If the lure of the tropics and investment opportunities are attracting you to a Latin American country, you will be pleased to know that jobs abound for Americans in Costa Rica. Web resources offer a wide variety of current openings, contact and salary information. While pay is generally lower outside the U.S., it takes much less money to live well in Costa Rica than it does in America.

When you are ready to begin searching for employment, use web search engines to find exactly what you’re looking for. A search for: “Jobs in Costa Rica” might reveal the following wanted list: English teacher, marine conservationist, ethnobotonist field assistant, biologist, rain forest ecologist and field assistant, vacation salesperson, expedition staff, web designer, web project manager, chef, kitchen manager, hotel service-people, hospitality industry manager, and golf course maintenance. The business environment there allows many jobs to be created for its residents.

The most difficult thing about employment in Costa Rica isn’t finding a job, but giving up leisure activities for eight hours a day! In this country, there are so many recreational possibilities because there are virtually all climate zones represented there. From waterfront beaches to ranches in the mountains; from rainforest canopy to volcanoes, it’s not difficult to become distracted by Costa Rica’s natural resources. If you do find time to work, there are a few things you need to do before beginning your job.

In order to accept employment in Costa Rica, an American citizen must have a valid passport. Make sure yours is valid through your entire expected stay. Currently, visas for American citizens are not required for visiting the country, but check before you leave the U.S. to make sure laws haven’t changed. Your regular state-issued driver’s license will work for the first three months you are in Costa Rica. You should acquire an international driver’s license if you plan on staying there more than a season. If you are flying into Costa Rica, make sure you purchase a round-trip ticket. Visitors are not allowed into the country with a one-way ticket.

Most people enter under tourist or business classification. When they decide to stay permanently, they apply to have their classification changed. “Temporary Work Permit” or “Temporary Residence Permit” are available work permits. It is recommended that you wait until after your arrival in Costa Rica to obtain a work permit because permits issued to people outside the country require more paper work and take longer to issue.

In order to stay long-term in Costa Rica, people over the age of 10 must be fingerprinted at the local precinct. They also need a designation letter from their home country. A labor contract must be presented for all workers. Also needed are the Costa Rican employer’s corporate records, copies of the applicant’s complete passport, job title and description in English and Spanish, up to five passport-type photographs of job applicant, and copies of professional certificates or degrees. Laws change constantly, so follow current immigration rules exactly. Temporary resident applicants may also need to present a resume’, original birth and legal marriage certificates, and a notarized certificate of good conduct from the authorities in their last place of residence. Note that documents drawn outside Costa Rica might need to be “legalized” by their Consulate.

The General Immigration Office in Costa Rica can accept an application and forward it for final approval with the Ministry of Labor. The work permit will then be returned to the General Immigration Office where they will affix a validation stamp. At that time, your immediate family members can receive dependant resident permit stamps on their passports. Temporary work permits, valid for a maximum two years, may take up to sixty days to process. Temporary residence permits, valid for a maximum of one year, may take up to six months. Remember how time flies when you’re having fun? Waiting for your permit gives you an excellent excuse to get to know your new home, and enjoy Costa Rica to the fullest.

Tourism to Panama is expected $2.8 billion annually in revenues by 2016, according to the latest figures from the World Travel and Tourism Council, bringing with it a wealth of jobs and foreign investment.

The 2006 Travel and Tourism Economic Research report by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates last year’s visitors to Panama left behind more than $1.3 billion on everything from transport to accommodation, restaurants and other travel-related services.

This represents nearly 14 per cent of total exports, a figure which the WTTC estimates will grow to almost 17 per cent in ten years.

The number of tourists has also grown, going from one million in 2005 to 1.2 million in 2006.

“Tourism has grown a great deal over the last 10 years,” admits Jaime Campuzano, President of the Panama Chamber of Tourism. In fact, arrivals to the Tocumen International Airport have grown by 80 per cent in the last decade, with cruise ship and land arrivals showing similar increases.

Despite the encouraging growth, the Chamber has been working closely with the Panamanian government to open the country up to serious tourism, capitalizing on the burgeoning Central American industry.

This year marks the start of a five-year, $39.5 million publicity campaign to market Panama as a tourist destination, aimed primarily at North and Latin American markets.

“This is the first time in our history we have launched such an aggressive campaign, with an assured budget,” says Mr Campuzano.

The coming year will also see the release of the long-awaited National Tourism Plan, an ambitious outline of the strategy for developing the industry through to 2020.

“We have been working with the government to determine zones of tourism interest, areas for development, and different tourism products and strategies,” says Mr Campuzano. “This is an important step which will begin in 2007.”

Travel and tourism is seen as one of the big contributors to the country’s economy, bringing with it not only direct revenues, but also stimulating foreign investment.

This last is two-fold, explains Mr Campuzano; not only does tourism stimulate the development of the interior of Panama, with the construction of hotels, resorts, eco-tourist attractions and the like, but many of the tourists themselves return to invest in land and properties.

“Tourism produces a doubly positive effect, because they come as tourists, and later come back as investors, or to live permanently,” points out Mr Campuzano.

“Real estate has grown,” he adds. “North Americans and Europeans are coming to invest in real estate, many baby boomers are buying land, farms, properties.”

Nearly $2.8 billion in economic activity was generated by travel and tourism in Panama last year, according to the WTTC report, which is expected to nearly double by 2016, at $5.4 billion.

The influx of money for development also means jobs in areas where poverty is most desperate. Nearly 40 per cent of Panamanians, most of them in rural areas, are classified as below the poverty line, and 12 per cent are destitute.
Mr Campuzano is optimistic about the benefits of tourism.

“According to the World Tourism Organization tourism is a proven eradicator of poverty,” he says.

Indeed, tourism accounted for 129,000 jobs in 2006, according to the WTTC, nearly 11 per cent of all employment in the country. By 2016, the industry is expected to account for nearly 12 per cent of employment, or 171,000 jobs.

The challenge lays in making sure Panamanians develop the skills to meet the demand, turning from more traditional trades such as agriculture and cattle-farming to tourism and the service industry.

Toward that end, the government is working with international groups to provide training programs, and encouraging micro and small business loans.

“We see the development with great optimism,” says Mr Campuzano. “We are working with the government and international institutions to train Panamanians in tourism.

“We are opening the first two hotel schools this year, and hoping for more. The universities are also broadening their range of technical training, and the government is investing heavily in the training and formation.”

“The process has started,” he points out, “and in the coming years we will be able to offer more and more qualified personnel to meet the demands of tourism.”

Catherine Keogan is a writer and journalist living in Central America.