December 14, 2018
A group of tourism entrepreneurs, led by the Proimagen Association in collaboration with the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), is visiting Canada to promote Costa Rica as an attractive destination for local travelers.
The Costa Rican business group will hold business meetings with local travel agents and wholesalers in Montreal and Toronto. In both cities, there will be a country presentation, a trade show where information about various tourism products will be provided, and a dinner for participants.
The meetings started on Tuesday, October 23rd in Montreal and will conclude on Wednesday, October 24th in Toronto. This promotional mission is part of a public-private effort in which Proimagen and the ICT combine their analysis, experience, and resources to reach the most important tourist attractions in North America.
Canada is the second most important source market for tourists to Costa Rica after the United States. According to ICT data, around 200,000 tourists from Canada entered the country in 2017, representing 6.8% of total arrivals and 13.4% of arrivals from North America.
“Montreal and Toronto have concentrated the majority of the best prospects in recent years, and according to the analysis conducted between Proimagen and the ICT planning team, we have identified emerging markets that have strongly caught our attention for future actions, such as Vancouver and Calgary,” detailed Silvia Vargas, president of Proimagen.
Travelers are attracted by culture, adventure, and ecotourism
The lushness reflected in the richness of Costa Rica’s flora and fauna is the main attraction for Canadian tourists to choose Costa Rica for their vacations over other destinations.
This is the resounding opinion of potential Canadian visitors, who also highlight the attractiveness of experiencing authentic experiences that allow them to interact directly with local communities in the destinations they visit. 65.7% of travelers show a strong interest in cultural tourism, and 58.5% want to engage in activities related to adventure tourism and ecotourism.
These revelations are part of the study on the tourism market in Eastern Canada, presented by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) to Proimagen affiliates just before the promotional tour.
The statistics also indicate that 38% of Canadian travelers are between 35 and 50 years old, and a quarter of them are between 18 and 34 years old. The vast majority travel with their partner or family, attracted by the enormous diversity of flora and fauna in the country.
“The promotion of our country in Canada is essential, as it is the second most important source market for tourists to Costa Rica after the United States. This market represents a total of 3.4 million best prospects of travelers eager to visit our country,” further explained the president of Proimagen.
According to the leader, the potential of the Canadian market is “enormous and growing,” also benefiting from excellent air connectivity between its main cities and Costa Rica’s two international airports.