53 Costa Rica tourism businesses signed the Ethics Code.

Fifty-three tourism companies in Costa Rica have agreed to uphold the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

At the 55th meeting of the Commission of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for the Americas, held for the first time in Costa Rica from May 13-15, 2013, the national tourism companies signed the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (GCET), committing to the development of responsible and sustainable tourism. The GCET is composed of 10 principles that guide governments, the travel industry, communities and tourists in economic, social, cultural and environmental components of tourism.

Adopted in 1999 by the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization, the GCET is not legally binding. The Code is voluntary and is governed by the World Committee on Tourism Ethics (WCTE), to which stakeholders may refer matters concerning the application and interpretation of the document.

Members of the World Committee for 2012-2013 were elected by the UNWTO Regional Commissions and the UNWTO Affiliate Members, and endorsed by the UNWTO General Assembly at its 19th session in October 2011. Members represent UNWTO's six Regional Commissions – Africa, Americas, East Asia & Pacific, Europe, Middle East, and South Asia. For the Americas, the Committee Member is Mr. Hermes Navarro del Valle of Costa Rica.

"UNWTO is guided by the belief that tourism can make a meaningful contribution to people's lives and our planet. This conviction is at the very heart of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, a roadmap for tourism development," states UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai (2010-present) on UNWTO's website. 

On the UNWTO website there is an excellent brochure called "Practical Tips for the Global Traveler" that highlights the principles of the GCET directly related to tourists, in order to help guide travelers in making their behavior more responsible. The brochure is downloadable in PDF format and is available in 5 languages.

Tour operators, hotels, travel agencies and rent-a-car companies were some of the Costa Rican tourism businesses who agreed on a voluntary basis to the guidelines. Top Costa Rica surf school, Del Mar Surf Camp, was one of those that signed the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism. Del Mar is affiliated with Costa Rica's National Tourism Chamber, the Costa Rican Tourism Board, the International Surfing Association, and the Central Pacific Chamber of Commerce.

Del Mar Surf Camp specializes in Costa Rica surf vacations for beginners and advanced surfers, family and group vacations, women-only trips, yoga-surf retreats, stand-up paddle programs, and day surf lessons. They operate in three locations in Costa Rica: Hermosa Beach on the Central Pacific Coast, Santa Teresa Beach on the Pacific's Nicoya Peninsula, and Nosara Beach on the Guanacaste Pacific Coast.

Get away from your daily routine of life, have fun on an adventure, experience new places, make new friends, and create memories that will last a lifetime on a Costa Rica surf vacation.

The GCET's 10 principles are:

• Article 1: Tourism's contribution to mutual understanding and respect between peoples and societies: It promotes responsible tourism that adheres to ethical values common to humanity, and tolerance and respect for diversity. It also states that it is the task of public authorities to protect tourists and visitors and their belongings. Tourists and visitors have the responsibility to acquaint themselves, even before their departure, with the characteristics of the countries they are preparing to visit, and host communities must respect the tourists who visit them.
• Article 2: Tourism as a vehicle for individual and collective fulfillment: It states that travel is an irreplaceable factor of self-education, mutual tolerance and for learning about the legitimate differences between peoples and cultures and their diversity; it advocates respect for equality and human rights.
• Article 3: Tourism, a factor of sustainable development: It mandates safeguarding the natural environment.
• Article 4: Tourism, a user of the cultural heritage of mankind and contributor to its enhancement: Tourism policies and activities should be conducted with respect for the artistic, archaeological and cultural heritage, which they should protect and pass on to future generations.
• Article 5: Tourism, a beneficial activity for host countries and communities: Tourism policies should be applied in such a way as to help to raise the standard of living of the populations of the regions visited and meet their needs.
• Article 6: Obligations of stakeholders in tourism development: Tourism professionals have an obligation to provide tourists with objective and honest information on their places of destination and on the conditions of travel, hospitality and stays.
• Article 7: Right to tourism: The discovery and enjoyment of the planet's resources constitutes a right equally open to all of the world's inhabitants.
• Article 8: Liberty of tourist movements: Tourists and visitors should have the liberty to move within their countries and from one State to another, in accordance with Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and without being subject to excessive formalities or discrimination.
• Article 9: Rights of the workers and entrepreneurs in the tourism industry: The fundamental rights of salaried and self-employed workers in the tourism industry and related activities should be guaranteed under the supervision of the national and local administrations.
• Article 10: Implementation of the principles of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism: The public and private stakeholders in tourism development should cooperate in the implementation of these principles and monitor their effective application.

