(CRS Archive) Nicaragua’s tourism industry continues to grow aggressively, according to the latest data by Nicaragua’s Central Bank, with revenues from tourism increasing 18.7 percent to US $528.6 million in 2015 from US $445.4 million the year prior, due in large part thanks to longer stays. According to the Central Bank, foreign tourists spent an average of $41.50 per day, essentially unc...

By Jack Donnelly Ujarrás is a wonderful place you should not run off to visit. You should plan a trip to several attractions in the area and spend some time in Ujarrás as part of your trip, maybe a nice picnic lunch. The Ruins of Ujarrás are not well known, even though they were declared a National Monument of Costa Rica by executive decree in 1985. They lie east of Paraíso (Cartago), just o...

Scarlet Macaw Mar. 23, 2016 / PRZen / NEW YORK -- Costa Rica's Institute of Tourism (ICT) will launch its 2016 promotional tour of the United States with visits to San Francisco on March 29, Los Angeles on March 30 and San Diego on March 31. Organized by the Pro Imagen Costa Rica Group, the entity in charge of the country's image as a tourist destination in potential markets, the educationa...

Source: Partridge Publishing KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (PRWEB) March 21, 2016 - “The Travel Bug Goes Viral” (published by Partridge Singapore) follows the excursions of author Michael SN Godfrey and his wife, Lian. “Many people have no opportunity to travel to destinations considered to be off the well-beaten track, so (my) goal is to let a reader share the experience, but all from the safety ...

Source: Rosewood Papagayo Rosewood Hotels & Resorts® has been appointed by financial consulting firm Aldesa to manage Rosewood Papagayo, Costa Rica, which is scheduled to open in 2019. This luxury retreat will be situated on the northwest coast of Costa Rica within the province of Guanacaste which is renowned for its tropical forests, diverse wildlife and picturesque beaches. Located ju...

Source: Wikimedia Commons To celebrate the change of season, Sunwing Vacations’ latest limited-time promotion is spring loaded with some of the best offers of the year. Available from March 12 to March 18, 2016, customers can take advantage of savings of up to 50% off selected vacation packages across the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. Along with getting the best price on their holi...

Four Seasons Costa Rica Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts announce the appointment of 15-year company veteran Rajiv Malhotra as General Manager of Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo. Malhotra, who joined Four Seasons in 2001, brings his focus on service and innovation to the award-winning property, which recently won a Five Star Rating from Forbes Travel Guide. Originally fr...

Source: Green Motion Costa Rica  London, United Kingdom - 10 March 2016 -- British Airways from the 27th of April 2016 will be flying a direct route from the United Kingdom (London Gatwick Airport) to San Jose (SJO) in the beautiful country of Costa Rica. These direct flights are scheduled to take place twice a week during the summer and then increasing to three flights a week for those cra...

Source: Discovery Havana, Mar 12 (EFE).- Cuba has welcomed 1 million foreign tourists to date in 2016, a 14.6 percent surge over the same period last year, the Tourism Ministry, or Mintur, reported. The year in course has been characterized by "continuous growth" in the number of tourists to Cuba from such markets as Germany, Britain, the United States, France, Italy and Argentina, a Mintur...

Liisa Vexler. Source: AirTransat AirTransat Media Release - Montreal — There is more to the South than just sunny weather and nice beaches, which is why increasing numbers of Canadians now want to experience the culture, history and attractions of their destination when travelling. To help vacationers learn more about the tour operator’s popular Sun destinations, Transat is back with the secon...

Source: Villa Thoga Tamarindo, Costa Rica - March 10, 2016 /PressCable/ — Villa Thoga, a vacation rental home in Tamarindo Beach, Costa Rica, has launched a brand new special offer allowing guests to experience two activities in the surrounding area completely free. These can be selected during the booking process while purchasing a stay in the property, or chosen upon arrival at the holiday h...

Rainforest in Costa Rica Travel PR News Hub Media Release - London, March 2016 - We all have a wish list of places we’d love to visit one day. Luxury tour operator Exsus has picked half a dozen destinations that should be fast-tracked to the top though and made a priority right now, whether it’s a once hard-to-reach location that’s recently opened up to travellers, such as Myanmar or Cuba, a c...

Wikimedia Commons The Government of Canada has updated its travel advisory for Costa Rica with warnings about the Zika virus and new concerns about security for visitors. In general, Canadian travelers are urged to be careful and vigilant when visiting Costa Rica. The summary of the travel advisory states: There is no nationwide advisory in effect for Costa Rica. However, you should exercis...

