The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s announcement requiring U.S. inbound travelers to show proof of a negative COVID-19 before boarding their flight is making an impact. One destination that is reacting is Costa Rica.
The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) issued a statement saying, “Anticipating that the government of the United States of America could take a measure like this, we’ve established a working group that is coordinating with private laboratories certified by the Ministry of Health to administer the RT-PCR tests in Costa Rica. The plan is to have these tests available to US travelers, and tourists of other nationalities, throughout the country, for less than $100 each. The world is experiencing a pandemic whose trend is to take action and adjust to changes on the fly. Costa Rica is a destination committed to complying with health protocols and we thank travelers for their trust.”
This news arrives as Costa Rica’s international arrivals numbers nearly doubled from November to December. December 2020 registered the entry of 71,000 tourists by air, almost doubling the visitation registered in November 2020, during which 36,044 were reported. The increase is due in part to the return of 20 airlines from Costa Rica’s main tourism markets and the announcement of new routes at the end of the year.
For more information, the ICT can be accessed here. Entering the US? A negative COVID test now is a must.
