Tourism Program in Wildlife Protected Areas
New achievements obtained in the project: The contract to begin working on designs for improved facilities of the Tortuguero National Park recently took effect. These are mainly landing stages, which will ease the mobilization and increase access to visitors of the Wildlife Protected Areas.
The construction of these sites will initiate soon in order to enable access to the Tortuguero hill, from where one can enjoy a unique view of the various canals that connect Tortuguero National Park with the Barra del Colorado Wildlife Refuge. In addition, on June 2014, a strategic plan for the Wildlife Protected Areas of Costa Rica was completed. This plan considers the current tourism situation on a global, local and regional scale, as well as, the various social, cultural, financial and technological factors that could influence, in a positive or negative manner, the development of the Wildlife Protected Areas and other areas of influence. The general objective of the plan is to boost Costa Rica's competitiveness as a sustainable tourist destination, and to strengthen the role of the Wildlife Protected Areas as a distinguishing factor in the attractions connected to the country's tourism brand (¨Essential Costa Rica¨).
The specific objetives of the Plan are: 1. Promoting visits from tourists to the Wildlife Protected Areas, and considering their Tourism Management Plans. 2. Increasing the number of Wildlife Protected Areas visited by each tourist during their stay. 3. Increasing the number of Wildlife Protected Areas considered as "highly visited" (according to the MG).
4. Expanding the offer of sustainable tourism activities available at and around the Wildlife Protected Areas in cooperation with municipalities, nearby communities and the region. 5. Increasing tourism revenues in order to contribute to the financial sustainability of SINAC.
Other important updates refer to the progress in investments related to the Wildlife Protected Areas:
Tourism Program in Wildlife Protected Areas
• Initiation of the recruitment process for design and construction of the dock in the community of Caño Negro. • Concrete agreements between SINAC- Los Chiles, Aguirre y Pococí and Liberia municipalities. • Preparation of terms of reference and poster for procurement of: º Design and construction of touristic walkways in Espadilla Beach, and Manuel Antonio Park. º Studies for design and construction of wastewater treatment systems at Barra de Tortuguero. • Approval of agreements from the councils of Talamanca, Poás and Guatuso municipalities. • Project presentation to the councils of Talamanca, Poás and Guatuso municipalities. • Presentation of potential projects to invest in by councils of Talamanca, Poás and Guatuso municipalities.
Another advancement is the progress in sustainable tourism management on a municipal scale. The most important factors are: • Home procurement technical assistance to the City of Los Chiles. • Approval of the addendum of agreements between SINAC- Los Chiles, Aguirre and Liberia municipalities. • Preparation of terms of reference for technical assistance for the municipalities of Aguirre, Guatuso, Liberia, and Talamanca.