the media that "the Villalobos case is not one of evasion, but rather, as the director himself qualified, an inexcusable error". Villalobos headed Tributacion (Costa Rica’s version of the IRS) since January 2011.

Evasion disclosures jeopardize tax package approval
April 4, 2012 By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
If public opinion matters, the president's plan to impose a package of taxes is in deep trouble.

Revelations that large companies and also government officials have been dodging taxes have brought sharp rebukes from both La Nación and el Diario Extra, the two most influential daily newspapers.The editorial positions followed revelations mostly in La Nación that government ministers had not filed declarations of value on real estate and then paid the resulting tax. Even worse, the finance minister, Fernando Herrero, resigned just as La Nación was reporting Tuesday morning that he and his wife failed to pay income tax on earnings of a private corporation. Then later Tuesday the same newspaper revealed that the chief tax collector, Franciso Villalobos Brenes also had a tax debt stemming from 2008.

The revelations gave support to the continued insistence by the nation's public employees union that the solution to the country's financial crisis was not more taxes. The union, the Asociación Nacional de Empleados Públicos y Privados, has been promoting for months better tax collection. Now the organization is saying “We told you so!”

“Reading the editorial opinions this date, Monday April 2, 2012,  published by the newspapers Diario Extra and La Nación generated extreme satisfaction,” said the union on its Web site.

The actions of government officials undermined the moral authority to continue the fight for a reform, said La Nación, noting that it had supported the tax proposal by President Laura Chinchilla Miranda. As well as reforms to the tax code to better control evasion, the newspaper said it urged a modification of the tax culture in all levels of Costa Rican society.That was an obvious jab at Herrero and the ministers as well as Ms. Chinchilla who initially dismissed the finance minister's property tax undervaluations as a regrettable carelessness. That was before it became clear that Herrero was careless on more than one tax issue.

The finance minister, of course, was the man managing the administration's effort to get new  taxes passed in the legislature. Lawmakers already have approved the 14 percent value-added tax on first reading awaiting approval of the text by the Sala IV constitutional court.El Diario Extra, in its editorial, said it was easier to slap more taxes that in the end are paid by the poor and the workers.

It also cited revelations that 450 of the largest companies paid small amounts of taxes.
They are robbing progress, the future and development of a country,” the newspaper said.El Diario Extra said that the director of Tributación Directa, Villalobos, had put on a bulletproof vest in the hunt for tax evaders and gave him encouragement.That was a day before the tax problem of Villlaobos became public in La Nación Tuesday afternoon.

Channel 7 Teletica also has been critical of the tax evasion, and even the Roman Catholic Church checked in with a criticism of the tax reform plan in the 2012 pastoral letter emitted by the country's bishops.

Rules finally issued for paying that new corporate tax 
 April 3, 2012  A.M. Costa Rica
The Registro Nacional has put on its RNP Digital Web site the rules for paying the new tax on corporations and similar entities.

The posting specifies that the tax this year is 135,225 colons or about $270 for active corporations and 67,612.50 colons or about $135 for inactive corporations.

The only bank authorized to collect the money is Banco de Costa Rica, said the posting. The Registro said that the bank's Web site would have an online method for payment, but as of Monday night there was no obvious way to make the payment by those who are not Banco de Costa Rica customers.

The deadline for payment is the end of the month. The amount this year is just 75 percent of what will be due next year in January because the tax only covers three-quarters of the year in 2012.

Those who have studied the Registro posting, a posting by Hernando Paris, minister of Justicia y Paz and a directive say there is some good news.

Persons who wish to remove themselves as having responsibility for a corporation can do so for just 2,000 colons ($4) in fees at the Registro. Of course there are lawyer fees to prepare the documents for filing. This is good news from individuals who might be serving as a corporate officer but not really be an owner. Normally the fee for making such a filing is 35,000 colons or about $70.

This action can be taken until April 1, 2014, said the Registro.

That big discount is important for those who might be in business or be a lawyer and have their names on many corporations.

Otherwise, they would be liable personally for payment of the tax even if they did not have ownership.

Exempted from the tax are those companies that have filed with the Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio as small- and medium-sized firms. The deadline for doing so and avoiding the tax was April 1.

