An Insider’s Advice on Early Planning for the Holidays.

Christmas vacation – or the winter holidays – may be the last thing on your mind right now. Here in Costa Rica, it’s already time for the tourism industry to start preparing for the busiest two weeks in the calendar year. The second the high season rush slows enough for some breathing room, travel agencies start to make their bids on “Peak Season” rooms at the most popular hotels, more than half a year in advance. As many Costa Rica Hotels are at full capacity throughout the country during Christmas vacation, it is traditionally a sure bet, though the current economic situation adds a bit of risk to the game.

Once an agency becomes the proud reservee of hundreds of luxury hotel rooms, they treat them like hot potatoes – the more that leave their hands, the less pressure the company has as the Christmas season nears. However, they want to be sure to have enough availability left over come last minute booking time, as limited availability leads to inflated prices. It is a delicate science, and the more you understand as a traveler, the better chance you have of getting a great deal on your Christmas vacation to Costa Rica.

This year, 2009, may see many travel agencies left empty handed come November as last year’s recession hit just in time to leave many with tens of thousands of dollars in hotel rooms with no buyers. While the buy out has still been significant so far, agencies like Costa Rican Vacations have admitted to slimming their budgets a bit this year with a more conservative estimate on demand.

What does this mean to the average traveler? The early bird wins. Take advantage of the uncertain economic climate by booking your Christmas vacation sooner rather than later this year. As world tourism fell by nearly 7% this year, many hotels in the region decided to take proactive action offering discounts and specials throughout the year that are usually only seen during the low season (May through November). Should consumer confidence continue on the increase, the demand for luxury travel over the holidays will be what it once was, and hotels will likely increase their rates to make up for a difficult year.

On top of that, it is always better to purchase flights early for the holidays. At the moment, round trip flights spanning the Christmas holiday are just slightly higher than the current bargain prices. Here are some cheap holiday flights to Costa Rica that can be found currently on CheapTickets.com:

• Washington D.C. (WAS) to San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO):
  - Dec. 17 to Dec. 25: $274
  - Dec. 22 to Dec. 31: $331
  - Dec. 20 to Dec. 27: $346

• New York City (NYC) to San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO)
  - Dec. 16 to Dec. 25: $307
  - Dec. 24 to Dec. 31: $307

• Miami (MIA) to San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO)
  - Dec. 17 to Dec. 26: $199
  - Dec. 24 to Dec. 31: $199

• Los Angeles (LAX) to San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO)
  - Dec. 16 to Dec. 25: $297
  - Dec. 24 to Dec. 31: $297
  - Dec. 22 to Dec. 28: $391

So if you’ve always dreamed of trading in those frosty nights for sunny days at the beach, this year may be the perfect time to get what you want at regular season prices; but you better get planning now! For ideas for your Christmas vacation to Costa Rica, try the Holidays section on:

http://www.vacationscostarica.com/christmas_inventory.htm

This post's rating:

Related Stories

Filed under: Travel on May 15th, 2009