Flown in from Florida: JetBlue's first Central America flight is parked Thursday at Juan Santamaría International Airport.

Ronald Reyes | Tico Times

U.S. budget airline JetBlue made its first nonstop flight from Orlando, Florida to Alajuela's Juan Santamaría International Airport amid much fanfare Thursday, an event imbued by the local tourism sector with great hope amid a tourism slump driven by the U.S. recession.

Juan Santamaría, west of San José, and Daniel Oduber International Airport, in Liberia, in the northwestern Guanacaste province, both reported a 13 percent drop in tourists during the first two months of 2009, the daily La República reported Thursday.

As if to spite the gloomy numbers, JetBlue launched its San José route with a celebration including balloons and children dancing traditional Tico dances such as El Punto Guanacasteco.

Incongruously, security was so tight that reporters were prevented from seeing the actual landing and disembarking of passengers from JetBlue's historic flight, it's first to Central America.

To attract customers, JetBlue is holding a two-week sale offering $73 tickets each way from San José to Orlando, Florida. To receive the rate, trips must be taken between April 14 and June 17. The sale started Thursday and it ends on April 8, 2009. The average price for this route is $139 each way.

“In a time when airlines are moving away or closing down operations, Costa Rica is keeping airlines, increasing flights and routes… That's a good sign for us,” said Costa Rican Tourism Minister Carlos Benavides, in December, a sentiment he shared this week as well.