As it was announced by the Government in the past days, Costa Rica partially reopened air borders this August 1st for international flights to and from the United Kingdom, the European Union and Canada, with this it also announced the beaches located in areas under yellow alert can now open from 5:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in hopes that this will gradually reactivate the tourism sector which has been strongly affected by the pandemic.

However, these “reopening” comes hand in hand with strict sanitary measures that most be followed by the commerce as well as national and international tourists.

“In addition to promoting constant hand wash, social distancing, traveling only in social bubbles and the mandatory use of facemasks, the protocol prohibits street sales, excursions (involving multiple bubbles), preparing picnics or BBQs or practicing group sports at the beach or tourist centers and any type of gatherings or parties”, explains the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT).

When it comes to international flights, the reopening of borders only represents five flights a week, 1% of the total volume of arrivals prior to the pandemic. Tourists that wish to travel to
Costa Rica will need to have tested negative for Covid-19 48 hours prior to their trip, they are also required to purchase an insurance policy that covers their lodging expenses in the event of quarantine and medical expenses, this in addition to filling up a digital epidemiological form.

According to information released this week the Covid-19 insurance policy required to fly to the country is currently only offered by the National Insurance Institute (INS) and has a cost of between $275 and $965 (depending on preexisting health conditions) per passenger for a period of two weeks.

President Carlos Alvarado asked the Minister of Economy and the Minister of Tourism to revise the offer of the insurance policy with INS since the tourism sector considers the cost extremely elevated and that together with the cost of the Covid-19 test it will discourage travelers.

The first flight will arrive this Monday from Madrid, Spain.