The British Are Coming, The British Are Coming!
The Americas, especially North America, are no strangers to British invasions. We Gringos remember from our earliest school days that back in 1775, Paul Revere reportedly warned fellow American colonists in Boston “The British are coming!” on his famous midnight ride.
Fast forward 185 years and the 1960s brought a new British invasion to North America’s shores as the Beatles landed in the US of A, bringing a wave of new music with them that was a cultural revolution.
Costa Rica had been spared a British ‘invasion’ (other than maybe the arrival of Scott Oliver a number or years back) until last year when British Airways announced that they would be adding a new route from London to San Jose which started in May of 2016.
Flights leave Gatwick Airport in London twice weekly, Wednesdays and Saturdays, during the UK’s summer months, and three times per week, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, during the UK’s winter months. The flights will leave London at 11:55 a.m on Wednesdays, and 11:00 a.m. Saturdays, landing in San Jose at 3:45 p.m. on Wednesdays and 2:50 p.m. on Saturdays.
The flying time will be 10 hours and 50 minutes. British Airways will be using a Boeing 777 from their fleet that has a passenger capacity of 275. San Jose will be British Airways’ first destination in Central America.
Costa Rican president Luis Guillermo Solis Rivera was excited about the news saying, “The confirmation of this new connection to the European market allows us to further develop the tourism industry for economic growth that will generate more employment and other benefits.” With the potential of the airline transporting up to 30,000 passengers per year to and from Costa Rica, this means big economic benefits for the country.
Mauricio Ventura, Costa Rica’s Minister of Tourism said, “This new opportunity challenges us to continue working on improving the quality of our customer service to ensure that European tourists stay longer and enjoy a great travel experience.”
This news comes in conjunction with new statistics showing that European tourism to Costa Rica has increased 48% between 2009 and 2014. According to ICT, Instituto Costarricense de Turismo, in 2009 some 250,154 tourists arrived from Europe to Costa Rica, compared with 370,482 arrivals in 2014.
According to the ICT, Europe is the third largest market for tourism to Costa Rica, with the average vacationer spending 15 days in the country. The United States remains the number one provider of tourists to Costa Rica, with the combined Central American countries coming in second place.
In recent months, SouthWest Airlines and WestJet have announced new, direct flights to Costa Rica from the United States and Canada. In addition, VivaCAN, a new low cost airline, will operate flights from Costa Rica to throughout Central and South America. As you can see, access to paradise from many countries and continents just keeps getting easier and easier!
The British Are Coming, The British Are Coming!
Article/Property ID Number 5408
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Andrew Makarik
to@welovecostarica.comAndrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.
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