By Shannon Farley

Costa Rican Surfer Rises to Top 10 in World Rankings

Costa Rica surfer Carlos Muñoz has made it to the top 10 in the Junior Men’s World Ranking of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP). The 20-year-old rising star surfer is currently tied at ninth place in the world in the Junior Men’s Division with eight other surfers from Australia, Hawaii, Brazil, USA and Japan.


Nicknamed “The Flying Costa Rican” by Surfer Today, the team Red Bull surfer has been spotlighted by the youth sportswear company Volcom as one of the “up-and-coming talents expected to emerge as the next generation of surfing professionals.” Muñoz, whose real nickname is “Cali”, was described by Surfing Magazine as “a Costa Rican teenager with his fingers on the pulse of the good life.” “Cali” moved from Granada, Nicaragua to Costa Rica with his parents when he was 2-months-old, and now lives in Playa Esterillos Oeste, just south of Jaco Beach on Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast.

He got into surfing by accident at age 10 when some friends invited him to try the waves right out in front of his little beach town. “I didn’t even like the ocean that much. I did it because my friends invited me one day,” says Muñoz on the team Red Bull website. “I didn’t even make it out to the line-up; I was pinned to the shore.” After his mother bought Muñoz his first surfboard, he quickly showed natural talent and began winning a string of national competitions, including Mini-Grommets (2005), Grommets (2006), Boys (2007 and 2009), Junior (2008 and 2009), and Open (2009).



In a country with hundreds of miles of coastline, and living near some of the top surfing beaches, Muñoz had plenty of opportunity to hone his skills. His aerial stunts have earned him the “Flying Costa Rican” nickname in the international surfing community. At just 16-years-old, he won first place at the March 2010 VQS Volcom Pro Junior Championship in Newport Beach, California. In April 2010, he won ninth place in the ISA World Surfing Games in the junior category.

Muñoz took third place at the Quiksilver Surf Pro Acapulco in July 2011. Then he went on to score a perfect “10” at the world-famous Volcom Pipe Pro 2012 international surfing competition in Hawaii, at the famed Pipeline wave on Oahu’s North Shore. Beating out 64 surfers from around the globe, Muñoz won the “highest single wave of the day” on January 29, 2012. During the event, he also picked up the “Todd Chesser Hard Charger Sportsmanship Award” for his performance. Chesser was a big wave surfer in Hawaii who died surfing in 1997.



“Cali” was named the best Latin-American surfer in history in Ecuador, and won first place in the ASP Air Walk Lancanau Pro Junior competition in France in August 2012. Most recently, Muñoz tied for 13^th place with 3 other surfers in the North Shore Surf Shop Pro Junior by Rusty Surfboards, held this year January 17-26 at famed Sunset Beach in Oahu, Hawaii. Next up for the young pro will be the Ron Jon Quiksilver Junior Pro competition, March 6-10 at Sheppard Beach and Cocoa Beach in Florida. On the team Red Bull website Muñoz says, “My philosophy of life is enjoy every single moment in life, be humble and appreciate the people around you.” Learn to surf in Costa Rica!



Learn to surf like “Cali” in the renowned waves of Jaco and Hermosa beaches with Del Mar Surfing Academy. Costa Rica’s Del Mar Surfing Academy is one of the country’s top surf schools for teens (ages 13-19). Based in surfing hotspot Hermosa Beach on the Central Pacific Coast, Del Mar Surfing Academy offers 7-night and 14-night surf camps perfect for beginners up to advanced surfers. While the core element of the camps is surfing, the program also focuses on Spanish language and cultural immersion. Del Mar Surfing Academy offers a second camp location at award-winning Playa Santa Teresa on the Nicoya Peninsula.

Both locations are two of the prettiest tropical beaches in Costa Rica with warm water, playful waves and a friendly, fun and safe atmosphere. Sister company Del Mar Surf Camp runs surf vacations, yoga-surf retreats, and day surf lessons for adults, women and families at Hermosa Beach, Santa Teresa Beach and Nosara Beach.

By Shannon Farley

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In Search of Warm: Costa Rica's Sun Gives Winter Relief

Headlines this week reported most of North America, Europe and even China locked in winter’s icy grip.