Companies that do not pay the tax within 30 days will be listed as deadbeats by the Registro and will not be able to make legal transactions there, the posting noted. After three years of non-payment, the Registro will cancel the company, it noted. But the tax still will be payable.Some expats reported that they had tried to make payments at Banco de Costa Rica Monday and were met with blank stares. There is no paperwork involved.

The Registro said that all that the bank teller will need is the cédula juridica of the corporation, the identifying number.  The bank is supposed to have available a list that shows if a company is active or inactive, according to the Registro.
Although the new tax, which mostly goes to the security ministry, seems fully in force, some expats and Costa Ricans have said they will challenge the measure at the Sala IV.

What’s open and what’s closed during Easter Holy Week  
 April 3, 2012 - By Tico Times Most public institutions will be closed for the entire week.

For Ticos, Semana Santa, or Holy Week – Costa Rica’s most important Catholic celebration – means vacation from work, and most government offices and banks are closed, transportation services are reduced, and non-tourism-related commerce comes to a halt during Holy Thursday and Good Friday (April 5 and 6).According to a Labor Ministry decision last week, most public institutions will be closed the entire week. Others will work as usual but only from Monday through Wednesday.

As for a dry law – which prohibits the sale of alcohol from midnight Wednesday to midnight Saturday – lawmakers approved earlier this year a reform that allows each municipality to decide if whether or not to implement it.

The following is a list of what’s open and what’s closed during Semana Santa:

Government offices: Following an order from Casa Presidencial and the Labor Ministry,

all ministries, the Legislative Assembly and Supreme Elections Tribunal will be closed

April 2-6.

Public institutions such as Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), Water and Sewer Institute (AyA) and National Power and Light Company (CNFL) will be open until Wednesday.

The Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) and courts from the Judicial Branch will be closed, except for domestic violence court.

Hospitals and pharmacies: Caja hospitals will be open Monday through Wednesday only, but emergency rooms will remain open 24 hours a day all week. The Red Cross (1028 or 911) and National Insurance Institute (INS, 800-800-8000) also will attend to emergencies at all hours.

The emergency rooms and pharmacies at private hospitals Clínica Bíblica (2522-1000), in downtown San José, Clínica Católica (2283-6616), in the northeastern suburb of Guadalupe, and CIMA (2208-1000), in the western suburb of Escazú, also will be open 24 hours a day.

Banks: Most BAC San José (2295-9797), Scotiabank (2210-4000), Banco Nacional (2211-2000), Banco de Costa Rica (2287-9000) and Banco Popular (2211-7000) branches will operate as usual Monday through Wednesday and will close Thursday and be back in operation on Monday, April 9.HSBC branches will be closed from 3 p.m. Wednesday until Monday.

Citibank branches will be closed Thursday through Saturday; its shopping-mall branches in Multiplaza del Este, Multiplaza Escazú, Paseo de las Flores and Terramall will be open as usual on Sunday, April 9. Call Banco Promérica (2505-7000) and Bancrédito (2551-3011) for their schedules.

Shopping Malls/Cinemas: Multiplaza (East and West) will be closed on Thursday and Friday.
The food courts will be open from 12 noon to 8 pm and cinemas will be open as normal. Paseo de las Flores and Terramall open these days but many of their shops will not.

Supermarkets: All places where the dry law will be in effect, bars will be sealed shut and restaurants and supermarkets will be prohibited from selling liquor, including wine and beer, from Wednesday at midnight through Saturday.

Auto Mercado stores (2257-4242) in the Central Valley will be open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday, except for the Multiplaza and Los Yoses stores, which will close at 9 p.m., and the downtown San José store, which will be open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day.On Friday, all stores will be open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., except the downtown San José and Los Yoses stores, which will be closed.  Muñoz y Nanne (2253-4646), in the eastern suburb of San Pedro, will operate as usual except on Friday, when it will be open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saretto (2228-6703), in Escazú, will be closed Thursday and Friday.
Most Más x Menos (2243-7100) stores will be open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, except for the store in Jacó, on the central Pacific coast, which will be open until 10 p.m. Thursday and until 9 p.m. Friday. Stores in Cuesta de Moras in San José and in Alajuela, northwest of the capital, will be closed Thursday and Friday. Walmart (2286-0033) stores will be open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Most Palí stores (2243-7100) will close Thursday and Friday. Call the Megasuper supermarket chain (2246-0400) for its schedules.
PriceSmart (2283-4494) stores will be closed on Friday only.

