San Jose, Nov 13 (EFE) .- Costa Rica is a world leader in sustainable tourism, Costa Rican Minister Mauricio Ventura said at the opening of the "I Specialized Conference on sustainable investments in Hospitality and Tourism. "

" We are taking giant steps in tourism and thanks to this type of actions, our country can hobnob with destinations of first world and be a benchmark in sustainable tourism, "said the Minister of Tourism in installing the event in San Jose, which will end tomorrow.

The minister added that" there is room for to grow, areas to be developed, destinations to be consolidated and areas to be discovered in Costa Rica ".

According to Ventura," the quality of life, the social, economic and political stability, the roots democratic, the vision of peace, the country image and positioning as a tourist destination, among many other strengths, foster an environment conducive to the generation of business "in Costa Rica.

For his part, Arturo García Rosa, president and founder of the South American Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference, organizer of the event together with the Costa Rican Institute of Tourism, he assured that with his more than 10 editions made, "this is the first time that a conference has been organized whose central axis is sustainable growth".

More than 200 participants international, between executives and presidents of the world's leading hotel brands, investment funds, tourism real estate developers, among others, participate in the world conference.

The event has the participation of 45 national and international panelists, and the main conferences will be in charge of Philippe Cousteau - grandson of the conservationist Jacques Cousteau- and Carlos Páez, survivor of the Los Andes tragedy.

Among the topics to be discussed stand out: description of the hospitality industry and tourism in Costa Rica and Central America; development in Costa Rica, among others.

Tourism is one of the main engines of the economy of Costa Rica, because each year this country of 4.7 million inhabitants receives 3 million of tourists, who generally around 3,000 million dollars (about 5% of gross domestic product).