Source: Wikimedia Commons MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Centroamerica TV, the official channel of the Central American community in the U.S., recently launched on Cox Communications cable systems in San Diego, Arizona, Las Vegas, Omaha, Orange County, Kansas, Northwest Arkansas, the Central Coast, and Sun Valley, significantly expanding Centroamerica TV’s distribution throughout the national Cox Com...

Source: Southwest Airlines DALLAS, March 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The People of Southwest Airlines® (NYSE: LUV) today inaugurated two international routes that brought new long-haul service for Customers using two of the carrier's growing gateways, Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and William P. Hobby Airport in Houston. Each of the new routes is longer than 2,000 mi...

Wikimedia Commons ST. LOUIS, March 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Enterprise Holdings announced today that it is expanding into Latin America with the appointment of Grupo ANC as an Enterprise Rent-A-Car franchise partner in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Nicaragua.   Enterprise Holdings, through its regional subsidiaries, operates the largest fleet of vehicles in the world through a global net...

Flickr Commons How can I develop the skills of a successful entrepreneur? This is a question that gets repeatedly asked in business circles in Costa Rica and anywhere else in the world. This question refers to the skills needed to be learned to become a successful entrepreneurship wizard. It is trickier to learn the soft skills of successful entrepreneur since these are not found in textbooks ...

Source: Pixabay Commons The Criminal Division Tribunal at the Pavas Courthouse has sentenced attorney Moises Vincenzi to a five-year prison term for his role in a scheme to defraud an elderly Canadian couple in Costa Rica. According to a report by Evelin Andino of daily tabloid Diario Extra, the amount of money scammed by Mr. Vincenzi is close to $8 million. The expats who were ripped off b...

Screenshot of INS webpage MEXICO CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a-” of Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS) (San Jose, Costa Rica). The outlook for both ratings is stable.   The ratings reflect INS’ favorable operating performance in conjunction with strong capitalization, sound reinsuranc...

Flickr Commons What is productivity really about? It essentially refers to doing more and more things in less time. Productivity is very important in this contemporary age of hectic work schedules. As we all know, time management is the most important and most talked about aspect of increasing productivity. As unexpected and unimportant tasks consume time, it is good to abstain from them by al...

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA--(Marketwired - February 26, 2015) - The entire Advisory Committee of the TIES program of the International Tourism Collective (ITC) has resigned from the ITC and is calling for global participation from members within the international ecotourism and sustainable tourism community to join in a transition to a new, positive, transparent and accountable global association to sup...

Source: Pure Hospitality LAS VEGAS, Feb. 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc., (OTC: PNOW) announced today, that the Company has made stronger relationships, to ensure that its FROL booking engine is given new life as Oveedia, the anticipated Central-America-Caribbean Online Travel Agency (OTA) to be launched in Costa Rica later this year. "Take a serious look at the OT...

Source: EFE Atlanta, Feb 25 (EFE).- Beverage giant Coca-Cola will celebrate the centennial of its iconic "hobble-skirt" glass bottle with art exhibitions, a global media campaign and a commemorative song composed for the occasion, company representatives said. Atlanta, where the company has its headquarters and Coca-Cola, considered one of the most profitable creations of modern industry, was b...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Canadian airline Sunwing intends to offer more connections between North American cities and Costa Rica. As reported by The Costa Rica Star, Sunwing has previously announced flights from Toronto and Edmonton to the Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport (LIR), which is conveniently located near the Gold Coast beaches of Guanacaste. According to a report by Juan...

Alleged Greenwashing by Infinito Gold A mining company with a controversial track record in Costa Rica recently announced its acceptance of a loan from a major shareholder, and this temporary provision of funds is expected to float this embattled Canadian firm as it pursues a claim against Costa Rica. Readers of The Costa Rica Star are likely familiar with the saga of Infinito Gold in our c...

The Greenback If the way you make a living in Costa Rica consists of getting paid in United States dollars (USD), there a couple of things you should know about what your financial future might hold now that the greenback is no longer tied to currency exchange bands. As recently reported by The Costa Rica Star, the Central Bank decided to get rid of the currency exchange bands, which had a min...

Super Mora During 2014, grocery retailers in Costa Rica continued to focus on offering attractive value relations to consumers, which were mainly represented by discounts and offers in the case of supermarkets (even in the case of the high- end players), hypermarkets and discounters, while convenience stores remained committed with offering time-saving, differentiated items and product availa...