Source: Villa Punto de Vista MANUEL ANTONIO, COSTA RICA (PRWEB) MARCH 09, 2016 - Villa Punto de Vista, an exclusive 10-bedroom private villa located in Manuel Antonio Bay, is the Winner of the 2016 Condé Nast Johansens Awards for Excellence. The winners were revealed at the 34th annual Awards Dinner at The May Fair Hotel in London on the Nov. 2, 2015. “I am delighted to tell you that Villa Punt...

Source: Wikimedia Commons BOSTON, March 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Joe Cali, president of Overseas Adventure Travel, the leader in small groups on the road less traveled, today announced the Top 5 destinations for American boomer and senior solo travelers in 2016 based on bookings year-to-date.  Of OAT's 50 trip choices, the five most popular destinations for solo travelers in 2016 are Iceland, M...

(Illustrative image. Courtesy Thomson Airways) What fellow passengers described as utter “chaos” ensued aboard a Thomson Airways flight shortly before takeoff on its way to Costa Rica on Monday, the Daily Star reported Tuesday. Some 25 drunk and disorderly passengers had to be removed from the aircraft by police officers after the pilot of the aircraft refused takeoff due to the chaos takin...

Main Line Health Press Release - Prior to embarking on a humanitarian trip to Costa Rica, Villa Maria Academy High School juniors, seniors and their parents received advice from Main Line Health’s Chief of Infectious Diseases, who helped separate fact from fiction regarding the Zika virus epidemic. “Traveling to areas affected by the Zika Virus, such as Central America, does pose a risk” said D...

Vajra Yoga SANTA TERESA, COSTA RICA (PRWEB) MARCH 03, 2016 - The year 2016 marks 10 years since Vajra Sol began as a yoga retreats company in Costa Rica offering a new style of travel to an upcoming and coming niche in the growing industry. They attribute the business’s success in a competitive market of yoga and wellness vacations to a few key and finely formulated components that have earned t...

Source: Tulemar Resort NEEDHAM, Mass., March 1, 2016 – TripAdvisor®, the travel planning and booking site, today announced its Travelers’ Choice™ awards for Family Hotels. Unlike any other hotel honors, TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice winners are based on millions of valuable reviews and opinions from travelers around the world. Award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into ...

Boeing 737 engine The first international route of Air Costa Rica will fly to Guatemala, followed by Panama and hopefully Miami in the next few months. Such are the ongoing plans of Costa Rica's newest international airline, which will fill a decades-old void in the history of commercial aviation in our country. According to a news report filed by business reporter Stefania Colombari of nat...

Wikimedia Commons LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwired - Feb 25, 2016) - Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc. (OTC PINK: PNOW), parent Company of the Central American-Caribbean online travel Agency (OTA) Oveedia (www.Oveedia.com), announced today that the Company has continued validation of its marketing plan, after receiving a small, but undeniable proof of interest in travel to Central America; in partic...

Playas del Coco Beach in Guanacaste A male tourist from the United States passed away at the public clinic in Playas del Coco, one of the Gold Coast beaches of Costa Rica, after suffering a fatal heart attack during a snorkeling expedition.   According to a news report published on Friday by daily tabloid Diario Extra, the U.S. tourist was in his mid-50s. He was on vacation along wi...

Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo in Guanacaste ATLANTA, Feb. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Forbes Travel Guide today unveiled its 58th list of worldwide Star Rating recipients, including 42 new Five-Star hotels, 101 new Four-Star hotels and 57 new hotels in the Recommended category. Forbes Travel Guide now rates properties in 29 countries throughout The Americas,Europe and th...

Wikimedia Commons The United States Embassy in San Jose, Costa Rica, informs U.S. citizens that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a travel notice for Costa Rica regarding the Zika virus.  There is evidence that Zika is linked to birth defects in the fetuses of infected pregnant women and Guillain-Barré syndrome in infected individuals of any age or gender.  Zika i...

Source: Backroads Berkeley, CA (PRWEB) February 17, 2016 - Backroads, the world’s leading active travel company, today announced a slew of spring break trips for the entire family ranging from Florida’s Key West and the Everglades to Hawaii’s Big Island, Costa Rica, Palm Springs and beyond. The all-inclusive family adventures offer the perfect blend of activity choices for all ages including b...

Wikimedia Commons PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla., Feb. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As the cost of hip and knee replacement continues to vary across the United States and international borders, consumers – insurance carriers, employers and patients – are comparing the cost and quality of doctors and hospitals abroad to find the best options for care based on a new poll, the Medical Tourism Association® ...

