Great News for Southern Costa Rica Real Estate Investors! With a $5 Million expansion to the Quepos La Managua Airport (IATA: XQP, ICAO: MRQP) located 5km (3.1 miles) to downtown Quepos, more commercial flight options from either Liberia International Airport in or San Jose International Airport will be available. The expanded runway will also be a welcome addition for investors arriving via private jet.
Development in the Southern Zone is sure to benefit with the relatively new Caldera Highway already providing easy access from the Central Valley and now convenient travel by air is a legitimate option as well. A cab ride from the airport to the tourist mecca of Manuel Antonio currently costs approximately $20. We anticipate that many foreign travelers will opt out of the logistics of flying into San Jose, renting a car, and driving a few hours to the coast when they can simply hop on a connecting flight direct to Quepos. Business travelers will appreciate the time savings as well.
Currently the airport is serviced by two carriers, Sansa Air and Nature Air, which are limited to flying 16 passenger planes at a maximum of 20 flights per day. This not only limited the volume of passengers, but the small size of the aircraft was a major concern for more than a few travelers. With the Quepos airport expansion, the runway will now be capable of accommodating larger planes carrying up to 70 passengers each, potentially bringing in 4 times the volume of tourists traveling to the region by 2015.
What does this infrastructure mean for real estate in the area? This is sure to create more jobs in the tourism and hospitality sector and drive up demand across the board for land, vacation rentals, commercial real estate, single family homes, and condos. In our view, it will have a very positive effect on real estate values in the areas of Manuel Antonio and Quepos, as well as Playa Dominical and Playa Uvita which are all ideally located within a short drive from the airport.