Wikimedia Commons Costa Rica has been eager to adopt some of the so-called Hallmark (or commercial) holidays created in the United States; a good example in this regard is Black Friday, a shopping extravaganza that our country has expanded into Black November. Such has not really the case with Valentine's Day, which is mostly known as día del amor y la amistad (Love and Friendship Day). Whe...

News media outlets in Costa Rica are beginning to provide details on the highly controversial Swiss Leaks scandal involving millions upon millions of dollars stashed away in deposit and investment accounts at the controversial HSBC bank in Switzerland. Allegations about the involvement high-profile business people and politicians were reported by the press in Costa Rica, but initial investigations...

Cafe Britt MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA -- (Marketwired) - AgilOne, the predictive marketing cloud company, announced in December that the Costa Rica based gourmet, hand-roasted coffee and hand-made chocolate retailer Café Britt became a new customer. Café Britt is a company that prides itself on the unique, authentic and personalized experience each customer has with the brand. They plan to use AgilOne ...

Wikimedia Commons One of the most lucrative crops in Costa Rica has come under heavy criticism from environmental activists and farmers who are concerned about the sustainability of their soil and ecosystems. Pineapples are one of the most enticing cash crops in Costa Rica thanks to heavy demand from developed markets such as Europe. Unfortunately, the mass and indiscriminate farming of pineap...

Source: Pura Vida Bracelets An enterprise previously featured by The Costa Rica Star is now being recognized by the prestigious business magazine Forbes. Paul Goodman and Griffin Thall are the cofounders of Pura Vida Bracelets; in the past, we described their entrepreneurial spirit as follows: When Griffin Thall and Paul Goodman traveled to Costa Rica in 2009 after graduating from San Diego S...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Despite a recent decision by the Central Bank of Costa Rica to allow the United States dollar (USD) to float freely against the colon (CRC), the country’s sovereign debt remains very high while the deficit becomes tougher to manage. As a result, The Costa Rica Star has recently published press releases from Fitch Ratings, which indicate that the sovereign debt outlook...

Partial Endocrine System February 02, 2015 12:21 PM - JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) will convene the first-ever, Pan-American Scientific Symposium: Clinical Endocrinology in Latin America on February 26-28 in San Jose, Costa Rica. “It’s a transcultural opportunity for us to share and adapt our AACE guidelines and educationa...

The Greenback Starting this Monday, February 2nd, the strongest international currency in the world will no longer be subject to the caps and limits imposed by the Central Bank of Costa Rica over the last eight years. Since October 2006, the value of the United States dollar (USD) against the colón (CRC) was controlled by “bandas cambiarias” (exchange bands), which established a floor and ceil...

Source: Johnny Rockets A new Johnny Rockets restaurant opened in Costa Rica during January, and the California fast-food chain is not planning to slow down its expansion in our country. The new franchise location is situated in the heart of Downtown San Jose, precisely in the Plaza Universal food court on the Avenida Central pedestrian boulevard. According to a news report filed by Nancy Al...

Source: Pure LAS VEGAS, Jan. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc., (OTC: PNOW) announced today, that the Company has moved to engage the services of the Sabre Travel Network, potentially adding 125,000 base hotels to the Oveedia platform. Aside from Pure's Central American-Caribbean niche, Sabre brings an affiliate network of over 400 airlines, 16 cruise lines and more tha...

Boeing 737 engine Ever since the esteemed airline LACSA ceased operations, air travelers and the aviation community have been anxiously waiting for the day Costa Rica will once again have its very own international airline. That day may come later this year as the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (Spanish initials: DGAC) is preparing to officially certify Air Costa Rica in the next few mo...

Source: Banco Central NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fitch Ratings has revised the Rating Outlook on Costa Rica's Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to Negative from Stable and affirmed the IDRs at 'BB+'. The issue ratings on Costa Rica's senior unsecured foreign and local currency bonds have been affirmed at 'BB+'. The Short-term foreign currency IDR has been affir...

Source: Wikimedia Commons In the world of commerce, the term VIP (Very Important Person) is often attached to products and services that conform to a premium level and thus command a much higher price. The VIP label can be attached to just about any situation, and it does not really mean that the person acquiring premium goods or services is more or less important than anyone else; however, it...

