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INSIDECOSTARICA.COM
| COSTA RICA
NEWS | Monday
07 November 2011 |
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Where
O
Where
Did
All
The
Tourists
Go?
By
John
R.
Holtz*
Only
a
week
ago,
we
were
brimming
with
confidence
and
the
Instituto
Costarricense
de
Turismo
(ICT)
just
assured
Costa
Rica
of a
great
2011,
a 5%
increase
in
tourism
over
2010.
Meanwhile,
CANATUR
said,
“well
maybe”
but
the
smaller
hotels
will
not
do
so
well.
And
the
ad
hoc
hotel
group
Pro-Tur
said,
“No
way!”
And
let´s
not
forget
the
30,000
medical
tourists
who
will
be
coming
down
for
that
special
Costa
Rican
face
lift
price
and
that
world
renown
Tico
hospitality.
(“Why
it´s
almost
like
a
vacation,”
as
her
swollen
lips
sipped
ginger
ale
through
the
straw
sitting
in
the
shade
at
$400
a
night.)
Certainly
medical
tourism
is a
mega-mega
growth
industry
that
has
yet
to
show
a
profit.
Not
everyone
should
convert
their
homes
or
invest
into
care
centers
and
advertise
like
hell;
can´t
miss,
just
like
“Mega-Mega
Deal.com”
in
the
90s.
Never
mind
the
single
largest
source
of
tourism
is
the
perpetual
tourist
who
has
been
living
off
our
land
for
God
only
knows
how
long
by
simply
crossing
one
of
two
borders
and
hanging
out
for
hours
in
another
country
and
then
coming
back
and
once
again
counted
in
the
tourist
ledger
as
“new”.
Or,
that
all
countries
are
fighting
a
heart
break
recession
and
the
fear
of
unemployment
and
the
bottom
line
is
that
Costa
Rica
has
nothing
special
to
offer
the
6 to
7
hour
traveler
who
pays
a
premium
price
for
an
airplane
ticket
because
in
2007
we
went
literally
whaco
cutting
down
the
jungle,
putting
up
billboards
blocking
beautiful
roadside
views
and
chasing
away
the
wildlife
in
the
name
of
short
term
profit
and
real
estate
sales.
I am
exhausted
trying
to
figure
all
these
advertised
deal
out.
Remember
the
Peter
Drucker
KISS
theory?
Keep
it
Simple
Stupid.
(They
forgot)
No
deal,
not
matter
how
complicated
like
pay
for
five
days
and
getting
1/2
night
free
are
not
valid
between
December
15
and
January
2.
The
government´s
answer
to
the
3%+
in
drop
in
tourism
is
to
look
for
rich
Russians
and
Chinese
who
pretty
much
need
to
give
up
their
DNA
to
get
a 30
day
visa
rather
than
improve
the
tourist
experience
itself.
The
reason
for
the
drop
off?
The
U.S.
and
Europe
are
each
trying
to
fend
off
a
second
recession
and
the
Canadians
are
hanging
out
in
Mexico
for
the
winter
with
180
day
and
not
90
day
visas
as
in
Costa
Rica.
(Six
months
=
Almost
no
snow.
Still
a
little
chilly,
but
usually
much
snow.)
While
this
is
not
the
beginning
of
the
end,
there
are
some
pretty
good
clues
here
that
paradise
has
its
problems
and
we
need
put
more
than
a
band
aide
on
the
wound,
maybe
even
CPR
to
get
the
groove
back.
When
Americans
are
willing
to
spend
their
vacation
in
drug
invested,
violent
Mexico
rather
than
Costa
Rica,
there
is
something
said.
Money
is
tight
and
travel
is
frugal
this
year
and
Costa
Rica
is
not
the
place
to
be
if
you
have
a
limited
budget.
It
sounds
good
on
paper
but
when
you
arrive?
It
is
reality
time.
The
first
thing
that
hits
you
is
the
us$15
per
person
arrival
tax
and
you
have
not
seen
a
monkey
yet.
When
the
ad
says
meet
and
eat
with
native
families
in
this
peace
loving
nation
that
translates
to
rice,
beans,
two
tortillas
and
an
egg.
Coffee
is
extra
and
no
refill.
All
included
for
only
$13
+
10%
tip
+
13%
tax
soon
to
be
14%.
(A
$16
meal).
Not
to
mention
the
"Tours
R
Us"
real
estate
sales
who
promise
living
in
Pura
Vida
on
just
a
small
amount
of
what
it
costs
in
your
home
country.
Car
rental
prices
have
gone
up
as
have
taxies
and
even
public
transportation.
Gas
has
not.
That´s
not
reality!
After
popping
a
Cialis
around
4:00PM,
take
a
quiet
walk
on
the
beach,
holding
hands
at
midnight
while
enjoying
the
shimmer
of
our
famous
silver
moon
is
just
asking
to
get
mugged,
raped
or
killed.
