Costa Rica’s Tourism Institute (ICT), is looking to promote the country as a wellness destination and in order to pursue this it took part for the second time in the Termatalia fair in Coahuila, Mexico this past Sept. 29 and through October 1st; this fair gathers representatives from 20 different countries and it’s the main event to present health and wellness options to consumers in Europe and America, this is the fairs 16th edition.

Minister of Tourism, Mauricio Ventura stated that the ICT is looking to diversify the tourism products and they see great potential in wellness tourism.

According to the World Tourism Organization, wellness tourism is among the vacation and recreation motivators, associated with the improvement of mental and physical health through services specially design to battle stress and fatigue.

“Wellness tourism in Costa Rica is directly related with the environment; we can take advantage of the fact that Costa Rica is positioned in the areas of nature and adventure to build a differentiated product that involves open air activities, the enjoyment of the natural environment and trying out the native gastronomy. Personal care and new relaxation techniques with a Costa Rican seal, practicing sports in a natural environment, enjoying the hot springs, the sounds of nature, components that conduce to an improvement in the quality of life of both nationals and foreigners,” said Ventura.

Research done by SRI International in 2014 on behalf of Global Wellness Institute, showed that this niche tourism has grown 12.7% since 2013 and reached in that year $494 billion globally. For more information on wellness, see www.amatierra.com