THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- Costa Rica has relaxed visa requirements for visitors from 102 nations, officials said Monday, in the Central American country's most sweeping migration reform in decades

Migration Director Mario Zamora said the government officials decided to ease the red tape to help boost Costa Rica's tourism industry and assist foreign investors who operate businesses in the country.

"This decision took into account not only politics but the opening up of trade, tourism," Zamora said. "It seeks to improve our ties to the rest of the world."

Under the new rules, citizens of many countries now can enter by just showing their passports.

But the visa restrictions remain for visitors from several countries, including Cuba, Iraq, Afghanistan, China, North Korea, Somalia and Haiti.

Colombians and Nicaraguans, the country's most common visitors, still must apply for 30-day visas at Costa Rican consulates in their nations.

Zamora said restrictions had been enacted during the Cold War, when Costa Rica limited access to nations aligned with the Soviet Union.