This week in Costa Rica, the country's main airport unveiled a long-promised expansion just in time for summer travelers, a diplomatic flare-up with Panama escalated into an energy cutoff, and the colón pushed to a fresh historic low against the dollar. Here's a quick rundown of what actually matters if you live in, invest in, or travel to Costa Rica.

Costa Rica's main international airport opened a 3,800-square-meter arrivals area this week, giving passengers landing at Juan Santamaría a larger, more organized entry point heading into the busy summer travel season. The new space is part of a roughly $62 million International Terminal expansion outlined in Aeris's master plan, and includes expanded baggage inspection, MAG and Customs processing areas, car rental space, a business center, and a meeting plaza for arriving travelers and their families. T

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The reference dollar closed at ₡453.20 on Monday, May 18 — a fourth consecutive historic low — as the BCCR broke its all-time annual record for exchange-rate intervention under the managed-float regime in place since 2015. The strong colón has cut import costs for consumers but squeezed exporters, coffee farmers, and tourism operators earning in dollars

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Scientists are warning that the country could gradually lose part of its ability to monitor earthquakes, track volcanic activity and issue early warnings if it continues funding the networks with leftover money rather than a stable budget line. For now the systems continue operating, but the long-term concern is for one of Costa Rica's main disaster-prevention systems

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A railway that would stitch together two of Central America’s most dynamic economies is quietly moving from vision to blueprint. Panama and Costa Rica are jointly advancing plans for a cross-border rail corridor that, if completed, would transform how people and goods move through the region and potentially set a template for integration all the way to Mexico..

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JetBlue will discontinue its daily nonstop service between Orlando International Airport and Juan Santamaría on July 8, removing another direct Florida option. The airline is not leaving Costa Rica — daily Fort Lauderdale and New York service to both SJO and Liberia continues. Southwest, Volaris and Frontier still operate Orlando-San José flights

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Barceló Hotel Group issued a public apology after a couple with visual disabilities denounced that the Occidental Papagayo hotel in Guanacaste refused entry to a guide dog, leaving one of them unable to take part in a planned birthday trip.

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Costa Rica’s tourism closed 2025 with 2,689,278 international visitors arriving by air — a slim 1% gain over 2024 — but the figures mask a sharper theme: that is a fourth-quarter rebound that has carried into a record-shattering 2025–2026 high season at both major airports, according to a new analysis.

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