Pictured: An artist's impression of the new centre
Costa Rica, traditionally regarded as a place of ‘sun and
fun’, is positioning itself as a destination for international association
meetings as it gears up for the opening of its first convention centre.
The 6,500 capacity Costa Rica Convention Center, in the
capital San Jose, is scheduled to open in May, 2018, providing a new dimension
to the country’s traditional meetings offer.
Alexjandro Castro, director of marketing at Costa Rica Tourism Board,
confirmed the destination had been working with the convention bureau to secure
association meetings from Latin America.
Speaking to AMI magazine at the Barcelona-based meetings industry
trade show ibtm world, he said: “Our strategy is to target regional association
meetings, at this stage, as we think they are the most likely to come, and we already
have an ambassador programme in place to help with that.
“Costa Rica has traditionally been associated with the
corporate and incentive market. We have the beaches and the weather and it is a
very playful destination. But one of our biggest exports last year, apart from
agriculture, was medical devices, so there is more to Costa Rica than people
think.”
He said the centre was also looking to secure governmental
meetings.