Ecological Certification of the Blue Flag Program

We are proud to inform you that we obtained the Ecological Blue Flag Certification, this award promotes competition and community organization for the benefit of present and future generations.

The Ecological Blue Flag is delivered annually as a reward to companies that voluntarily seek:

• The conservation and protection of natural resources
• The implementation of different actions to face climate change
• The search for new and better opportunities for an adequate execution of sustainable development

After the evaluation by the technical team of the Climate Change category and later approved by the National Commission of PBAE, it was determined that the efforts implemented by our company gave excellent results. We won four stars and one green star for Swiss Travel Santa Ana, with a score of 100%.

These results are evidence that our company opts for sustainable development and seeks to offer the best possible service.

In addition, we are very close to completing the process to obtain the Neutral Carbon certification, an action that will help us achieve, next year, the fifth and last star of the Ecological Blue Flag Program. This star is only awarded to companies that are Carbon Neutral.

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Responsibility Project in Limón 

The province of Limón has been a pillar for the consolidation of cruise tourism in Costa Rica and Swiss Travel. At the same time, it is a community that has been marginalized from the socio-economic growth developed in the rest of the country. Therefore, being one of the areas most worked by the company, it is always taken into account as part of our social responsibility program.

The Vargas Park and the Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge are two important points in Limón, in which, together with the Municipality of Limón and the Refugio Administration, we carry out a social project. We embellished a sector of Parque Vargas, which was used at night for non-licit activities. We made improvements to the bridge of Gandoca Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge, since it was in unsafe conditions.

The embellishment proposal was created by members of the community of Limón, the local municipality and the Cruises and Sustainability Departments of Swiss Travel.

 The project was prepared and presented to the board of directors of Swiss Travel, with an investment amount of $ 27,000. The board approved the initiative, together with the local municipality. Swiss Travel covered the costs and the municipality contributed with heavy machinery, protectors, work equipment and maintenance.

The works carried out were:

Wildlife Refuge:

All the weak structures of the hammock bridge were reinforced; garbage containers were placed to help in the handling of the waste, among others.

Vargas Park:

The proposal included three sectors. The first sector to establish tables, to provide the community, mainly workers, of a place to have lunch. Before, there was no area in the park for this activity and people used to eat on the ground.

In addition, this first sector was developed as an invitation to know Limón, placing letters that highlight the name of the province and information posters with important history of the town. Later, other signs, which highlight the historical cultural structures located in the park, to make the visit a Limón cultural learning option.

The second sector focuses on the recovery of the park landscape and the recovery of flora and fauna through the planting of trees and endemic plants that help strengthen the biodiversity of the place. In addition, chairs were installed for the community relaxation.

The last or third part of the work area, was designed to promote sports in the community, as we placed exercise machines, one of them for people with disabilities.

Finally, trash baskets were placed so that visitors and the community can separate their waste and that the local municipality administers it correctly.

Start of the project: August 2017

Completion of the project: April 2018

Collaborators:

• UCR students, as volunteers
• Municipality of Limón: staff, machinery, guards, care of the plants and other elements.
• Swiss Travel: staff and financing.
• Community: beneficiaries.
• Administration of the Gandoca Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge