Iberia Receives Special Award from Costa Rican Government

President Oscar Arias of Costa Rica handed Iberia a special award “in recognition of the pioneering airline in opening the European tourist market to Costa Rica”, in the words of the Costa Rica Institute of Tourism.

Silvia Cairo, the Spanish airline’s international sales manager, accepted the award during the opening ceremonies of Costa Rica’s 25th annual Expotur tourism marketing fair.

Iberia has flown to Costa Rica since June, 1973, and in recent years has operated a daily direct flight from Madrid. In 2008 it carried a total of 190,000 passengers on the route, a 21 percent increase in the year. In 2009 capacity on the route will exceed 215,000 seats.

Some 55 percent of Iberia’s Costa Rica-bound passengers come from European countries other than Spain, reflecting the Spanish airline’s importance in connecting the Central American country to Europe, where Iberia serves 42 destinations.

In order of importance, the countries with the most passengers using the Madrid-San Jose route were France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and the United Kingdom. All posted increases in 2008, the largest being in France (54 percent), Italy (45 percent) and Germany (42 percent). The number of Turkish passengers on the route tripled, while those from Russia grew by 155 percent, those from Austria by 65 percent, and those originating in Portugal by 57 percent.