Semana Santa Claus may not come to town

Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is huge in Costa Rica. From what I understand, the country completely shuts down, and everyone heads to the beach. As such, it's a critical week for the country's tourism industry, which is having a tough year with the economic slowdown. As I wrote earlier this week for The Tico Times, Semana Santa may be a disappointment for many tourism outlets this season (sorry for the brutal pun in the headline, but I couldn't resist):

For many tourism outlets throughout the country, Semana Santa, or Easter
Week, is traditionally a final shot at full hotel rooms and busy restaurants,
before the heavy rains of the green season wash away the crowds.

This year, however, the economic slump has hit the tourism industry
hard. With an eye on their wallets, many travelers have elected to stay home in
order to save a couple bucks, and Easter Week is shaping up to be no
exception.

According to the National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR), 71.2 percent of
tourism-related businesses report that reservations are down compared to last
year's Semana Santa.

The chamber, which surveyed 52 tourism outlets, said that 19.2 percent
of businesses reported similar numbers as last year, while 3.8 have seen
reservations rise.

Those that reported a decrease saw reservations decline by an average
of 38.1 percent compared with last year. Hardest hit were tour guides, car
rental agencies and hotels, the chamber said.

Sue Kalmbach, owner of La Paloma Lodge in Drake Bay, on the Southern
Zone's Osa Peninsula, says reservations are down 50 percent compared to last
year's Easter Week. More and more tourists are waiting later to make
reservations, however, so she hopes that things will pick up over the next
week.

“We are exceptionally slow this year,” Kalmbach said. “I think people
are waiting, and I hope that, little by little, they keep coming.”