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Dear Christopher,
Christopher Howard invites you to the January
2005 Tours
Inland Valley Tour January 26-31
$1,299
February 2005
Inland Valley Tour February 23-26
$1,299
Central Pacific Beach Tour February 19-26
$1,899
Combination Central Pacific Beach Tour and
Inland Valley February 19-28 Tour $2,399
* All tours include a two-day Seminar
Order it now HERE
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Human development |
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Progress in Human Development - Costa Rica
climbed just one bit in the Human Development Index
of the United Nations Program for Development, as
compared to the one disclosed last year, but kept
her steady upward trend since the Index was first
published in 1990. The assessment is based on data
from two years before and the grades range from 0
to 1 when Costa Rica was graded 0.834 in 2004, as
compared to 0.832 in 2003. The variables considered
for the Index include life expectancy, access to
education, and income. In Latin America, only
Argentina and Chile did better than Costa Rica, which
is 45th among 177 nations. According to the figures,
Costa Rica is among the "countries with high human
development," since it is among the top 55 nations in
the Index.
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Costa Rica No. 2 in Internet use in Latin America |
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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.
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Tourism Up 20% |
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The Cámara Nacional de Turismo (Canatur)
announced that, though conditions are not that
great, the tourism sector say a 20% increase this
year.
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Coastal Land Prices Continue to Rise |
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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.
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Tourism Leads as Dollar Earner |
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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.
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Tico Coffee on Rose Parade |
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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.
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Costa Rica South Pacific |
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Where property is still affordable
Where mountains touch the sea
6% of the world's land mass
3% of the word's nature
Contact Robert toll free at
1 877 815 1535
Learn More
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The Logical First Step to Living in Costa Rica |
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A Christopher Howard tour is like an ongoing
seminar, he is with you all the way.
Sign up HERE...
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