On April 22nd 2021, Gustavo J. Segura, Minister of Tourism of Costa Rica, and Anasha Campbell, Co-Director General of the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism met in the Canton of Guanacaste. The Costa Rica and Nicaragua representatives were continuing discussions on the Coastal Tourism Corridor tourism plan. (See footnote on “Canton”)
The big picture is to “Convert the Canton of La Cruz, Guanacaste and its entire tourist corridor into an attraction for national, binational and European tourism”.
Also at the event were Luis Alonso Alan – Mayor of La Cruz, Daguer Hernández, Deputy Director of the General Directorate of Migration and Foreigners, representatives of the Guanacaste Conservation Area, business members of the La Cruz Chamber of Tourism Entrepreneurs, members of the La Cruz Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Development (as well as the Coastal Tourism Corridor).
Gustavo J. Segura pointed out that; “The La Cruz region is a border region with impressive tourist attractions. Tourism investments are ongoing and generate hundreds of jobs for the community. This in turn provides opportunities for social progress through rural tourism and rural community tourism that are yet to be developed”.
He added; “Its border location and destination for a significant number of European travelers makes it a natural fit for the development of multinational tours through a cross-border Costa Rica and Nicaragua tourist corridor where the attractions of the north coast of Costa Rica meets the attractions of the south Pacific coast of Nicaragua”.
For her part, Anasha Campbell acknowledged that tourism is linked to improving the quality of life of the population of towns in the region and through the tourism industry a way should be found continue bringing progress to the communities.
Manuel Alan, President of the La Cruz Chamber of Tourism described the concept as positive, noting that the mission is to attract more national and international travelers to the area. He noted the abundance of attractions that attract international tourists, such as; culture, history, geography, sport fishing, world heritage and petroglyphs. “More than enough to entertain a tourist for 15 days”, said Alan.
The La Cruz Coastal Tourism Corridor (CTC) was conceived in 2019 with the aim of attracting local and foreign tourists. The corridor is made up of the Santa Elena Peninsula, Bahía Salinas and the coastal communities of El Jobo, Puerto Soley, Cuajiniquil and La Cruz.
Source/Fuente: The Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) Press Release 23rd April, 2021 (en español)
What is a Canton?
Costa Rica has three levels of territorial division. It’s made up of seven provinces which are divided into 82 “Cantons”, which are in turn divided into districts.