• A mix of sleet and snow, accompanied by lightning, made travel a mess in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metro area.
• A swath of snowfall from portions of Mississippi and northern Alabama/Georgia spreads through the Central Appalachians.
• Trees snap in Maryland due to ice accumulation.
• 3-6 inches of snow expected from Boston to Maine.
• Cold for most of Europe, snow in parts of Spain.
• Britain will have another very cold day with morning freezing fog patches and widespread frost and snow.
• China is experiencing unusual chills this winter with its national average temperature hitting the lowest in 28 years.
• Weather websites reported 3 C (37 F) in Toronto, 0 C (32 F) and 3 C (37 F) in Vancouver, Canada.

On the other hand, today’s weather on Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast was 90 F (32 C) and sunny, and 80 F (27 C) at San Jose’s International Airport.



Sun, glorious sun – this time of year Costa Rica’s climate shines in its entire golden tropical summer splendor. Dry season is definitely in effect and not a drop of rain has been seen along the Pacific Coast or in the Central Valley in more than a month. In the mountains above 6,500 feet (2,000 meters), you get cooler temperatures than on the coast, but Costa Rica is unequivocally a tropical country. Situated between 8° and 11° northern latitude, Costa Rica is just above the equator.



Costa Rica occupies a privileged spot in the heart of Central America along the Pacific Ring of Fire – sound warm enough? Dense rainforests, volcanoes, beaches, exotic wildlife, rich tropical flora, and friendly people populate this wondrous country. It’s the third most popular destination for surfing after Hawaii and Indonesia. With 762 miles of coastlines spread along the Pacific and the Caribbean oceans, you get thousands of opportunities for warm water, balmy weather and excellent year-round waves.
Don't just dream of sunshine. If you need a winter pick-me-up, seek Costa Rica’s “winter” sun to relax and chase winter blues away.
 

Del Mar Surf Camp will give you a holiday you won’t soon forget. The top Costa Rica surf school specializes in Costa Rica surf vacation packages, yoga-surf retreats and day surf lessons for adults, women-only and families. Its sister company, Del Mar Surfing Academy, offers 7-night and 14-night surf and cultural/language immersion camps for teens.

With Del Mar Surf Camp, you will surf every day in warm water with locals who have surfed the waves their whole lives, plus learn to speak Spanish and enjoy area tours. Del Mar Surf Camp provides various packages for beginners/intermediate surfers, advanced surfers, women only, families, groups and more. Though there is a schedule, camp dates also are run on an “anytime you want” basis (discounts given for Saturday arrival).



One of the best points is Del Mar Surf Camp has three locations, increasing your vacation choices, on Hermosa Beach on the Central Pacific Coast, Nosara Beach on the Guanacaste Pacific Coast and Santa Teresa Beach on the Pacific’s southern Nicoya Peninsula.

Del Mar Surf Camp offers Summer Specials packages, with great discounts, to celebrate their 10^th anniversary in 2013. Domestic flights and transfers to all of Del Mar’s locations are included in all surf vacation packages.

Getting to Costa Rica couldn’t be easier right now with daily flights from North America cities of Houston, Dallas, New York/Newark, Atlanta, Miami, Los Angeles, Denver, Toronto on United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Spirit Airlines, JetBlue, Frontier Airlines, US Airways, TACA, Lacsa, and Copa Air. From Europe, Iberia, KLM, Air France, and British Airways fly to Costa Rica.
By Shannon Farley

Surf + Pilates Slideshow, Del Mar Surf Camp

Surf + Pilates Slideshow: EnchantingHotels’s trip to Santa Teresa was created with TripAdvisor TripWow!

Are you ready to make these vacations transformational and empowering?

Any Olympic athlete or professional athlete, or high school or university athlete, or even a child on a sports team for that matter, has a coach. Actors have coaches. Singers and dancers have coaches or trainers. Over the past decades, executives and businesspersons have joined the ranks of seeking coaching for success. In today’s modern world, there is Business Coaching, Financial Coaching, Executive Coaching, Career Coaching, Expat & Global Coaching for those living and working in another culture, Personal Coaching, Health Coaching, and even Dating Coaching. Now, here’s a new twist – Adventure Coaching. On Costa Rica’s surf-fringed Central Pacific Coast, at Hermosa Beach, surf school Del Mar Surf Camp is adding “Personal Coaching Sessions” to all of its surf vacations and surf programs. “Adventures like surfing, or canopy tours, or even bungee jumping for instance, can create mental and emotional breakthroughs from the physical adventure,” said Life and Business Coach Paola Castro. “The environment of Playa Hermosa invites you to contemplate the abundance of life. It’s the perfect environment for these sessions. And if you’re faced with activities like surfing, you are physically challenging yourself.” Castro, Costa Rica born and also a surfer, uses the activity of surfing as a metaphorical window into the person’s life. If they had a good day or a frustrating day … how does that show up in their life and work, she explains. She calls the concept “Adventure Coaching”. “Coaching comes from high-performance athletes,” explains Castro. “Thirty years ago in the USA, executives said if high-performance athletes have coaches, why don’t executives in companies and people in their personal lives have coaches?”
 
