Three of Spain’s biggest hotel chains have announced plans to expand in Costa Rica promising to bring more than $1 billion dollars in development. The news comes as no surprise to the ever so popular tourist destination as the number of European tourists is increasing each year as they flock to the country’s gorgeous beaches and biologically diverse rain forests. Spanish tourists, in particular, are even more common and the inclusion of these well-known Spanish brands is expected to coax more to make the cross-Atlantic voyage.

Minister Rodrigo Arias has announced that the Executive Power presented a new bill to the Legislative Assembly that would eliminate the 97.59 colones tax that is now imposed on Diesel fuel, and that in turn, regular and super gas prices would rise, directly affecting regular commuters; a decision might prove to be difficult to swallow by some.

The magical world of Disney has now expanded it’s Magic Kingdom beyond U.S. boundaries. Disney now offers all-inclusive vacations to Costa Rica. The new guided vacation tour packages have been designed for families to take the hassle out of planning a vacation that every member of the family will enjoy. Adventure’s by Disney offers vacations all over the world to countries such as China, Australia, England, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Peru, Costa Rica and more. With Costa Rica tourism sky rocketing it’s no wonder that the little Latin American gem was Disney’s next choice in guided vacations.

The FINANCIAL -- IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), [LON: IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] one of the world's largest hotel groups by number of rooms, and the Medical Tourism Association, an international, non-profit association made up of the top international hospitals, insurance companies, healthcare companies, medical tourism companies, and other affiliated companies, on June 5 announced that the organizations have joined to spearhead an initiative to facilitate medical-related travel into Latin America. 

Under the recently ratified Central America Free Trade Agreement, Costa Rica’s law making body must enact a series of laws to put them in accordance with the other treaty nations. Some of these individual laws will force previously-monopolized sectors (i.e. ICE’s former telecom monopoly) to open up to private national and international companies, causing quite a stir among the employees and advocates of these state-run institutions.