Costa Rica Chamber of Commerce

The first day, we woke up early and had a nice healthy fruit breakfast and then we set sail for the heart of San Jose to do a little souvenir shopping before we visited the Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce.  At the Chamber of Commerce, we learned the nuts and bolts of the Costa Rican history and economy, which broke down into several main topics including innovation, protecting the environment, investing in education and looking to the future.

I was absolutely amazed at Costa Rica’s ability to think outside of the box as their country has made calculated decisions to position their country as a leader in Latin America.  My favorite case in point is that the government kicked out the military in 1949. This provided political stability, which has had tremendous ripple effects then and now.  One example of this is that instead of Costa Rica spending taxpayer’s money on an army and wars they are now able to proudly invest about 6% percent of Costa Rica’s GDP in education which directly translates into their astonishing 96% literacy rate.  Costa Rica has also taken the initiative and has become a world leader in protecting the environment as 92% of their energy derives from renewable sources! It was apparent that every business, hotel, and restaurant drilled the importance of sustainability and green energy into our heads.  We learned in the Chamber of Commerce that Costa Rica has a goal to be carbon-neutral by the year 2021!! Everywhere, we went there were recycling bins and no air conditioning.  In particular, the Hotel Buena Vista kept the dining room and gift shop lights off throughout the day and guests had to hang the keys on a clip to turn the lights on in each room.  In addition, glass bottles were to be returned to stores and the consumers were given a large discount on the next beverage.  One can only imagine that if these ideas/programs were federal mandates in the United States, how much revenue could be generated to invest in education and poverty, instead of continuing budget cuts.

Moreover, Costa Rica is looking forward to the future as it is now one of the top business leaders in Latin America.  This can be attributed to Costa Rica’s government strong focus on receiving foreign investments.  Currently, Costa Rica ranks second in foreign investment, only behind Panama.  The injection of foreign investments can increase exporting more goods and services such as Intel products and medical devices.  Costa Rica is also developing a plan to diversify export destinations to include China, Korea, and the rest of the Asian Block while it is constructing a Free Trade Agreement with China.  As well as, the Chamber of Commerce also is planning on building a new port to take advantage of the expansion of the Panama Canal in 2016.  It is now apparent that Costa Rica has been taking the necessary steps to thrive a nation and maintains its ability to adapt in an unstable age when the international business steams forward with globalization.