The luxury real estate market in Costa Rica is growing at a gradual, reserve pace. Until there is a significant surge in demand for luxury properties, homeowners who are looking to earn income from their lavish dwellings should look towards capturing the growing market of travelers looking for upscale accommodations in Costa Rica. To this end, Pure Hospitality Solutions is a firm dedicated to deve...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Farmers and grocers in Costa Rica sometimes lament certain facts of free trade and globalization; to with: A significant portion of garlic, rice and even black beans, all staples of traditional cuisine in this country, are actually imported from China. Due to the agricultural economic background of Costa Rica, some may consider this to be a trade imbalance; however, s...

Source: Flickr Commons The cost of doing business in Costa Rica is getting a bit more expensive as the national economy adjusts to inflation. For the year 2015, the corporate tax (fee) on active domestic and foreign business entities such as sociedades anonimas (S.A.) and the simpler responsabilidad limitada (S.R.L) has been set at 201,700 colones (about $375 at today’s currency exchange rate)...

Source: DrinkBai.com In recent years, e-commerce giant Amazon has become the most efficient of Santa’s helpers. To wit: the company recently released amazing facts about its membership-based Amazon Prime service, which allows online shoppers to get lightning-fast deliveries, expedited service and enticing deals just in time for Christmas. It so happens that the last present delivered by Amazon...

Source: Flickr Commons Since Monday, the number of complaints by workers who have not received their mandatory holiday bonus, known as Aguinaldo, has climbed to 70. According to a report filed by Jarmon Noguera of daily newspaper La Prensa Libre, the Ministry of Labor has entered 24 judicial actions against employers who have not yet paid the 13th month of pay as dictated by law in Costa Rica....

Source: Tigo CR Tigo Star, one of the largest providers of cable television, broadband Internet and virtual telephony services in Costa Rica, has tendered an application before the Superintendence of Telecommunications (Spanish acronym: SUTEL), to acquire the assets and subscribers of Telecable, a residential and business provider that has a significant presence in the provinces of Alajuela, S...

As the United States continues to climb out of the Great American Recession, tourists are busy planning their 2015 vacation. Latin America is emerging as a favorite region for U.S. tourists to visit, and Costa Rica is returning to the annual list compiled by online travel site Priceline.com.   According to Priceline, Costa Rica is the fifth nation on the Top Ten list of international tr...

Failure to report income from business operations or from professional services rendered through self-employment activities in Costa Rica could result in up to $80K in penalties. Not all business owners or self-employed professionals are potentially affected by this fine; only those who acquired goods up to $5K in value or who rendered a professional service worth more than $100 throughout the tax...

Quick-service restaurants (QSR) make up one of the most active and potentially lucrative business sectors in Costa Rica. As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star, Tico consumers have an ongoing love affair with fast food, particularly when some level of novelty is involved. Enter Cosi, a United States-based restaurant chain specializing in the fast-casual dining segment. This company has gott...

When it comes to mobile communications and paid television markets, Costa Rica is poised to grow and foster a solid landscape for business competition. Such is the determination of a new report being offered by Research and Markets. This new report is titled Costa Rica: Pending LTE Auction Will Help Balance Mobile Operators' Spectrum Holdings, Boosting Competition, and it was produced by Pyramid R...

Although Costa Rica has the lowest regional mortality rate for vector-borne diseases such as dengue and malaria, the fact remains that children from low-income families are the most affected by mosquito bites. As recently reported by The Costa Rica Star: The most dangerous organism in Costa Rica is not even a vertebrate, but it kills approximately three quarters of a million humans each year. ...

A medical device outsourcing firm based in Galway, province of Connacht, has acquired the assets of a foreign firm operating in Costa Rica that could result in additional jobs for their manufacturing facility in Heredia, a municipality where outsourcing is a major industry. According to a recent news article by Gavin Daly of the Sunday Times of London, Creganna, a Galway-based medtech group, is li...

Source: Spirit One of the most successful discount airlines in the United States recently announced an increase in the frequency of its flights between Houston and Costa Rica starting on May 28, 2015. Earlier this year, Spirit Airlines made news when it repainted many of its aircraft in a bold and bright yellow pattern that makes their passenger jets look like big New York City taxis in the sk...