ACTUAR

Overview

Description

ACTUAR is a tour operator that offers unique travel experiences throughout Costa Rica where guests can:

• Stay in villages located in beautiful rural surroundings and get to know local people and their customs.
• Explore magnificent forests, fascinating mangroves, and observe the rich diversity of wildlife with experienced local guides.
• Spend time with women fishers on the Island of Chira and learn about their way of life.
• Pick your own vegetables from an organic garden.
• And much more!

You will have the opportunity to listen to stories about rural life and share your own experiences in conservation. Travelling with ACTUAR takes you to the authentic Costa Rica, off the beaten path, in rural areas where you can learn from the people about their efforts to preserve the environment.

Making a Difference

Asociación Costarricense de Turismo Rural Comunitario, known as ACTUAR, promotes and strengthens rural community tourism in Costa Rica. Founded in 2001, ACTUAR comprises more than 40 environmental organizations and community groups. ACTUAR invests funds generated from rural community tourism in the protection of the environment and local culture.

A team of tourism experts provides assistance to the ACTUAR network by developing quality control standards that guarantee services geared towards responsible marketing, cultural respect, and environmental protection. ACTUAR visits members frequently to provide feedback on their services and to ensure that responsible tourism standards are being met. Guests complete surveys about their experience and the results are transmitted to the members to encourage them to keep improving their services.

Profits earned by ACTUAR are reinvested in capacity building programs, promotional campaigns, and loans to communities that are members of ACTUAR. The funds help to provide technical assistance and conduct workshops related to tourism such as Costa Rican cooking classes, marketing strategies, product development, and more. Every year, ACTUAR organizes a rural community tourism fair which is attended by tourism operators and responsible travelers in Costa Rica and, every two years, ACTUAR publishes “The Real Costa Rica: Your Community-Based Tourism Guide.”

ACTUAR aims to provide the best quality service while respecting the environment and contributing to the social and economic well-being of communities. All ACTUAR members are involved in conservation initiatives that add value to rural community tourism.

ACTUAR plans to continue working with its members to develop tourism services and products as well as to implement best practices and improve the quality of services through continuous training and support.

The Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) program awarded ACTUAR the highest ranking - five leaves - and now this experience is being replicated among our members, with four organizations awaiting certification.

Getting There

Nearest international airport: San Jose (SJO).

Additional Information

Additional Web sites

• www.eco-index.org/search/results.cfm?ProjectID=785 (available in English and Spanish). ACTUAR profile on the Eco-Index Web site.

Files

• Manual de ventas - ¡Atrévase a experimentar la auténtica Costa Rica!. Broad description of ACTUAR’s services and what makes it different from other tour operators. In Spanish.

Date This Information Was Provided

October 2011.

Photos courtesy of ACTUAR, Costa Rica, for SustainableTrip.org.