Tourism in Costa Rica

BET Costa Rica

Tourism in Costa Rica is one of the fastest growing economic sectors of the country and by 1995 became the largest foreign exchange earner.[1][2] Since 2004, tourism earns more foreign exchange than bananas and coffee combined.[3] The tourism boom began in 1987,[1] with the number of visitors up from 329,000 in 1988, through 1 million in 1999, to 1.9 million foreign visitors in 2007, allowing the country to earn $1.9-billion in that year.[4] In 2005, tourism contributed with 8,1% of the country's GDP and represented 13,3% of direct and indirect employment.[5]

Since the late 1980s Costa Rica became a popular nature travel destination, and its main competitive advantage is its well-established system of national parks and protected areas,[6] covering around 23,4% of the country's land area,[7] the largest in the world as a percentage of the country's territory,[8][9] and home to a rich variety of flora and fauna, in a country that has only 0.03% of the world's landmass, but that is estimated to contain 5% of the world's biodiversity.[10][11] The country also has plenty of beaches, both in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, within short travel distances, and also several volcanoes that can be visited with safety. By the early 1990s, Costa Rica became to be known as the poster child of ecotourism,[11] with tourist arrivals reaching an average annual growth rate of 14% between 1986 to 1994.[1][12]

Contents

Key tourism statistics

International tourist arrivals 1988-2007[1][5][13]
Year Arrivals
(x1000)		 Year Arrivals
(x1000)		 Year Arrivals
(x1000)		 Receipts
USD million
1988 329 1995 785 2002 1,113 1,078
1989 376 1996 781 2003 1,239 1,199
1990 435 1997 811 2004 1,453 1,358
1991 504 1998 943 2005 1,679 1,570
1992 611 1999 1,032 2006 1,725 1,629
1993 684 2000 1,088 2007 1,900 1,920
1994 762 2001 1,131

In terms of 2008 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), Costa Rica reached the 44th place in the world ranking, being the first among Latin American countries, and second if the Anglophone Caribbean is included.[14] Just considering the subindex measuring human, cultural, and natural resources, Costa Rica ranks in the 24th place at a worldwide level, and 7th when considering just the natural resources criteria. The TTCI report also notes Costa Rica's main weaknesses, ground transport infrastructure (ranked 113th), and safety and security (ranked 128th).[15] [16]

Most of the tourists come from the prime market travelers in the world, 46% from the U.S. and Canada, and 16% from the E.U., which in 2007 translated into a relatively high expenditure per tourist of $1000 per trip. In 2003 the following group of visitors came mainly from the neighboring countries of Nicaragua (13.2%), Panama (4.6%), Mexico (3.7%), Guatemala (2.8%), El Salvador (2.7%) and Colombia (2.2%).[5] Visitors from the Caribbean Basin and South America come mainly for business or professional purposes, while a majority of Americans, Canadians and Europeans visit the country for vacations. Word of mouth from friends and family, with an average of 58%, was the leading reason for visiting Costa Rica for vacations and leisure. The main complaint is the poor condition of roads.[17]

With a $1.92-billion-a-year tourism industry, Costa Rica stands as the most visited nation in the Central American region, with 1.9 million foreign visitors in 2007,[18] thus reaching in 2007 a rate of foreign tourists per capita of 460 visitors per thousand inhabitants, one of the highest within the Caribbean Basin countries, and above other popular travel destinations such as Mexico (210), Dominican Republic (380), and Brazil (30).

Comparative performance in the Latin American market

The following table presents a comparison of Costa Rica's tourism industry performance with selected countries from the Caribbean Basin and South America, including Bahamas, Cuba, and eight of the top ten Latin American countries according to their 2008 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), which are competitors in the nature travel market segment.

