Amazon and Costa Rica join forces to attract more American tourists

The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) revealed a new strategic alliance with Amazon, marking a milestone as it is the first time that the tech giant and its supermarket chain, ‘Whole Foods’, collaborate with a tourist destination. This initiative aims to highlight Costa Rica’s natural wonders on the company’s digital platforms and supermarkets, seeking to attract more American visitors.

Carolina Trejos, Director of Marketing at ICT, shared that the partnership came about because of the affinity between Amazon and Costa Rica on key issues such as sustainability and the promotion of healthy lifestyles. “It’s something totally innovative to stand out from all the other destinations. It’s the first time a destination has managed to have coverage on so many channels,” said Trejos.

As part of the campaign, the well-known country brand ‘Essential Costa Rica’ is presented when customers use the Amazon Prime platform to make purchases at ‘Whole Foods’ supermarkets. In addition, the items purchased are delivered in recyclable and compostable paper bags, hand-decorated with images of Costa Rican tourist attractions.

The initiative will cover about 500 Whole Foods stores in cities such as Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. A million paper bags with illustrations of volcanoes, butterflies, hummingbirds, sloths, waterfalls, turtles, starfish, palm trees, flowers, papaya and cocoa trees will be distributed.

In addition, as part of the promotion strategy, videos about Costa Rica have been produced and will be available on the Amazon Prime platform. These videos will be complemented by audio that will be streamed through the Alexa platform, in the physical stores of Whole Foods supermarkets and at electric vehicle charging stations.

Trejos noted that the outbreak of the pandemic led to changes in the way travelers choose their destinations, which has prompted Costa Rica to innovate in its promotion strategy. “Tourists have an interest beyond visiting a place. They want places with their own benefits in terms of experience, and that’s where Costa Rica has a very valuable positioning and has been promoting that as one of its differentials: contact with nature and special experiences,” he explained.

The United States, which accounts for nearly 60% of total annual visitors, remains the main source of tourists to Costa Rica. Official projections suggest that by 2023, the Central American country will reach or exceed the figure of 3.1 million tourists recorded in 2019, the year before the pandemic.

K. Tovar

Source: Bancaynegocios

(Reference image source: Christian Wiediger, Unsplash)

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