Costa Rica's tourism industry is preparing to welcome the main tourist source markets in the world during Expotur 2024, the emblematic tourism marketing exchange that will take place at the Hotel Double Tree by Hilton Cariari, from May 8 to 11.
This event, organized by the Costa Rican Association of Tourism Professionals (ACOPROT), with the support of the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), promises to continue consolidating the country as an internationally renowned destination and generate tangible business opportunities for the benefit of 200 thousand people who are linked directly and 400 thousand indirectly.
The ICT and ACOPROT are aligned in their approach to attracting these key markets, recognizing their potential for sustainable growth of the sector. In this international marketing exchange there will be buyers from the United States, Canada, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Mexico and some emerging markets of great interest such as Brazil and Colombia. In 2023, these markets represented 82% of total tourist income to the country. Also, there will be buyers from Uruguay, Italy, Argentina, Panama, Paraguay and Guatemala.
The most recognized wholesalers in the world will attend, moving thousands of tourists and historically having a positive impact on the growth of tourism in Costa Rica. As part of the diversification proposal, by 2024 companies with a long history will also participate, known as OTAs in tourism (the acronym comes from the English Online Travel Agency), which are online travel agencies that allow travelers to book a hotel, rent a vehicle, or hire any of the tourist services using this platform.
Expotur 2024 stands out as a high-level marketing activity, differentiating itself due to its focus on generating effective connections between buyers and sellers. The 2024 Edition “Return to the essentials”, as it presents a totally innovative concept, with a return to the essentials, which is tourism marketing and business generation.
Each participating company is given the opportunity to have at least 20 highly effective business meetings and a lot of Networking, in the different activities during the event. In this 37th edition, the selling companies will be hoteliers, tour operators, DMCs, self-renters, theme and adventure parks, and other companies directly related to the national tourism product.
“From the Costa Rican Tourism Institute we are pleased with the renewal in the negotiation dynamics of Expotur 2024, which will allow a more direct approach with high-level wholesalers interested in learning about the most innovative and recent tourism offer in Costa Rica. The table is set for the generation of business between confirmed buyers and sellers, without a doubt an ideal marketing showcase to reinforce the positioning of our country in the main source markets and some emerging ones,” highlighted William Rodríguez, Minister of Tourism.
“For four decades, the Expotur tourism marketing exchange has contributed to the positioning of Costa Rica in our main source markets, being able to show the evolution of our country's tourism offer. For this year, a committee made up of professionals of the highest level in tourism selected the buyers to ensure that they align with the profile of the tourist that Costa Rica is looking for,” said Yadyra Simón, president of ACOPROT. Within the framework of Expotur, the joint work between the Costa Rican Tourism Institute and the Costa Rican Association of Tourism Professionals is relevant because it means a tourism marketing platform, but it also becomes a mechanism to attract the tourist profile we are looking for, that traveler who selects and chooses a destination because they want to have greater contact with nature and a greater variety of outdoor activities, beyond the beaches, with environmental awareness, capable of valuing sustainable efforts.