COSTA RICA: With Kindness And Courtesy You Deserve,Spirit Airlines Opens Sales And Customer Service Office

Spirit Airlines opened on Saturday, July 1, a new sales and customer service office in Costa Rica to better serve local customers, said the airline.

The office will be open Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturdays, 8:00 a.m. – 12 p.m. Phone queries can be made via (506) 4032-9449, where Spirit representatives will assist customers, with the kindness and courtesy you deserve.

With over 60 destinations, Spirit air aims to provide those traveling from Costa Rica with excellent customer service to aid in a good travel experience.

Remember that you can also visit the Spirit website, www.spirit.com, to make reservations, obtain flight status information, or find answers to your questions about Spirit’s business model and travel policies.

One of the most successful discount airlines in the United States recently announced an increase in the frequency of its flights between Houston and Costa Rica starting on May 28, 2015. Earlier this year, Spirit Airlines made news when it repainted many of its aircraft in a bold and bright yellow pattern that makes their passenger jets look like big New York City taxis in the sky.

This time, the news of new international air routes are placing the airline as a major solution for frugal travelers who fly between the United States and Latin American destinations.

As reported on a recent press release by Spirit Airlines, government approval is being sought for a total of four weekly flights between the Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO), province of Alajuela.

The airline is also seeking to increase flights to other Central American destinations as well as Cancun, Los Cabos and Toluca in Mexico:

Get ready to fly to some great locations and save a lot of money doing so. Today, Spirit Airlines announced it will be expanding its non-stop service to ten new destinations beginning in the Spring of 2015.

The new locations include domestic cities including Tampa, Baltimore/Washington, DC and Oakland/San Francisco Bay, and seven destinations in Latin America including Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

However, International routes are subject to foreign governmental approval.

We’re excited to offer our customers in Houston the opportunity to fly to and from these great destinations without having to spend a ton of money getting there, said Ben Baldanza, Spirit Airlines’ President & CEO.

Whether you’re visiting family or the great attractions these cities have to offer, Spirit’s Ultra-Low Bare Fares™ along with Frill Control™ allow many more travelers to fly to these great cities who previously could not afford it.

According to Department of Transportation data1, on average Spirit Airlines’ airfare is more than 40% less than other airlines.

Even after adding some of the optional services Spirit offers, the total price is still 35% less.

With fares this low, Spirit’s customers spend less money on their flights and that gives them more money to spend at their destination of choice.

These new destinations are in addition to the 12 non-stop cities Spirit currently offers from Houston, which includes Atlanta, Chicago (O’Hare), Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New Orleans, Orlando, and San Diego, along with connecting service to an additional 17 cities.

Customers can check out the crazy low fares and vacation packages available to all the destinations where Spirit flies at www.spirit.com and also sign up to receive alerts on Spirit’s email deals and offers.

Spirit Airlines clearly recognizes the opportunities associated with an economy as dynamic as Houston’s, says Houston Aviation Director Mario C. Diaz.

The Spirit team arrived at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in 2012 offering two nonstop destinations but with this new announcement that destination total will soon stand at twenty-two.

They’ve already proven their commitment to an aggressive growth strategy on the domestic front and now we’re anxious to see them apply that same philosophy to Houston’s international route map.”



Tourism Observer
www.tourismobserver.com

COSTA RICA: Costa Rica Tourism Souring Upwards

Foreign exchange earnings from tourism exceeded $2.8 billion, an increase of 9% compared to 2014, according to figures presented by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT).

In 2015 the number of tourists who entered the country grew by 5.5% compared to 2014, while global growth in the same period was 4.4%.

The number of tourists from the United States, the country from which the most number of people came to Costa Rica, grew by 8%, going from 997,262 travelers in 2014 to 1,077,044 in 2015, according to data from the institution.

Visitor arrivals from Europe rose by 6.1%, with a noteworthy 20% increase in the number of tourists coming from the UK. The influx of tourists from South America increased by 13%, particularly from Brazil and Argentina.

A plan is underway to boost medical hydrology in the north of the country, taking advantage of the tourist infrastructure and natural conditions in the area.

Entrepreneurs from San Carlos, in the northern part of the country, plan to form partnerships "with the medical community and businesses in order to build medical centers and train professionals in the health industry, said Lorena Herrera, businesswoman and team president", reported Elfinancierocr.com.

Data from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) has revealed that 25% of the tourists coming to Costa Rica visit the area. "This type of tourism has been growing as people recognize the benefits of thermal waters," said Gabriela Moreira spokeswoman for Baldi Hot Springs resort.

Meanwhile, Rodolfo Lizano, leader of Macroprocess Planning and ICT Development, said that he was not aware of the initiative and that the concept of thermal tourism or medical hydrology is not within any of the categories of reasons for travel taken into account by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

From a press release by the National Chamber of Tourism of Costa Rica (CANATUR):

The European region represents one of the main markets for attracting tourists to Costa Rica, which, according to figures from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), received 284,996 visitors from Europe, which means about 12% of total reported income in 2012.

The Old Continent represents a potential market because it generates the highest outbound traffic, ie, citizens engaged in tourism outside their country of origin.

According to figures from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), 53% of those who traveled around the world were from Europe, likewise, five of the top ten countries reporting the most expenditure in international tourism are in the European zone (Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, France and Italy).