Costa Rica News - Dec 19, 2004

Costa Rica No. 2 in Internet use in Latin America

In Latin America, Costa Rica is surpassed only by Chile in the use of the internet.

Numbers show that 1.931 out every 10.000 persons in Costa Rica regularly use the internet , while in Chile the number is 2.375 per 10.000.

The use of the internet in Latin America has increased rapidly. It is estimated that between 44 and 60 million people in the region regularly use the internet, this according to a report by the la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas para el Comercio y el Desarrollo (UNCTAD). According to the report, in 2003, Chile and Costa Rica were the top internet countries, followed by Argentina (1.120), Perú (1.039), Mexico (985) and Brazil (822).

Of the internet users, email was the most common resource used, followed by searches, banking and financial transaction, shopping and communications with government. The UNCTAD report also shows that more than one half of the companies investigated had their own website, and another 22% were in the process of developing one. The number one complaint by all users of internet in the region is the cost.

In Costa Rica internet users have several ways of connecting the national network; by cable modem provided by local cable companies in connection with RACSA (Radiografica Costarricense), ADSL and RDSI provided by the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) - the telephone company and parent of RACSA or by dial up provided by RACSA. The cost can be as high as $1 per minute for dial up, while monthly for both dial up and ADSL, cable or RDSI can be as low as $15 per month. Whichever method is used to connect. Internet cafés can range from anywhere from ¢200 colones (us$0.44 cents) to ¢450 colones (us$1) per hour in the San José area to as much as ¢2.000 Colones (us$4.40) at the beach.

Coastal Land Prices Continue to Rise

Property prices along the northern Pacific coast continued to soar in the past 12 months, with realtors reporting in some cases prime oceanfront real estate almost doubling in price. Most coastal property -- developed as well as vacant lots, moderately priced and high-end housing, plus condominiums and office space -- enjoyed healthy 20 to 40 per cent increases. Titled oceanfront and good quality, ocean-view lots have increased by up to 100 per cent. Inventory in some sectors is scarce forcing realtors to develop their own projects to keep up with demand.

Condominium projects remain amongst the most popular with most buyers purchasing from plans in the pre-construction stage. There are few completed condominiums for sale.

The face of the buyer has changed with many coming to Costa Rica to buy, build and live, rather than the quick re-sales and profit taking of recent years. The easy access to Liberia Airport and availability of a US-curriculum school has meant many buyers are families.

In Tamarindo there is a rush to build office space, with more than 60 units scheduled for completion in the next 12 months.
" I believe this is the beginning of time in Costa Rica," says Bob Davey of Century 21 in Flamingo. "The mystery is over and the secret is out. " Davey was one of broad cross-sections of brokers who spoke to The Beach Times this week about real estate along the Gold Coast, what's happened in the past 12 months and what is forecast for the future. Our special report can be found in the Feature Section.

In 2004, tourism confirmed its key role in the economy of Costa Rica.

This sector allowed for several economic and social factors not to be as negative as they would have been, by counteracting the effects of the extremely high prices of oil, which according to several analysts and the Central Bank affected in no less than 1 percent the growth of economy.

Meanwhile, tourism experienced a 16 percent to 20 percent hike from 2003, with an estimated 1.48 million visitors.

This represents income for us$1.45 billion, as compared to us$1.2 billion in 2003. This also means that while dollars from tourism accounted for 19 percent of the exports in 2003, in 2004 the figure was 20 percent - 8.7 percent of the gross domestic product - almost three times the banana exports and more than eight times coffee exports.

Costa Rican gourmet coffee was exposed to the world in the 116th Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, on January 1.
This was so because the Starbucks float featured the quality of Tico coffee and the work of the grower families to offer consumers the best.