Costa Rica News – The welcome tourists get upon stepping out of the Juan Santamaria International Airport is seen as helpful by some but overwhelming by the majority.
It’s impossible to walk without someone stopping you every few seconds to offer a service. These are the airport vultures……
Often multiple people are speaking over each other to the same tourist, fighting for the chance to help someone with bags for a tip or give them a ride in a taxi or minibus that doesn’t have permission to work at the airport.
The police recently found 106 unauthorized operators. 4,000 tourists arrive daily and are received by an abundance of people shouting at them. Some offer food, others lottery tickets and still others try to rent out their cell phones. Visitors deserve a better welcome to the country than to be harassed by aggressive sales!
Legally, these activities have been prohibited since 2001.
The only people allowed on the access roads and surrounding streets are those official taxis (the orange ones) which are given just two minutes to drop off and pick up passengers.
