Costa Rica is getting ready to receive 7.4% more cruise ships this season than the previous one, according to Tourism Minister Carlos Benavides.

Training programs are under way to provide cruise ship tourists better security, an issue that took the national spotlight in February when a tourist fresh off a ship in the Caribbean port of Limón killed a man who attempted to rob a bus carrying him and 11 other tourists (TT, Feb. 23).

“For a few months, we have been working with Tourism Police to have better security at ports and increase the number of police in these areas,” the minister told the daily La República.

The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) is projecting that Costa Rica will receive 232 cruise ships during this season, which runs from October through April, a 7.4% increase over the 216 cruise ships that arrived last season.

So far, 138 ships are scheduled to arrive to Limón, up from last season's 127, while 94 are scheduled to arrive to the Pacific port of Puntarenas, also an increase over last season's 89.

Tourism is one of the main drivers of the Costa Rican economy, bringing in about $1.6 billion per year from 1.6 million visitors.

-ACAN-EFE and Tico Times