Coaching is a teaching or training process in which an individual gets support while learning to achieve a specific personal or professional result or goal, according to Wikipedia. “Managing is making sure people do what they know how to do. Training is teaching people to do what they don’t know how to do. Mentoring is showing people how the people who are really good at doing something do it. Coaching is none of these – it is helping to identify the skills and capabilities that are within the person, and enabling them to use them to the best of their ability,” Wikipedia defines. A Life Coach is an “advisor who helps people make decisions, set and reach goals, or deal with problems,” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It is a practice that uses techniques from disciplines such as sociology, psychology, career counseling and positive development, to help people identify and achieve personal goals. The development of Personal Coaching, or Life Coaching, can be traced back to the early 1970s Human Potential Movement in the USA, and credited to the teachings of Werner Erhard’s “Est Training.” One of the most successful and well-known personal coaches in the United States is Tony Robbins, who has been coaching executives to celebrities for success for more than 30 years. In celebration of Del Mar Surf Camp’s 10^th Anniversary in 2013, owner Maria del Mar said they want to give more to people and create vacations that are “transformational and empowering.” “Coaching is a transformational process that will help you find the clarity and courage you need to start living the life you dream and deserve,” asserts Del Mar Surf Camp’s website. “It’s for anyone to achieve their goals, and also to help in any way they need,” Maria del Mar says. Del Mar Surf Camp specializes in Costa Rica surf vacation packages, yoga-surf retreats and day surf lessons for adults, women only and families. They cater to beginners, intermediate or advanced surfers, with locations on Nosara Beach on the Guanacaste Pacific Coast, Santa Teresa Beach on the Pacific’s Nicoya Peninsula, and Hermosa Beach on the Central Pacific Coast. The Personal Coaching Sessions, led by Paola Castro, are an extra activity that participants can add on to “go beyond having just a traditional vacation,” says Maria del Mar. Personal Coaching will only be available at Del Mar’s Hermosa Beach location. Hermosa Beach, just south of the bustling beach town of Jacó, is Del Mar Surf Camp’s headquarters. The popular beach, with its consistent surf, variety of breaks and great exposure to swells, is famous with advanced surfers from all over the globe. And, just a 5-minute drive away is the south end of Playa Jacó where beginners learn to surf in gentle and easy waves. A big plus is it’s only an hour’s drive away on paved roads from the capital city of San Jose and the international airport. Castro will coach in 60-minute sessions, and can continue with follow-up sessions after a person returns home using Skype video calls. Coaching can focus on realizing dreams and goals, breaking free from fears, taking leaps of faith, reducing stress, improving health, etc. Castro gives practical steps for shaping behaviors to get results. “The thing with coaching is you need to be responsible for creating the changes in your life,” said Castro. “A coach doesn’t tell you what to do. We use a Socratic method based on questions that stimulate the answers within you, because who else knows how better to live your life but yourself.”

Del Mar Surf Camp has created new Summer Specials packages, with great discounts, to celebrate their 10^th anniversary in 2013. Maria del Mar’s message from her website: “Thank you for 10 years of laughter and wipeouts, glassy rides and perfect waves, tears of frustration and tears of joy, new-found friendship and promises to see each other again. By teaching you, we have learned, and thanks to you, we have grown! With all of our gratitude and so much love, we’ve created new special packages for you, hoping to make surfing with us more accessible and therefore continue to share our passion. Simple, beachy, self-guided and affordable, introducing Pacifico, Swell, and Estrella de Mar surf packages. They all include beachfront accommodations, breakfast and surf lessons – all of the essentials to surf with us in Costa Rica, so you can pick your best fit.”

“Surfing soothes me, it's always been a kind of a Zen experience for me. The ocean is so magnificent, peaceful, and awesome. The rest of the world disappears for me when I'm on a wave.” – Paul Walker   By Shannon Farley