We are very proud to announce that we finally got the “Declaratoria Turística” (Tourism Declaration) which implies a recognition of our government through the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) regarding what we do. Let us tell you why does it make a difference!
For us at Epic Adventures this is great news, but especially we see it as a direct consequence of hard work and true passion for what we do.
As a family business, for Epic Adventures this is a fantastic opportunity for us to keep up the good work and continue to bring more and better tours for the future.
Let us tell you about the ICE and why are they so important for all of us:
The country’s official tourism organization is the Costa Rican Tourism Board.
The I.C.T.’s vision is to become Costa Rica’s tourism leader by ensuring a model of sustainable, supportive, and equitable tourism development that promotes new tourism opportunities that improve the nation’s quality of life and competitiveness through innovation, talent development, and effective public management.
What does the ICT do?
The law 91 of June 16, 1931, which established the “National Tourism Board,” was the first regulation pertaining to tourism in Costa Rica. It was in effect until August 9, 1955, when Law 1917 established the organization now known as the “Costa Rica Tourism Board.”
Today, the institution continues organizational changes to strengthen processes. The institute’s proposals for new functions and processes to keep the Costa Rican tourism industry competitive and global are even more crucial.
Significant changes include strengthening the formulation and implementation of tourism development planning, investor attraction and consultancy, competitive and high-quality systems, comprehensive marketing, tourist customer service, information generation for decision-making, and management improvement processes.
Vision
This is the projected vision:
“By 2021, ICT will be consolidated as the governing tourism entity in Costa Rica, guaranteeing a supportive and equitable sustainable tourism development model that uses innovation, the development of its workforce, and effective public management to promote new opportunities for tourism development that help improve the competitiveness and the quality of life that, as a nation, we aspire for.”
Mission
The institutional mission is the following:
Become an institution that aims to strengthen the Costa Rican sustainable tourism development model through the definition of public policies, alliances, programs, and projects to encourage competitiveness, sustainability, equity, solidarity, and a pleasant stay for tourists, always looking to improve the living standards of Costa Ricans.
The objectives of ICT are:
A set of seven strategic goals are directly tied to the mission and vision statements.
- To ensure that the growth of tourism is managed, adjusted, and coordinated in line with the sustainable development model for tourism, it is necessary to strengthen the management mechanisms, tools, and examples.
- Unite an extensive network of strategic data and expertise for public and private decision-making processes.
- Improve Costa Rica’s international and national positioning as a distinguished destination using sustainable tourism development strategies.
- To improve the country’s positioning, differentiate the tourism model, create and transfer knowledge, social responsibility, and sustainability to increase competition between tourism companies.
- Promote the sustainable use of space and heritage tourism elements by planning, creating, and transferring knowledge and developing local skills for integration into tourism products that position the destination.
- Use the development model to manage ICT finances efficiently and effectively.
- Develop an organizational culture model to achieve sustainable tourism development goals while protecting Costa Ricans, communities, and the nation.
REFERENCE:
About Us. (2021). Ict.go.cr. https://www.ict.go.cr/en/ict/about-us.html#history-and-legal-institutional-framework
