Información Institucional - Instituto Costarricense de Turismo

Objective:

Manage in the best way possible financial and physical resources, as well as Talent, which support institutional tasks in an effective and efficient manner, as well as the management of the internal administrative systems, implementing strategies that guarantee their efficient use, under the principles of transparency, legality, and rational use of the resources.

The Director, middle management, and all work associates have the responsibility of providing material and financial resources, as well as performing the adequate recruiting and selection processes to provide intellectual capital to the different units of ICT, to comply with the institutional objectives and targets. This means that work teams from each area that are structured to guarantee inter agency processes are a reality in every Institution, guaranteeing every technical solution within its reach.

Some of its tasks are:

Collaborate in the implementation of policies, programs, procedures, and financial - administrative systems and methods approved by the authorities of the institution.
Supervise the revenue and expense budget of the institution, as well as any modification.
Provide financial resources to perform the operation, in accordance with the budget approved for each dependency of the Institute.
Supervise the registry and control operation of taxpayers and collection of taxes.
Manage and supervise the preparation of financial statements and other reports for the administration and operation of the institute, transferred to the General Management.
Supervise and control the custody and safe keep ICT assets, securities, checks, and other bonds of similar nature.
Monitor the efficiency of the services provided to the Administration, like the acquisitions, transport administration, surveillance, and others.
Become a part of the internal and external commissions related to the activities of this dependency.

The following are a part of this Administration:

Revenue Department

Revenue Regulation Unit

Talent Management Department

Work Organization Management Unit

Administrative Department

Procurement Unit

Financial Department

Accounting Unit

The Department of Certifications and Social Responsibility in the Tourism Industry concentrates on the topic of environmental and social responsibility from the State, as a way to contribute to the development of tourist activities that take place within a sustainable framework in regards to the economy, society, culture, and environment, allowing the improvement of the quality of life of our citizens.

Objective of the Department:

Watch over the development of Tourist Certification processes in every sector with valid standards, through the Ecological Blue Flag program, the implementation of the Code of Conduct to Protect Children and Adolescents from Commercial Sexual Exploitation, the Institutional Environmental Management Plan, and the promotion of the Social Responsibility in the Tourism Industry, as common practices within the companies of the sector.

The processes in charge are:

Promotion of Standards and Quality Systems
Monitoring the competitiveness of tourism companies
Institutional Environmental Management
National Strategy for Climate Change
Increase sensitivity and awareness
Social Responsibility in the Tourism Industry
Certification for Sustainable Tourism in its different categories (induction, accompaniment, evaluation, and follow-up).
Development of specific implementations or improvements to the CST Program
Ecologic Blue Flag Program, Beach category.
Code of Conduct
Research on topics related to Sustainability
Training on topics related to Sustainability

Sustainability

Certifications and Tourist Social Responsibility, is the department responsible on the theme of Sustainability in the institution for what it plans, executes and monitors the Certification for Tourism Sustainability (CST), Ecological Blue Flag Program, Beaches category and the Program of the Code of Conduct, the topic of Climate Change and Institutional Environmental Management.

It also conducts awareness and awareness workshops on sustainable tourism and environmental issues and is the benchmark in climate change, corporate social responsibility and Institutional Environmental Management.

It has the website: www.turismo-sostenible.co.cr where you can see everything related to the Certification for Tourism Sustainability (CST).

CST Tourism Sustainability

Ecological Blue Flag Program

Code of conduct

The purpose of this area is to carry out and monitor the marketing and promotion actions set out by the Board.

Objective of the process:

Carry out activities related to advertising Costa Rica as a tourism destination at the domestic and international level.

This area is in charge of the following processes:

Participation in international fairs and events to strengthen the image and positioning of the destination, and negotiations to incorporate Costa Rica into marketing chains.
Tourism expo fair programs.
Cooperative campaign program and relationships with wholesalers and airlines.
Public relations with national and international scopes, to promote and manage the image of the destination.
Assist international press groups touring the country to gain exposure for tourism products in the media through earned publicity.
Assistance for "fam trips" of international travel agencies or wholesalers, in coordination with tour operators and associations, resulting in exposure for the country’s destinations and the attractions and raising awareness of group facilities.
Promotional presentations of Costa Rica as a destination for international travel agencies, in order to provide the needed tools to contribute to the marketing of the destinations and generate more visits.
Support to commercial partners, chambers, associations and private companies in local events related to promotion and tourism activities in different regions.

The purpose of this unit is to lead planning processes for tourism development in the country, to generate information for decision-making processes, to plan and inspect the maritime-terrestrial zone, to monitor the plans, and to develop competitive initiatives in the tourism sector.

One of its main objectives is to manage the construction process of the tourism plans as agreed technical instruments for public management, for which procedures are developed and implemented to design plans, manage information and discussion channels with the private sector, coordinate with Corporate Chambers, coordinate with other State institutions, and consultation and discussion processes.

The Directorate is primarily in charge of keeping the different plans updated, like the land use general plan in the ZMT, development plans by planning units, municipal action plans, tourism roads and circuit plans, coastal regulation plans, and in particular, the national tourism plan, incorporating changes and adjustments as deemed necessary in virtue of the changing situations of the environment, promoting the design and establishing policies that will orient tourism development, and managing and administrating space for tourism in the country.

The management supervises two dependencies directly:

Tourism Planning Department

Tourism Development Department

The main purpose of this division is to provide different clients with information and assistance on issues related to the inclusion of various businesses and activities in the tourism field. It also deals with procedures related to tax incentives in accordance with current regulations, policies and strategies. In addition, it is responsible for implementing tourism competitiveness programs.

Department objective:

To supply various investors and business leaders with information and assistance on issues related to the tourism sector, carrying out the procedures to deal with their requests in accordance with current regulations, policies and strategies.

Processes performed by the department:

Advising on application procedures for Tourism Incentives and other incentives arising from the benefits granted under the Law on Incentives for Tourism Development.
Providing information and advice to tourism businesses on obtaining a Tourism Declaration, allowing them to apply for the benefits of the Tourism Contract and other procedures administered by this agency.
Carrying out monitoring and inspections on-site with the purpose of verifying establishments’ compliance of the Tourism Declaration or Tourism Contract with the existing legislation, namely the Regulation of Tourism Businesses and Activities or the Regulation to the Incentive Law and its amendments, as well as other government agencies.
Handling procedures for Ordinary Administrative Procedures with respect to the revocation or possible sanctions to businesses with a Tourism Declaration or Contract.
Handling tax settlement and vehicle fleet substitution procedures for vehicle rental companies.
Reviewing Annual Reports and Purchase Plans in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation to Law no. 6990 and its amendments.
Coordinating established control procedures with other agencies (Ministry of the Treasury, IMAS) with respect to donations of exonerated goods.
Monitoring the quality system in force and evaluating, classifying and advising various businesses and tourism activities based on established official guidelines and the appropriate distribution of evaluation manuals.
Informing and advising various sectoral groups by communicating current tourism legislation, policies and strategies.
Preparing queries made by state institutions and the general public.
Approving the accreditation of Tourist Guides in accordance with the legal provisions in force.
Advising tourism transportation business leaders on the procedures to obtain the Certificate of Land Transportation for Tourists granted by this Department.
Inspecting and verifying compliance among businesses that have obtained the Certificate of Land Transportation for Tourists.