La Fortuna, Costa Rica Hosts its First-Ever Executive Thought Leadership Summit

    LA FORTUNA, COSTA RICA, February 22, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Thought Leader: Noun. Someone who is recognized as an influential authority in a specialized field whose expertise and knowledge is proven and sought after.

An elite group of high-level executives from Fortune 500 companies stepped outside of their comfort zones and engaged in adrenaline pumping adventures and intense knowledge-sharing workshops during the first-ever Executive Thought Leadership Summit in La Fortuna, Costa Rica in October, 2016.

The four-day event showcased La Fortuna, Costa Rica as a premiere, high-touch and affordable destination for meeting and incentive travel and was hosted by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT), The Springs Resort & Spa, along with support from FUSION Performance Group, Rancho Margot, Mistico Hanging Bridges, Blue Butterfly Costa Rica Events and Desafio Adventure Company.

"La Fortuna is the up and coming destination for the MICE market as it offers world-class accommodations and facilities, plus a multitude of high-quality, unique activities that meeting and incentive planners are eagerly looking for," said Christine Krishnan of Desafio Adventure Company.

The goal of the Executive Thought Leadership Summit as explained by Kent Cisewski of Fusion Performance Group was to teach the executives how to measure and maximize the return on investment for companies planning to host travel to Costa Rica. It was also designed to help the high-level executives in attendance share their experience and knowledge, as well as help each other overcome their own, individual challenges in their respective industries.

"It is easy to fall in love with the beauty of Costa Rica, but even easier to fall in love with its beautiful people!" said Amy K Hutchens, program facilitator and author of The Secrets Leaders Keep. "Of all of the places in the world I have done programs, Costa Rica, for me, has been one of the easiest with some of the highest-quality staff I've had the pleasure to interact with," said AmyK.

The Leadership Summit culminated in a gala event at The Springs' Club Rio surrounded by the sounds of the rainforest with participants indulging in delicious, gourmet Costa Rican cuisine. "We are proud to be involved in pioneering events like the Executive Thought Leadership Summit," said Alejandro Castro of ICT.

"Concentrating on the meetings and incentives market is a great way for Costa Rica to bring in visitors who generally spend more during their stay and gives us a new source of revenue especially in what we consider low season, breaking the cycle of seasonality," said Castro during the closing event.

Executive Thought Leadership Summit Program Outline
DAY 1: San Jose, Costa Rica - Event participants, as well as members of a variety of international press organizations and their guests arrived to San Jose, Costa Rica and were greeted by VIP greeters from the National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR.) They were then taken via Desafio Adventure Company VIP shuttle service to The Springs Resort & Spa for unparalleled views of the Arenal Volcano, decadent hot springs, as well as some of the best 5-star service available in the world.

Participants were treated to welcome drinks, fresh tropical bouquets and a tour of the luxurious resort and lead to their rooms where they found welcome bags featuring a variety of local Costa Rican specialties including Bioland snack bags, natural insect repellent from GreenScreen of Playa Samara, chocolate bars from Chocolate Fusion and hats from Mistico Hanging Bridges and more.

Participants attended a cocktail party complete with a troupe of young dancers performing traditional dance and appetizers featuring local specialties. Late in the evening, the group was welcomed by AmyK Hutchens, an award winning speaker, author, trainer and business strategist. AmyK got the group pumped and excited for the week by hosting a late night welcome session in the Presidential Suite of The Springs.

DAY 2: La Fortuna - Participants began their day early with a session with AmyK as they learned to communicate clearly while blindfolded, as well as understand the value of not making assumptions.
Everyone then headed out to Desafio's Gravity Falls Waterfall Jumping adventure - Costa Rica's Most Extreme Tour. Guests experienced the country's lush jungles, waterfalls and canyons in an up-close and personal way by completing a series of rappels, hikes, climbs, swings and free falls along this unique and intense tour. Once everyone's adrenaline and blood was pumping, participants were treated to a plentiful traditional lunch, and another session with AmyK before returning to The Springs Resort.

In the afternoon, a final thought session took place IN the hot springs! The guests gained valuable knowledge during the session, enjoyed cocktails and appetizers while lounging in the relaxing and healing hot spring water. Participants commented that they had never been in such an indulgent meeting setting before.

