The newly-elected President of Costa Rica, Mr. Carlos Alvarado Quesada, has chosen María Amalia Revelo Raventós as the country’s new Tourism Minister, replacing Mauricio Ventura as head of the department.

María Amalia Revelo holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from the prestigious INCAE Business School and a bachelor’s degree in Statistics from the University of Costa Rica. She boasts over 40 years’ experience in the country’s tourism sector, where she has held a number of positions of high responsibility in both the public and private sectors. She was also Deputy Manager and Marketing Director at the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT), where she developed and implemented key marketing strategies to promote the tourism industry in Costa Rica.

Among her priorities as Tourism Minister are the promotion of medium-sized and small companies; the development of new local destinations and products, with a special focus on culture and gastronomy; and the strengthening of the joint work between the public and private sectors. Sustainability will be a cross axis in all her actions in the Ministry. In addition, she will also work on the positioning of Costa Rica as an attractive destination for the MICE industry (now that the country’s new Convention Centre is open) and on attracting new flight routes to the country.

Just before the appointment, María Amalia Revelo held the position of Commercial Director and Advisor at Aeris Holding, where she was in charge of developing new flight routes and attracting airlines to Juan Santamaría International Airport (San José) and Daniel Oduber Quirós Aiport (Liberia).

The new Tourism Minister has also taken an active part in trade unions and organizations within the private sector of Costa Rica. She was a member of the boards of directors at the National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur), Site Chapter Costa Rica, the Association of Professionals in Tourism (ACOPROT) and the Meetings and Incentives Association.

María Amalia Revelo has received some important awards throughout her career in the Costa Rican tourism sector, including EXPOTUR’s “Best Promoter” in 1987 and “Pioneering Woman in Tourism” in 2007.

Revelo’s experience and career has generated great expectation and confidence within the Costa Rican tourism sector. “We are very pleased with María Amalia’s appointment. We know how hard she works, so we are truly confident that her vast experience in the industry will greatly contribute to further develop and improve tourism in the country,” said Sary Valverde, President of the National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur).