OHMCR The Best Costa Rica Travel Guide

On October 23 through 26, the Conventions Center at the Villas Lirio Hotel in Quepos will be the place of the 2008 Expo Manuel Antonio.

The Central Pacific Tourist Commerce Organization has arranged the event with the objective of helping local tourist companies in the Quepos region obtain strong business alliances with companies with much broader market coverage.

Around 100 companies from the Quepos tourist industry have signed up to participate in the Expo Manuel Antonio.  The Conventions center will be filled with creatively adorned stands from several companies which include car rentals, tour operators, hotels and all other related businesses located within the Central and South Pacific Costa Rican Coast.

The Costa Rican Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR) has joined forces with the Manuel Antonio Group in order to help the tourist industry’s development in this region.  2008 is not the first year that the Expo Manuel Antonio will take place, but it will be the first year it will be held in the location of Manuel Antonio.

In previous years, the Expo was held in one of the San Jose hotel’s convention centers which allowed for all major travel agencies and tour operators an easier access without having to travel out of town.  Since previous events have been so successful, the organization has decided it is time to host the event in Quepos.

The event is of great interest and new opportunities for several major travel agencies as it allows for these companies to make new contacts, reinforce previous ones and discover innovative services.

As part of the event, the Corcovado Foundation will be holding its Expo Verde event in which several products and services related to the sustainable sector will be exhibited.

written by fernando \\ tags: Corcovado Foundation, Costa Rican Chamber of Tourism, Expo Manuel Antonio, Expo Verde, Hotel in Quepos

The town of Golfito is located in Costa Rica Southern Pacific Coast within the Dulce Gulf just Northwest of Panama. The name Golfito translates to Little Gulf in honor of a small gulf that forms within the larger Golfo Dulce.

Golfito was considered to be the most important port in the far southern region of the Pacific Coast. Its maritime importance has declined over the years due to the closing down of the region most important source of income: the United Fruit Company. Golfito was the center of a major banana growing regions where the United Fruit Company had its headquarters. The processing plant was closed in 1985 due to a decline in demand on behalf of foreign countries, an increase in Costa Rican export taxes, constant employees protest and banana disease.

The town of Golfito then witnessed the growth of its tourist value and has since become an attractive town for tourists passing by the area and staying there for a couple of days. Although the beaches in Golfito are not that attractive, a few good beaches for surfing and swimming are nearby.

The town is surrounded by steep hills and a thick rainforest which attract birdwatchers and nature lovers. Golfito businesses and bars are mainly located at the town southern part. The tropical seaport is quite pleasant and even attracted Warner Brothers executives to choose this region as a location for the filming of Chico Mendes, the true story of a Brazilian rainforest preservationist. An old steam locomotive from the movie set still sits at the Golfito town park.

The Costa Rican government also built a duty free facility in Golfito?s northern region in order to help the region and attract local tourists to the area. Although articles bought at the duty free stores are still taxed, the amount is substantially lower than throughout the rest of Costa Rica. A number of ticos drive to Golfito during weekends to buy articles such as TV, washers, dryers and such. A minimum 24 hour stay is required to benefit from the low prices thus increasing hotel occupation.

written by fernando \\ tags: Costa Rica Southern Pacific Coast, Expo Manuel Antonio, Hotel in Quepos