• June 19, 2009

The Costa Rica Tourist Board has teamed up with its tourism industry partners and members to launch an aggressive campaign, Costa Rica Plus, to make it easier for last-minute travelers to get to the Central American paradise.

Costa Rica Plus involves over 100 tourism service providers offering things like free upgrades, credits for food and beveraged, complimentary spa treatments, an extra free night when booking three nights, or two free nights when booking five nights. The effort is at www.visitcostarica.com/crplus/, which lets travelers refine options by regions and by the type of service provider -- hotels, car rentals, airline and tours.

The half-million-dollar campaign launched Friday, with ads in USA Today, The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times, among others. The Costa Rica Tourist Board plans to run the campaign through Aug, 31, but travelers must redeem their offer by Dec. 15.--Karl Greenberg