Take Your Seat pictures on display at Pearson Airport
IAN STALKER
Costa Rican tourism authorities believe their country is a picture-perfect part of the world and say a recent visit by a group of Canadians confirms that.
The tourist board held an April 25 Toronto event showcasing some of the work by a group of Canadian photographers that spent eight days taking pictures in the tropical country. Those pictures include both images of the nature the country is famed for and manmade attractions as well. Some of the group’s photos are being displayed at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
“At Take Your Seat, we are constantly inspired by the challenge set forth by The Greater Toronto Airports Authority to create photographic installations that authentically capture the beauty of our planet,” said Randy and Spencer VanDerStarren, the father and son duo behind Take Your Seat. “Our director’s chair is in every photograph as a reminder that you are in charge. Each choice you make can lead to embracing each other, taking care of this beautiful and fragile planet of ours, and living your best life. In our recent expedition to Costa Rica, ‘Pura Vida’, even before we understood the words, has always been a part of our work. We now get to share our Take Your Seat, Costa Rica series with millions of travelers with the hope that they become as inspired as we are.”
“Costa Rica is the epitome of sustainability and responsibility in tourism,” said Susan Webb of VoX International, which represents Costa Rica in this country.
Among other things, Costa Rica has banned plastic straws, she noted. Webb praised the likes of Costa Rican food, festivals, Indigenous cultures, hiking opportunities, volcanoes and “the fabulous beaches.”
Carolina Trejos of the Costa Rica Tourism Board later said her country was an ecotourism pioneer, and that’s translated into 26% of the country now being protected from development, with the Costa Rican determination to protect nature “in our DNA… It is kind of in our nature to protect nature.”
Costa Rica now has 34 national parks, she said, adding tourists will never be far from nature.
“If a tourist says, ‘I want to see a sloth,’ he or she will see one,” Trejos continued. “I’m positive… We are blessed with having a lot of nature.”
Costa Rica is also attracting large numbers of beach tourists, who mostly tend to vacation on the Pacific Coast, which has seen more tourism development than its Caribbean counterpart.
But Trejos said the country’s Caribbean coast is “like a hidden gem” that has “small nice boutique hotels.”
Among Caribbean coast destinations is Puerto Viejo, which has built a following with young surfers and has lots of open-air bars and restaurants.
Trejos said both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts have nice beaches.
Meanwhile, Trejos said the end of winter shouldn’t mean that Canadians should dismiss Costa Rica as a possible tourism destination in the coming months, adding the country’s “Green Season” runs from April to November and is a time of year when more animals and vegetation are visible.
More information on the pictures taken by the photographers who visited Costa Rica can be found at TakeYourSeat.art.