DAY 3: La Fortuna - Participants and guests departed early for a breakfast and tour of Mistico Hanging Bridges. Mistico is a family-owned and operated natural sanctuary that allows visitors to experience the local flora and fauna in a safe and secure way, without major impact to the jungle. There is incredible wildlife viewing and stunning views of the Arenal Volcano.

After breakfast and a hike, everyone then traveled by boat across the lake to Rancho Margot. Rancho Margot is a completely self-sufficient, off the grid working farm, offering better ways to do things and incredible education programs, luxury villas, all of their own and locally-sourced food and electric production - Rancho Margot even makes their own furniture and soaps.

Participants experienced sessions with AmyK throughout the day, as well as a tour of the farm by owner Juan Sostheim. They were treated to a lunch buffet and gourmet, farm-fresh dinner featuring organic ingredients straight from the farm, prepared in a wood oven.

DAY 4: La Fortuna - Participants visited an elementary school and were shown the inner workings of a highly successful public school in the area. Participants spent the morning touring the facilities and working garden and farm onsite with some of the students and then had the opportunity to play games with the children. The program and its participants also brought donated materials and books for the school.

Everyone then headed back for a day to enjoy all of the activities at The Springs Club Rio - a full on-site activity center located at the resort. Some activities guests chose included tubing, horseback riding and rock wall climbing and hot springs. A few even opted for some of the highly relaxing spa services provided by the world class spa, also on-property at The Springs.

The final day ended with a cocktail hour inside the animal sanctuary at The Springs and a full traditional dinner at the Club Rio riverside pavilion, hosted by ICT. Event coordinators thanked all of the event sponsors and Alejandro Castro from ICT gave a presentation about Costa Rica. The night was full of laughter, sharing memories and photos from the week and even some dancing!

The participants that took part in this event represented companies including: Amerilife, AIG, CDW, Mass Fidelity, FUSION HD Supply, Cardiovascular Systems Inc. and Shopgaurd Systems - cumulatively representing over $90 M dollars per year in meeting and incentive travel. As well as press members who attended that represented several industry specific publications.

A special thank you to all of the event sponsors and executive and press participants and we are looking forward to great things to come in the future as a result of this exclusive program. We hope to share the "Pura Vida" or pure life of Costa Rica and La Fortuna with more groups soon!

Costa Rica is quickly becoming a premiere destination for meeting and incentive travel. The La Fortuna area offers the most adventures than anywhere else on the planet, an iconic volcano and the naturally occurring geothermal hot springs that are out of this world! Offering one of the highest return on investment, exclusive experiences and the WOW factor, it is becoming a more sought after destination for corporate destination travel.

About the Team:

The Costa Rica Tourism Board is committed to promoting sustainable and responsible tourism in one of the most biodiverse, beautiful and friendly countries in the world.

The Costa Rica Visitors and Convention Bureau promotes meeting and incentive travel and represents top-of-the-line businesses with vast experience and expertise in the management, planning and execution of meeting and incentive travel and programs.

FUSION Performace Group are leaders in high touch and innovative meetings and incentive programs.

The Springs Resort and Spa is a World Class Luxury Resort and Spa featuring spectacular Hot Springs, views of the Arenal Volcano from every guest room and four restaurants, Club Rio Outdoor Center and 27,000 sq. ft. of event, convention and meeting space.

Rancho Margot is an award winning, self-sufficient, off the grid eco-farm, providing alternative education experiences and lush jungle accommodations.

Desafio Adventure Company is a leader in the adventure and tourism industry with nearly 25 years of experience and offices all over the country, they provide logistics and exclusive experiences anywhere in Costa Rica.

Blue Butterfly Costa Rica is a boutique event coordinating company planning any kind of event in Arenal, La Fortuna and Central Costa Rica. From weddings to corporate survival games and everything in between.

AmyK is an award winning author and motivational speaker who travels the world helping senior executives lead and collaborate more effectively.

For more information about future Meetings and Incentives activities and programs, please contact:

Tui Frye, Blue Butterfly Costa Rica Events [email protected]

Christine Krishnan, Desafio Adventure Company [email protected]

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