Costa Rica receives prize from the World Organization of Tourism

The Committee of Price Selection UNMTO Ulysses 2009 of the World Organization of Tourism (OMT) has decided to give a Special Jury Prize to the Innovation in the Administracion in Tourism to Costa Rica's program, "Sensitizing in School" presented by the ICT.

The reward given to the country was delivered the 27th of May during the ceremony of the International Conference organized by the Board of education and Science of the OMT, in Spain. This year the recognition carries the title "Innovation in the Tourism Education".

This conference has as an objective to bring to good light innovation practices in tourism education as well as to expose examples and practical cases in which involve innovative methods of investigation and teaching in tourism.

The Program of Tourism Culture in Schools, promoted by the Process of Tourism Development of the Costa Rican Tourism Institute, collaborators participate in sensitizing students of I and II cycle on the importance of sustainable tourism. The responsibilities that imply tourism activities and promotion in the comprehension and appraisal of the tourist as a patrimony were one of the many objectives that the program developed.

Costa Rica, first in Central America with legislation in favor of the Common Rural Tourism

The ICT has been involved since over 10 years ago with the development of the Common Rural Tourism and as affirms María Eugenia Murillo, Executive of Marketing of the ICT, is now that little by little they begin to see the results of all this work.

This theme has recovered greater importance after the recent approval in second debate of the project: "Law of Promotion of the Common Rural Tourism ". With this law, Costa Rica becomes the first Central American country with legislation for encouragement of this sector for tourist activity.

The Common Rural Tourism is geared to create sustainable life media to the communities and to reduce the pressure on the natural resources. With the recently approved law, it passes to be considered as a tourist product. The initiative joins in with the executive decree that declares rural tourism as a public interest and to reform the regulation of the businesses pertaining tourist lodging under the concept of "inns of rural tourism".

The activities of rural tourism will be benefited because of this law will be rural inns, travel agencies specialized in rural tourism, thematic activities specialized in rural tourism and food & beverage services, specialized in native gastronomy.

The ICT has been developing a program of integral attention to the sector, offering training, advising to the businessmen and promotion by means of the work of a interdisciplinary team of professionals in the departments of Tourist Management, Marketing and Tourist Development.