Costa Rica went up 10 positions in the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) world ranking of meetings tourism, going from position 63 to position 53 among 200 countries.

The Costa Rica Minister of Tourism, Mauricio Ventura explained that efforts have been done for the past two years to develop an aggressive strategy that will allow the country to compete in this area of the tourism industry, which currently represents 22% of the tourism worldwide and registers 120 thousand congresses, and generates close to US$11,500 million a year.

The ICCA was founded in 1963 and carries out this study every year, Ventura commented that his expectation is that the country climbs more positions in a short term as the strategy in place continues to improve the conditions to attract this tourism.

In January of 2017 the government began the construction of the National Congress and Convention Center that is expected to be concluded before the end of this year, and that is a key element to the government’s strategy to compete in the market of meetings tourism.

The Costa Rican Tourism Board participated this week in the FIEXPO, International Tourism Meetings Tourism and Incentives Traveling Market Fair of Latin America and the Caribbean which took place in Chile; here, Minister Ventura was awarded the most important recognition, the Latin American Forum Award, for his involvement in the promotion of meetings tourism.

“The selection of Minister Ventura was based in the dedication and focus he has given the meetings tourism market and the impact this will have in the entire Latin American context, he is also part of a radical change, supporting the industry and the development of the Convention’s Bureau in his country, and of course for his role as one of the promoters of the construction of the National Congress and Convention Center”, explained Sergio Baritussio, Director of FIEXPO Latin America.

Part of the strategy of the Costa Rica Tourism Board includes the participation in different fairs, the creation of strategic alliances with important national and international organizations and the development of a plan to promote the country in this niche.