Korando 4WD. Wikimedia Commons Rio Segundo, Alajuela, February 12, 2016 (Newswire.com) - Solid Car Rental is pleased to announce expansion of  their fleet in order to provide their customers with the vehicle they need while traveling in Costa Rica. This fleet now consists of 2015 and 2016 vehicles that will provide patrons with the newest vehicles available on the market. Solid Car Rental h...

Manuel Antonio Beach in Costa Rica Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) February 12, 2016 - Valentine’s Day may be the most romantic day of the year, but it’s undeniable that some locations have a certain "je ne sais quoi", which adds that something special to the occasion. International Living ranks the top five most romantic locations on their beat—great places to visit with a loved one or to strike out an...

Source: Hyatt CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) and LATAM Hotels Corp announce the opening of Hyatt Place Managua, the first Hyatt-branded hotel in the capital city of Managua, Nicaragua. The hotel features the Hyatt Place brand’s intuitive design, casual atmosphere and practical amenities, such as free Wi-Fi and 24-hour food offerings. The hotel is owned by LATAM Co...

Wikimedia Commons Alison Kosik, a business correspondent for CNN based in New York, enjoyed a vacation in Costa Rica in late January. Just one day after her return to the United States, she noticed that she had endured various mosquito bites at the beach, and she also started feeling headaches, sweats and chills. In an interesting report published on CNN.com, Ms. Kosik recounts her odyssey ...

Zika map. Source: CDC The full case of a 55-year old tourist from the United States, who contracted the Zika virus in Costa Rica, has been published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, a medical journal established in 1927 by the American College of Physicians. The author of the article is Dr. Lin H. Chen of the Mount Auburn Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts. Mount Auburn...

Wikimedia Commons Dover – The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) announced today the state’s first Zika case in an adult female. The illness was travel-related and pregnancy is not an issue. Zika is primarily spread by mosquito bite and the individual is not considered infectious. The illness was mild, as expected, and was confirmed by a CDC blood test. To protect privacy, DPH will not b...

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Fest300, the most comprehensive guide to the world's best festivals, announced today its annual list of the 300 most highly regarded festivals from around the globe. Making this year's list were returning favorites Glastonbury (Pilton, UK), Diwali (India), and Envision (Costa Rica), as well as list newcomers Electric Zoo (New York, USA) and Cape Town In...

Twitter user and cruise passenger @flatgreg Miami, Feb 8 (EFE).- The cruise ship Anthem of the Seas of the Royal Caribbean company will dock within the coming hours at Florida's Port Canaveral after coming through an unexpectedly dangerous storm in the Atlantic that damaged the vessel and left four people injured. The ship, which had sailed from New Jersey last Saturday on a seven-day cruis...

Source: Pixabay Commons Concerns about the fast spread of the Zika virus in the Americas are keeping public health officials on their toes, and discussion about the often uncomfortable topic of sexual tourism is emerging as a sort of side effect. As recently reported by The Costa Rica Star, the first endemic case of the Zika virus in our country appears to have been contracted by a tourist ...

Screenshot of MissTravel.com A young woman from the United States spent most of 2015 traveling to several exotic destinations around the world, and she did not spend any of her own money doing so. Monica Lynn is a 25-year old financial professional from Alabama whose story about going on lavish dates abroad has sparked considerable social media discourse since her story was published by Britis...

The Bark Suite at El Mangroove Miami, Florida - February 3, 2016 - Autograph Collection Hotels, Marriott International’s growing collection of strikingly independent hotels, is celebrating further expansion across the Caribbean and Latin America, and the brand’s second hotel in Costa Rica, with the addition of El Mangroove. Exactly like nothing else, El Mangroove, located off the Gulf of Pa...

Source: Crave CANCUN, MEXICO (PRWEB) FEBRUARY 02, 2016 - The in-room tablets from Crave Interactive – the European market leader supplying tablet- and app-based solutions to the hospitality industry – have been installed in AMResorts’ new Secrets Papagayo in Costa Rica, Breathless Cabo San Lucas Resort & Spa in Mexico and Secrets Playa Bonita in Panama. Further installations are scheduled in...

Microcephaly, a birth defect which causes babies to be born with unusually small heads and brains, is linked to the Zika virus. (Photo by Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters) The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday added Costa Rica and Nicaragua to a growing list of places where travelers risk being infected with Zika, a rapidly spreading mosquito-borne virus. The addition of Cos...

The Ministry of Public Health has confirmed two cases of the Zika virus in Costa Rica, and those two infections were enough for one traveler in from Minnesota to cancel an upcoming vacation in our country. According to a news report filed by Rochelle Olson of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, travel agents in that North American metropolis are warning their clients about the dangerous virus, which is ...