Selected
Caribbean and
Latin American
countries		 Internl.
tourist
arrivals
2006[13]
(x1000)		 Internl.
tourism
receipts
2006[13]
(million
USD)		 Receipts
per
arrival
2006
(col 2)/(col 1)
(USD)		 Arrivals
per
capita
per 1000 pop.
2006
(estimated)[13]		 Receipts
per
capita
2005[19]
USD		 Revenues
as %
of exports
goods and
services[5]
2003		 Tourism
revenues
as %
GDP[5]
2003		 % Direct &
indirect
employment
in tourism[5]
2005		 World
Ranking
Tourism
Compet.[14]
TTCI
2008		 Index
value
TTCI[14]
2008
 Bahamas
1,600
2,069
1,293
4,860
6,288
 74.6 34.1 68.7
n/d
 n/d
 Barbados(1)
552[20]
765[19]
1,385[19]
1,960[5]
2,749
 58.5 29.2 55.3
29
 4.77
 Brazil
5,019
4,316
860
27
18
 3.2 0.5 7.0
49
 4.29
 Chile
2,276
1,214
533
138
73
 5.3 1.9 6.8
51
 4.27
 Costa Rica
1,725
1,629
944
392
343
 17.5 8.1 13.3
44
 4.35
 Cuba
2,150
2,138
994
200
169
 n/d n/d n/d
n/d
 n/d
 Dominican Republic
3,965
3,792
956
446
353
 36.2 18.8 19.8
63
 4.05
 Jamaica
1,679
1,887
1,124
633
530
 49.2 21.6 31.9
57
 4.18
 Mexico
21,353
12,177
570
201
103
 5.7 1.6 14.2
55
 4.18
 Panama
843
960
1,139
257
211
 10.6 6.3 12.9
50
 4.29
  • Notes: Green shadow denotes the country with the top indicator. Yellow shadow corresponds to Costa Rica.
  • (1) WTO data for Barbados corresponds to 2003,[5] 2004,[20] and 2005[19].

Ecotourism

Ecotourism is extremely popular with the many tourists visiting the extensive national parks and protected areas around the country. Costa Rica was a pioneer in this type of tourism and the country is recognized as one of the few with real ecotourism.[11] As of 2006, a total of 54% international tourists visited national parks or protected areas, visiting at least two such natural refuges, and it goes up to three for european visitors.[17]

Beaches and adventure

Most of the main attractions are nature related, a combination of ecotourism with leisure and adventure activities: sun, sea and sand (55%); flora and wildlife watching (44%); visiting volcanoes (43%); trekking (41%); bird watching (30%); canopy tours (26%);bungee jumping from bridges (11%); surfing (11%); snorkeling (10%); and rafting (7%). Cultural activities such as visiting museums, art galleries and theaters corresponds to 11%, and business travel corresponds to 17%.[17]

Main natural attractions

National Parks and Biological Reserves

Main article: National Parks of Costa Rica
See also: Wildlife of Costa Rica
  • Cocos Island, UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a top nominee in the contest to chose the world's New 7 Wonders of Nature.[21]
  • Area de Conservación Guanacaste, UNESCO World Heritage Site,
  • La Amistad International Park, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Border Costa Rica-Panama
  • Corcovado National Park
  • Chirripó National Park
  • Tortuguero National Park
  • Tapantí National Park
  • Braulio Carrillo National Park
  • La Selva Biological Station, Organization for Tropical Studies (Private Reserve)
  • Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve, Monteverde, Puntarenas (Private Reserve)

Volcanoes

Main article: List of volcanoes in Costa Rica
  • Poás Volcano at Poas Volcano National Park, Alajuela.
  • Irazú Volcano at Irazu National Park, Cartago.
  • Arenal Volcano at Arenal National Park, Alajuela.
  • Turrialba Volcano, at Turrialba Volcano National Park, Cartago.
  • Tenorio Volcano National Park, where the popular Rio Celeste (Light Blue River) is located, Guanacaste.
  • Rincón de la Vieja at Rincón de la Vieja Volcano National Park, Guanacaste.

