It’s a small, green, happy nation. It boasts a high quality of life, combined with a low cost of living. It doesn’t have an army, but it does have affordable medical care. It’s an eco-wonderland, carpeted with forests and mountains, and fringed by soft sand beaches. It’s the happiest country on the planet. It’s easy to get to, a half-day’s travel from many U.S. destinations. It regularly posts positive news on the tourism front. This week, it’s in the spotlight with good economic news.
The country with all these attributes is Costa Rica.
It started with Moody’s Investor Service. They raised the government’s bond rating to investment-grade status. They based the upgrade on the fall in public debt to gross domestic product, and the country’s ability to navigate the current global economic crisis. Costa Rica’s economy dipped last year, but this year the forecast looks rosier.
Gross domestic product for 2010 should hit 4.5%, and carry on growing in 2011, according to the president, Laura Chinchilla. She made the announcement at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Chinchilla’s government aims to attract $9 billion in foreign investment to Costa Rica over the next four years. The country currently has 42 trade agreements, which helped exports increase by more than 60% in the last ten years, to $8.67 billion.
One important component of Costa Rica’s gross domestic product is tourism. With increased emphasis these days on “green” tourism, Costa Rica’s eco-friendly credentials give it a cutting edge. You’d expect a travel article on destinations “best viewed after dark” to include Las Vegas’ shimmering Strip, the northern lights over Iceland, and Paris’ gorgeous cityscape. But the list includes Costa Rica, too…and turtle nesting in two national parks, described as a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience that you won’t want to miss.
One of the parks mentioned for turtle-watching is Tortuguero, on the country’s Caribbean coast. If turtle-watching seems a little too tame for you…why not a swim with a crocodile? One daring local has a fully-grown, 17-foot pet…a crocodile called Pocho that he swims with in this video. It takes adventure sports to a completely new level…
Mainstream tour companies like Wildland and Disney offer tours of the Caribbean coast (unsurprisingly, swimming with Pocho doesn’t feature in their itineraries). These tours are bringing travelers to a part of Costa Rica known as the Forgotten Coast. The rest of the world is slowly waking up to its potential. It won’t stay forgotten much longer.
A billion-dollar investment will push this coast onto center stage. The investment (a mix of government and private funds) will upgrade infrastructure and tourism amenities, and gentrify the port city of Limon. The government plans to double cruise ship arrivals in the port of Moin to 500 a year by 2013. They also want to attract a more upscale class of tourist to the Caribbean coast – interested in eco-travel, adventure tours, and sustainability.
An international yacht race, the Jacques Vabre, came to Costa Rica for the first time last year, to Limon. The first luxury boutique hotel, Le Caméléon, opened here late last year. National Geographic Adventure rated the Wildland Caribbean tour one of their top 25 adventure trips for 2010. The New York Times featured this coast (and the boutique hotel) in an article in April this year. No doubt about it, the Caribbean side is on the move…
And there’s a property deal here that’s newsworthy in itself. Set in the mountains, with ocean breezes and views, this development is well-advanced in terms of infrastructure. It also offers unspoiled rainforest, five rivers, and two waterfalls, and an ideal location, 90 minutes from San Jose (Costa Rica’s capital), and 30 minutes from the Caribbean’s sandy beaches.
And right now, they have a 2.3 acre lot with almost 30% off for a cash buyer…cutting the price to $72,100. That early-bird pricing reflects the early-in nature of this part of Costa Rica–for now. I don’t expect this lot to remain on the market for too long. Contact the developer here to find out more.
Editor’s Note: Margaret Summerfield is a director of Pathfinder (International Living’s preferred real estate advertiser). Pathfinder’s mission is to scout the globe to find the most unique and value-oriented real estate opportunities the world has to offer. If you would like to hear more about the hottest international real estate opportunities, make sure you have signed up for The Pathfinder Alert…it’s free.