Mail and shipping: Correos de Costa Rica (2202-2900), Aerocasillas (2208-4848), DHL (2209-6000) and FedEx (800-463-3339) will be closed from Thursday until Monday.

Embassies: The British Embassy (2258-2025), the Canadian Embassy (2242-4400), U.S. Embassy (2220-3939) and French Embassy (2234-4167) will be closed from Thursday until Monday.  Veterinarians: The National University (UNA) veterinary hospital in Barreal de Heredia (2260-9234) is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Dr. Bitter’s clinics in San José and Escazú (2227-5017) will be closed Thursday and Friday. Dr. Adrián Molina (2228-1909) in Escazú will be closed Thursday through Saturday.

Costa Rican finance minister resigns after reports that he underpaid property taxes April 3, 2012 - By Tico Times - AFP

An investigation by the daily La Nación revealed last week that many government officials pay less taxes than they owe.Finance Minister Fernando Herrero stepped down on Monday after the daily La Nación published an investigation last week revealing that the minister was not paying his fair share of taxes at the same time he was lobbying for a reform package that would hike taxes for most Costa Ricans.

The La Nación investigation revealed that Herrero and other government officials for many years had declared property values at lower than market rates in order to pay less taxes than the law required.

Some officials who responded to La Nación’s report erroneously said it was the duty of municipalities to update the values of their properties. Herrero failed to pay at least $600 per year on two family properties that were undervalued.

Chinchilla called on the officials mentioned in the report to bring up to date the declared value of their properties, and said Costa Rica has a culture of underpaying property taxes. She stopped short of asking top members of her cabinet to step down.

The president acknowledged over the weekend that Herrero’s “mistake” had jeopardized administration efforts to push forward a fiscal reform plan aimed at reducing Costa Rica's burgeoning fiscal deficit, now close to 5 percent of gross domestic product.

The reform plan, which includes a 14 percent value-added tax and other tax hikes for businesses, among other measures, has generated opposition among business sectors and unions. Among the supporters of the measure are members of Chinchilla’s own political party, the National Liberation Party, and the Citizen Action Party, who were instrumental in pushing the tax bill through a first round of voting in the Legislative Assembly on March 15.

Currently, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court is reviewing the constitutionality of the bill. If the court gives the measure the green light, it will return to the assembly for a second and final round of voting. 

Eco-friendly Costa Rican beaches & businesses earn coveted Blue Flag
 April 1, 2012  Tico Times By Clayton R. Norman
On International Water Day Costa Rica awarded its Blue Flag awards to communities, beaches, businesses, conservation areas and other organizations demonstrating a commitment to protecting the country’s natural resources.
Playa Hermosa just south of Jaco received the coveted Blue Flag this year.

“Costa Ricans, since the 1960s, decided to have a … social pact with nature, and that is what we are fulfilling today,” President Laura Chinchilla said Thursday at the Blue Flag awards ceremony at Casa Presidencial in the southeastern Zapote district of San José.At the ceremony, Chinchilla also signed a new law to protect the country’s hydrological resources and a sweeping anti-smoking bill.

In the ’90s, the National Water Laboratory – an office of the Costa Rican Water and Sewer Institute (AyA) – began promoting development in local committees with conservation and protection of natural resources as a goal.

In 2011, some 1,400 organizations participated in the Blue Flag Awards in seven categories, including protection of beaches, community development, educational centers and protected areas. The initiative also sought to mitigate the effects of climate change, protect hydrological resources and promote public health.

Of the 1,400 organizations that participated last year, 857 were awarded this week with at least one of five possible stars indicating the level of commitment to environmental protection.

Of 106 beaches that competed, 80 were awarded at least one star, including Playa Hermosa.

 Punta del Madero, near Tamarindo in the northwestern Guanacaste province, and Playa Blanca de Punta Leona near Jacó, on the central Pacific coast, were the only beaches to receive five stars for 2011. Bahía Junquillal, in Guanacaste, and Manuel Antonio National Park, on the central Pacific coast, both received two stars.

EARTH University, Reserva Conchal and La Fortuna de San Carlos each earned four stars in the “communities” category. Of 44 communities that participated last year, 25 earned one star, 10 earned two stars and two earned three stars.

Schools and educational centers also got in on the 2011 eco-friendly action. Of 849 schools that participated, 531 received at least one star in efforts to cultivate in students attitudes that value environmental conservation.