Worse,
do
that
in
downtown
San
José
day
or
night.
The
tourism
dollar
represents
approximately
12%
of
the
Costa
Rican
GDP
and
what
projects
the
State
has
only
taken
seriously
are
the
up-scale
all
inclusive
resorts
and
the
planned
luxury
projects
forgetting
about
the
horse
that
got
us
here:
The
beaches,
jungles,
mountains,
boutique
hotels,
ecology,
surf
camps,
reasonably
priced
and
rustic
places
to
eat
not
to
mention
lots
of
cold
and
well
priced
beer.
You
know,
“frugal”,
but
fun
which
is
not
being
advertised.
Instead
we
have
the
world
famous
and
highly
touted
by
our
own
former
President,
Oscar
Arias,
“Exclusive
Resorts”
and
the
famous
Andre
Agassi
–
Steffi
Graf
Tennis
Compound.
”Exclusive”
advertises
only
1 9
apartments
and
no
Andre
or
Steffi
compound.
Let´s
not
forget
the
$1,000
a
night
with
the
guest´s
own
personal
butler,
the
Regency
near
Los
Sueños;
never
built
and
went
bust.
Adjacent
to
the
Port
of
Caldera
lies
another
pipe
dream,
La
Roca,
an
exclusive
development
with
stores,
medical
facilities,
two
golf
courses
room
for
all
those
baby
boomers
to
retire….never
happened.
The
Papagayo
groups
have
history
on
their
side
and
have
been
around
for
years
catering
to
the
upper
middle
class
with
the
Four
Seasons.
That
has
legs.
However,
those
are
not
enough
to
feed
a
very
hungry
dragon.
Costa
Rica
went
“Wanna
be
Rich”
in
2006
and
2007,
got
off
it´s
good
and
trusty
steed
named
Real
Ecology,
dropped
family
travel,
became
a
haven
for
yoga
and
expensive
spas
and
when
the
recession
hit,
they
just
went
under.
Even
in
2010
while
more
tourists
arrived,
they
spent
less
days
and
less
money
than
2009.
A
sign
right
there
that
things
were
being
ignored.
Countries
to
the
north
and
to
the
south
picked
up
the
slack.
You
might
not
like
Ortega
who
seems
likeable
only
to
Nicaraguans
however,
Nicaragua
offers
much
better
prices
for
everything
from
food
to
lodging
as
well
as
security.
Our
neighbor
to
the
south,
Panama,
went
on a
PR
blitz
capturing
more
and
more
typically
Costa
Rica
bound
tourists,
also
at
far
more
reasonable
prices
fronted
by
internationally
acclaimed
musician
Rubin
Blades.
(We
now
have
an
avatar
sloth
representing
Costa
Rica
who
falls
off
the
tree
branch
at
the
end
of
his/her
presentation
for
not
staying
awake.
Is
there
a
message
there?)
I
want
to
send
all
Costa
Rican
travel
professionals
to
Mexico
for
one
month
and
learn
how
it
is
done.
I
want
to
start
with
immigration
and
duties
whose
foreheads
would
crack
wide
open
if
they
ever
gave
a
friendly
smile
of
welcome
to
paradise.
Congeniality
is
not
part
of
the
equation
although
I
once
got
one
to
laugh.
The
business
secret
of
tourism
is
to
seek
repeat
clients.
When
asking
ICT
and
CANATUR,
after
a
little
foot
shuffling,
they
said,
“We
have
no
plan
for
that.”
It
reminds
me
of
the
slogan
printed
on
the
Denver
post:
“It
is a
Privilege
to
Live
in
Colorado”.
Here
the
mentality
is
that
it
is a
privilege
to
let
you,
Mr.
&
Mrs.
Tourist
to
see
visit
in
paradise
even
if
the
monkeys
are
only
rented
for
the
day.
A
tour
group
from
California
ordered
up
over
nine
rooms
at
the
Grano
de
Oro
in
Downtown
San
Jose,
still
during
the
Green
Season.
I
just
got
a
call
from
the
group
leader
saying
the
attitude
was
awful
and
this
being
the
third
year,
he
expected
some
respect
as a
valued
customer.
"Where
can
we
move?"
Many
tourists
have
just
burned
out
on
Costa
Rica´s
inflated
prices,
poor
service
and
a
feeling
that
they
are
not
really
of
much
value.
We
have
totally
forgotten
that
Costa
Rica
is
selling,
the
tourists
are
the
customer
and
they
do
have
choices.
It
is
not
a
privilege
is
to
spend
your
money
in
Costa
Rica
or
anywhere
else
for
that
matter.
We
need
to
learn
to
earn.
That
is
learn
to
earn
discretionary
vacation
expenses
rather
than
survive
on
folklore,
catch
phrases,
half-truths
and
a
sleepy
sloth.
*John
Holtz
can
be
reached
at
[email protected]
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