Posts tagged Tortuguero National Park
Costa Rica Travel News – Costa Rica Tops Tourism Table
Nov 8th
Costa Rica has been ranked as the number one Latin America vacation destination in a major international survey of the world’s favorite tourism hotspots.
The World Economic Forum’s yearly travel competitiveness report takes into account a range of factors including natural resources, cultural heritage, the quality of infrastructure, standards of Costa Rica hotels and other services, and the overall regulation of the Costa Rica travel industry.
The report commented on the country’s Certification of Sustainable Tourism program, and the country’s unparalleled richness in natural resources, World Heritage sites and number of protected conservation areas.
Known as the rich coast, the country is unique in the world for its level of environmental protection, with almost 30% of the country’s land areas designated as protected areas, either as one of 35 national parks, conservation areas or natural reserves.
The Costa Rica travel industry has played a major role in the country’s sustainable development program by helping to establish privately operated lodges and reserves.
Some of the most successful and well known protected areas include the Monteverde Cloud Forest, Manuel Antonio National Park, Tortuguero National Park and the World Heritage Site on the Corcovado peninsula.
The country is known for its variation in natural landscapes which provide a home to the highest concentration of bio-diverse natural life on the planet’s surface. Thanks to the country’s compact size, even short Costa Rica vacations are able to include visits to several of the country’s world-famous natural wonders.
Supporting these strengths with abundant, high quality services such as hotels, car rental firms and high quality transport infrastructure, means that the country has been able to reinforce its position as a leading vacation destination in the Americas, and throughout the world.
This commitment to a sustainable and environmentally neutral tourism industry has been well documented in the past. The UN World Tourism Organization has previously praised the country’s Certification of Sustainable Tourism initiative, calling it a model that the rest of the world should follow.
Costa Rica Travel News – Costa Rica, Greenest & Happiest Country on Earth
Nov 5th
The country’s astounding richness in its wildlife and biodiversity makes a Costa Rica vacation an experience to remember and the nation’s commitment to its natural riches have made the country a world leader in environmental protection and conservation.
But now it seems that Costa Rica’s record has made it more than a natural sanctuary for threatened wildlife, but a world leader in global happiness too.
A study by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) which links countries’ environmental protection to the happiness of their citizens has named Costa Rica as the greenest and happiest country in the world.
The study, called the Happy Planet Index, compares the natural resources that each country consumes with their happiness and quality of life. The report combined ecological impact with other factors including life expectancy and life satisfaction to calculate which country is the most “happy” overall.
According to the Happy Planet Index, Costa Ricans have the highest life satisfaction in the world, thanks to their long life expectancy which is slightly longer than the USA average, combined with their tiny environmental impact, which is 75% smaller than the United States’ per person equivalent.
Costa Rica has become well known throughout the world for its excellent level of environmental protection. Almost one third of the country has been protected by a system of national parks, conservation areas and natural reserves.
Some of the most popular protected areas include the World Heritage Site of Corcovado National Park which is famous for its mangrove swamps, tapirs and macaws, the beautiful beach-side Manuel Antonio National park, and Tortuguero National Park, a favorite nesting ground for endangered sea turtles.
In a separate recent survey the country was voted the number one Latin America travel destination thanks to its astonishing range of national parks protected the world’s biggest concentration of exotic, and often endangered, animal species ranging from poison arrow frogs, green leatherback turtles, the resplendent quetzal and the jaguar.