Of 45 protected areas, 33 received at least one Blue Flag star; 21 reserves and refuges received 3 stars, and none received four or five.

The Punta Leona Wildlife Refuge, EARTH Forest Reserve and the Nosara Civic Association Reserve, among others, all earned 3 stars.

Costa Rica’s own Coopedota – the world’s first certified carbon-neutral coffee collective –received five stars in 2011 for its efforts to confront climate change. The coffee cooperative recycles and treats all wastewater from its processes and uses all parts of coffee been waste to co-generate electricity at its plant.  The Los Santos area, a coffee producing region south of San José, which is home to Coopedota, received three stars in promotion of public health.

Castro also unveiled plans to create a national watershed registry with sensors capable of monitoring changes in hydrological resources in real time. The Environment Ministry, Castro said, will now dedicate some 20 percent of its resources to policing and managing water resources in the country, and will also start a campaign of shame including publishing online names of individuals and businesses known to be polluting water sources.

Learn Which Are Costa Rica's Cleanest Beaches
• ICT awards 80 beaches with Blue Flag

Semana Santa in Costa Rica is time to visit the beaches and resorts. And the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) has announced the 80 beaches around the country awarded the Blue Flag.

A total of 105 communities have applied for evaluation, with the majority of the Blue Flags awarded to communities in North Guanacaste with 25 Blue Flags, followed by the Central Pacific with 13,  Southern Guanacaste with 12, Puntarenas with 11, Caribbean with 10 and South Pacific with 9 flags.

The Blue Flag Ecological Program was created in response to the imminent dangers of beach pollution, its repercussions on public health and the tourism industry. It has reached its twelfth year of operations, with a marked increase that began in 2002.

The Blue Flag Ecological Program is an inter-institutional effort, made official through the Executive Decrees # 25626-96, Decree # 31610 S-MINAE-TUR and the Decree # 31648 MEP-MINAE-S-TUR, from February 9, 2004, which included participation from the Costa Rica Tourism Institute (ICT), National Water and Sewer Service (AyA), Public Health Ministry (MS), Environment Ministry (MINAE), Education Ministry (ME) and the National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR).

Besides being a program that has managed to coordinate efforts between those institutions involved, it also allows citizen participation. In order to participate, the Pro BAE committee standards must be adhered to within the participating communities and local schools, since these institutions implement the program’s lines of action which the award’s granting depends on.

The Ecological Blue Flag is granted annually to those communities and local schools that have reached, at a minimum, 90% of that which is required by the end of the year. In the case of coastal communities that belong to the Blue Flag program, additional efforts will be recognized for two and now even four stars if they make efforts in other considered areas to achieve overall development, within the proposed focus.

As part of its BAE program objectives that recently began within the coastal communities, and those maritime areas affected by institutions, the Costa Rica Tourism Institute defines program goals that designate personal technicians and economic resources to support the initiative and take on related field work in order to verify that the program’s promoted lines of action are fulfilled by the communities.

Since the beginning, the ICT, together with the National Water and Sewer Service (AyA), regarding that related to BAE – Coastal Communities, have assumed follow-up and other responsibilities for the efforts made by beach institutions that have signed up for the program. For example, the AyA technical team is responsible for sea-water analysis, human water consumption, and coastal quality with respect to water and industrial waste. These are carried out by means of laboratory tests, while following microbiological procedures and parameters previously established. The ICT’s technical team is responsible for inorganic waste, trash cans, environmental education, security and administration, and that related to base parameters.

Requisites to participate in the program
Costa Rican coastal communities looking to join the program shall submit a request by means of the registration ballot and the candidate questionnaire, which must be sent to program’s National Commission from December to February.
Criteria for Coastal Communities:
The following aspects will be evaluated:

Jaco Beach To Host the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup
01 April 2012  Insidecostarica
At an official ceremony held last week in Jaco Beach in the Garabito canton, Province of Puntarenas, the coastal resort town was confirmed as one of the host cities for the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
Jaco Beach is the second host location selected outside of the Greater San Jose Metropolitan Area.
There was an additional announcement made at the ceremony: the construction of a new stadium in the city, which will be home to the Jaco Rays Football Club.
The Rays currently play in the national Liga de Ascenso (LIASCE in Spanish), a second division league that plays for a coveted spot in the national First Division.

