Costa Rica Tourism Remains Confident for Recovery
Costa Rica travel agents face quite the challenges these days. With all the flight changes, travel restrictions and uncertainty moving forward, agents are left to help travelers sort out upcoming trips. The Costa Rica Tourism board has launched a campaign and is promoting future travelers to refrain from canceling any future trips and instead merely postpone their trip. Costa Rica remains one of the most sought out travel destinations in the world, and their recent success of handling the coronavirus outbreak so well is leading to a lot of people putting it high on their list of places to visit as soon as things settle down and restrictions ease up. I recently sat down with Justin DeBoom of NAMU to see how he is handling business during this time.
How have you handled cancelations due to travel restrictions?
Like most agencies, I think managing cancellations was one of the most daunting tasks during the initial border closure. Granted, there were endless other challenges, but taking care of our clients came first.
When they announced the border closures and airlines immediately cancelled flights, the calls and emails were overwhelming. We quickly formed a mini-task force to formulate a plan and handle every request that came in. For us, the single biggest challenge was not refunding money to clients, but getting the hotels, tour operators and transfer companies to refund money back to us. As an agency, we have always paid all providers in advance, so this pandemic was a real test of the relationships we had with them. Being completely transparent with our clients also helped them make the best decision to cancel or postpone. The good news is that most of our valued partners eventually did the right thing. For the clients that wanted to cancel 100% with no desire to reschedule, we took care of in one form or another.
Are most travelers postponing their trip or canceling completely?
I would say most of our cancellation requests resulted in reschedules. Honestly, the pandemic itself didn’t scare people out of traveling to Costa Rica. It was more that they simply couldn’t come because the borders closed. I don’t have exact numbers, but I think we had around 65-75% of our clients reschedule, which was great. We started a #Don’tcancelPostpone movement on social media and YouTube, which was instrumental in helping clients make the best decision.
How do you think vacations might change moving forward?
Costa Rica’s nature will be a big selling point moving forward.
This is the million-dollar question. Personally I have some ideas, but only time will tell how things play out. But Costa Rica has a few unique attributes that might play well with any new travel habits society might embrace in a post-pandemic world:
1. 80% of our hotels in Costa Rica are boutique properties with 30 rooms or less.
2. Private transportation in-country or rental cars.
3. Private tours vs. the Caravan or group type packages.
4. Home or condo rentals vs. hotels.
5. Visit more off the beaten track destinations in Costa Rica vs. the more mainstream/popular places.
Many things might change but I believe we’ll see a new wave of people looking for a more isolated or private vacation due to social distancing desires. Costa Rica is perfect for that. It also has a great reputation for nature and greenery, something that will help many psyches heal after this. The beauty is, we already had all this in place. It’s always been a selling point here, so there’s nothing to reinvent. What will make a post-lockdown Costa Rica popular are the same things that always made it popular – abundant nature, fewer crowds, smaller hotels, and personalized experiences.
What do you think your company will do to help promote business?
At Namu, we have a few ideas in the pipeline:
1. After 20 years, we’ve built up a base of loyal clients who trusted us before and will trust us again. We’re launching a new loyalty program with access to exceptional deals and incentives for these clients.
2. Creating unique, exclusive specials from our partners. One of the most important things for us is our loyal partner community. Seeing which partners rallied behind us and our clients was amazing. Now it is the time for the entire industry to work together and have a unified message to attract tourists back once the borders open.
3. More flexible cancellation and booking terms. After this pandemic, the consumer will be more cautious about how and who they book with. We learned some lessons about our own policies from the past and plan to reinvent them to protect the client as well as ensure the partners are protected.
4. Rock solid travel insurance. We always offered travel insurance and many companies were great. However, watching a company work with Covid or mass claims brought out the best and worst of insurers. We plan to offer the best travel insurance option in the industry.
What is your advice to someone who is considering to make a trip to Costa Rica?
Do It! Right now, I can say that there has never been a better time to plan a trip to Costa Rica. I foresee prices being at historical lows for lodging, tours and activities. Tourism is the lifeblood of Costa Rica and employs roughly 10% of the population. If you’ve been here, you’ll know that Ticos (the people) are Costa Rica’s best resource. By planning your Costa Rica vacation now, you give hope to the entire tourism sector. Knowing that new reservations are coming in now for future dates gives Costa Rica and its tourist industry that little bump it needs to keep fighting.
I know tourism will rebound and for those who get here first, it will be like my first trip 15 years ago. Smaller crowds, wildlife everywhere, and locals with smiling faces at every turn. All for a price unseen in decades.
Justin DeBoom lives with his wife Lucia in Jaco, Costa Rica where they run Caribsea Sportfishing. Justin also works as a travel consultant and fishing specialist at Namu Travel, where he helps people plan trips to Costa Rica and Panama. He can be contacted at justindeboom@namutravel.com.
