— With over 2.9 million visitors in 2016, tourism in Costa Rica grew 10 percent over 2015.

By Wendy Anders

The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT, its Spanish acronym) just released its data on last year’s tourist arrivals to the Central American country, and things are looking good.

Costa Rica registered nearly 270 thousand more visitors in 2016 than in 2015, for a notable 10 percent increase.

This industry, which has become the main motor of the country’s economy, is also diversifying over time with notable growths in arrivals from Europe and also from China.

Though tourists from the U.S. continue to lead with over a million visiting Costa Rica last year, visitors from the U.K. increased by over 50 percent last year, and Chinese visitors were up by 34 percent, said the ICT.

Likewise, though San José (SJO) remains the country’s main airport with over 1.5 million tourist arrivals in 2016, the Liberia, Guanacaste international airport volume grew by 34 percent, outstripping San José’s growth of 7.7 percent, according to ICT and immigration data.

Several new direct flights were launched last year in and out of the Daniel Oduber airport in Liberia, which caused its tourist arrivals to spike to over half a million last year, said Mauricio Ventura, Minister of Tourism.

The majority of tourists (70 percent) arrived by air last year; and maritime arrivals in 2016 increased by 27.4 percent over the previous year.

The impact of the 3 billion dollar industry can’t be underestimated, as it provides employment (directly and indirectly) for an estimated 600 thousand people which represents 27 percent of Costa Rica’s workforce, said the ICT.

Europe’s increase to over 430 thousand arrivals in 2016 is directly attributed to enhanced air routes with Iberia’s increase from one to three weekly direct flights, as well as direct service via British Airways, Air France and Germany’s Condor, continued Ventura.

“The country has never seen such an important leap in the arrival of new airlines, the growth of flight frequencies and the creation of new routes to the country (as in 2016), which strengthens the connectivity of Costa Rica with the rest of the world. This work will continue to generate positive results, so it is essential that our tourism sector is prepared to provide quality services that lead to a rewarding experience,” said Ventura.