The new Garabito Stadium will sit on 11 hectares and will have all the specifications and requirements needed to hold FIFA sporting events. The stadium will seat 7,000 fans and will feature a natural grass pitch. Additional facilities for the press corps and spectators will be included in the construction project.

Pat Hundley is the gentleman who will oversee the stadium construction project, which will cost approximately $5 million. Groundbreaking will take place in September and should be completed six months prior to the first scheduled 2014 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup game.

Mr. Hundley is a businessman who arrived in Costa Rica in 2002. He has been actively involved in projects that aim to revitalize the beach community in Jaco and the canton of Garabito. The Jaco Rays football team was born out of an idea that Hundley decided to put into action in 2010. The Rays became a reality when the former Asociacion Deportiva Naranjo football team was acquired by Hundley along with two veteran football personalities from Alajuela,
Wilmer “Pato” Lopez and Johnny Perez.
The Jaco Rays Football Club is currently one of the eight teams that will advance to the quarter finals. The other teams are Carmelita and Guanacasteca, with one more team to be defined. The quarter finals matches will take place in April, and the championship will be played on May 27th.  By Jaime Lopez, Costa Rica Star

Costa Rica Grants Citizenship To More Than 3.000 Foreigners

01 April 2012  Insidecostarica
• Marriage is the most common way of achieving Costa Rican citizenship

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) has so far registered 3.415 foreigners who met the requirements to be considered Costa Rican citizens, including 70.922 babies born in 2011.According to TSE, 1.353 Nicaraguans, 795 Colombians, 179 Cubans, 145 Chinese and 137 Americans requested that status and achieved it.

TSE Registration Chef, Luis Bolaños, explained that the naturalization process can last from 6 to 8 months, as always as the file is complete.There are so many ways to achieve this status, but the most common is by way of marriage with a Costa Rican, according to Bolaños.  

Semana Santa-Easter Week Closures
March 25, 2012 Inside Costa Rica
The week of Semana Santa (March 31 to April 7) can be confusing in Costa Rica, for we know that the central government will shut down for the week, but what about autonomous government institutions and agencies like the INS, ICE, AYA, CNFL and many others. 

One institutions, the Institutio Nacional de Seguros (INS) - national insurer - is the first to notify the public of its closure for the Easter week. The others are expected to follow the INS example.  INS officials announced the closure for Semana Santa.

And although the Semana Santa closures seem like a really long vacation, in effect the closures are only for three days.

How you say?

The INS, as most government institutions are closed on weekends.

Thursday (April 5) and Friday (April 6) are legal holidays.

 So, in effect the closure of business is only for Monday (April 2), Tuesday (April 3) and Wednesday (April 4).

Local municipalities are also expected to close the entire week.

Many businesses, offices, etc. will most likely close the entire week of Semana Santa and reopen for business as usual on Monday April 9.

Semana Santa or Easter Week is the time when Costa Ricans tend to vacation away from home. Proof of that is the prediction by the Cámara Costarricense de Hoteles (Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels) of an 80% occupancy rate for the week. 

Last year the occupancy rate was 75%, but according to preliminary date by the Chamber this year is expected to be a better year.

Among the factors influencing the increase is the improved purchasing power of Ticos and the number of promotion by hotels and tour operators, adding to that the announcement by the central government that all public sector employees will have the entire week off.

Another aspect if the influence of conventions, associations, unions and other groups with promotional packages for their members during the holiday period.

A survery by the (ICT) - Costa Rica's Tourism Board - reveals that 86.3% of Costa Ricans are tempted by the beach during Semana Santa, looking for sun and sand, while 54.9% are more inclined for the volcanoes and mountain resorts.

Costa Rica: 52.3 percent of Territory Covered by Forests
March 24, 2012 Inside Costa Rica
Costa Rica has 52.3 percent of its territory covered by forests, says a joint study by the National Forestry Financing Fund and the University of Alberta in Canada, released Thursday.

Since 2005 to date, the country's forest area grew one percent, despite logging, fires, and the negative impact of tourism, the report said.

High resolution photographs taken by the French SPOT satellite between 2009 and 2010 allowed the experts to define the land use in the territory.

The scientists identified 50 types of coverage, including forest and non forest areas and mangroves, palm plantations, agriculture and secondary forests, reported the newspaper El Pais Digital.