Costa Rica

The United Kingdom on Thursday kept Costa Rica on a list of countries from which it only allows the arrival of nationals or residents, who must quarantine in hotels paid for out of pocket.

The so-called “red list,” to which Costa Rica was added earlier this month, prohibits entry except for British or Irish citizens or legal residents. They must remain isolated for 10 days in a government-designated hotel, paying 1,750 pounds ($2,470 dollars) for their stay.

The UK says its residents “should not travel to red list countries or territories.”

“COVID-19 prevalence is assessed to be high and there is evidence to suggest community transmission of variants of concern,” the Ministry of Transport said in a statement.

Costa Rica is averaging the 13th most new cases per capita over the past week, according to The New York Times global tracker.

Other countries on the red list include Panama and all of South America.

The color-coded classification depends on a series of factors, which combine the prevalence of the virus and the advance of vaccination in each country. The Boris Johnson government has promised to review their designations every three weeks.

Costa Rica received 78,562 international arrivals from the United Kingdom in 2019.

UK red list requirements

Via the UK government’s official website. 

If you have been in a country or territory on the red list in the last 10 days you will only be allowed to enter the UK if you are a British or Irish National, or you have residence rights in the UK.

You must follow these rules even if you have been vaccinated.

Before travel to England

Before you travel to England you must:

• take a COVID-19 test
• book a quarantine hotel package, including 2 COVID-19 tests
• complete a passenger locator form

On arrival in England

On arrival in England you must:

• quarantine in a managed hotel, including 2 COVID-19 tests

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Costa Rican tourism companies face new uncertainty with the end of the high season for visitation paired with the ongoing effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Over the first five months of 2021, Costa Rica has welcomed 391,853 international arrivals, down 55% compared to 2020 and 73.5% compared to 2019. That hasn’t been enough to sustain many businesses, especially after the “zero season” of last year, according to many in the sector.

“At this moment, no one is earning a profit: Not the hoteliers, not the tour operators, not the agencies and not the transporters,” said Javier Pacheco, representative of the Hotel Chamber, in an interview with Teletica.

Pacheco said that the tourism rebound during the first months of 2021 was not as big as expected, and that “in this moment, we need restructuring of debts and access to capital to keep businesses open.”

That sentiment was echoed by Shirley Calvo, director of the National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR), who said the sector doesn’t have enough access to financing moving forward.

Now, a new challenge looms: Typically, September and October are the months during which the fewest people visit Costa Rica.

In 2019, for example, 160,200 people visited Costa Rica in September, less than half the number of arrivals compared to March or December.

“In order to withstand the crisis and before the arrival of what could be a new zero season, the sector requires financial help,” the Teletica report reads.

According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), between January and March 2021, destinations around the world welcomed 180 million fewer international arrivals compared to the first quarter of last year.

The UNWTO says “nearly half of the experts do not see a return to 2019 international tourism levels before 2024 or later,” though confidence in travel is increasing.

“Vaccinations will be key for recovery, but we must improve coordination and communication while making testing easier and more affordable if we want to see a rebound for the summer season in the northern hemisphere,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.

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