Beaches

See List of beaches of Costa Rica

  • Manuel Antonio Beach at Manuel Antonio National Park
  • Cahuita Beach at Cahuita National Park, Limón
  • Puerto Viejo Beach, Talamanca, Limón
  • Manzanillo Beach, Limón
  • Gandoca Beach, Limón
  • Tamarindo Beach, Guanacaste
  • Flamingo Beach, Guanacaste
  • Conchal Beach, Guanacaste
  • Jaco Beach, Puntarenas
  • Herradura Beach, Puntarenas
  • Montezuma Beach, Puntarenas
  • Zancudo Beach, Puntarenas

Seven Natural Wonders of Costa Rica

Elected in 2007 by Costa Ricans through an open contest organized by a leading newspaper as the 7 natural wonders of Costa Rica,[22] these natural sites are among the most popular destinations by both foreign and domestic tourists, with the exception of Cocos Island, which it is not easily accessed, because it is located in the Pacific Ocean, approximately 550 km (340 mi) from the Pacific shore of Costa Rica.

Ranking 7 natural wonders of Costa Rica
1. Cocos Island (Spanish: Isla del Coco)
2. Arenal Volcano (Spanish: Volcán Arenal)
3. Chirripo Mountain (Spanish: Cerro Chirripó )
4. Light Blue River (Spanish: Río Celeste)
5. Tortuguero Canals (Spanish:Canales de Torguero)
6. Poás Volcano (Spanish: Volcán Poás)
7. Monteverde Reserve (Spanish: Reserva Monteverde)

Other activities and popular destinations

  • Sarchí, Alajuela, for shopping souvenirs and typical products.
  • Orosí Colonial Church and Ujarrás Church Ruins, Cartago.
  • Guayabo Arqueologichal Site, Turrialba, Cartago.
  • Museo Nacional de Costa Rical (National Museum), San José.
  • Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica (National Theater), San José.
  • Museo de Oro (Gold Museum), Central Bank of Costa Rica, San José.
  • Lancaster Garden, Cartago.
  • INBioparque, Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, Santo Domingo de Heredia.

Envirinmental and social impacts

Front beach developments

In many beach areas, but more intensive in the towns of Tamarindo and Jacó, a real estate boom took placed, when many foreigners from developed countries began buying beachfront properties and developing housing and apartments projects. These developments completely change the life style in these towns, and property prices are now so high that it became prohibitive for Costa Ricans to own beachfront properties. Also there have been controversies regarding the construction of hotels and beach resorts within the 50 m protected maritime public zone, and even construction invading protected areas, and resort development with severe negative impacts to existing flora and fauna, by dumping construction wastes damaging coral reefs or filling mangroves.[11]

Sex tourism

The rapid growth of tourism also has the consequence of the country becoming a popular destination for sex tourism.[23][24] Despite the government and industry efforts, child sex trade has been also a problem.[25][26] A study estimated that "up to 10% of tourists who come to Costa Rica engage in sex tourism", with as many as 10,000 sex workers involved, many of whom are immigrants.[27][28] Also it was reported that about 80% of the sex tourist are from the US.[29] This is largely due because prostitution is not illegal, but many of the activities surrounding it are indeed illegal,[30] such as pimping.[31][32]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Crist Inman (1997). Impacts on Developing Countries of Changing Production and Consumption Patterns in Developed Countries: The Case of Ecotourism in Costa Rica (Inglés). INCAE, available at International Institute for Sustainable Development website. Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
  2. ^ Mario Calderón Castillo (2005). El Turismo como Promotor del Crecimiento Económico Costarricense (Spanish). Revista Parlamentaria Digital. Asamblea Legislativa de Costa Rica. Retrieved on 2008-06-08.
  3. ^ José Enrique Rojas (2004-12-29). Turismo, principal motor de la economía durante el 2004 (Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
  4. ^ Hassel Fallas (2007-12-19). País cierra el año con llegada de 1,9 millones de turistas (Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved on 2008-04-13. Translation: Country closes year with the arrival of 1,9 million tourists
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Carmen Altés (2006). El Turismo en América Latina y el Caribe y la experiencia del BID (Spanish). Inter-American Development Bank; Sustainable Development Department, Technical Paper Series ENV-149, Washington, D.C.. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  6. ^ Mónica Vásquez Muñoz (2002). Tourism and Conservation in Southern Costa Rica. York University. Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
  7. ^ Earth Trends (2003). Biodiversity and Protected Areas - Costa Rica. World Resources Institute. Retrieved on 2008-06-08.
  8. ^ Costa Rica National Parks and Reserves. World Headquarters (2007). Retrieved on 2008-06-08.
  9. ^ Leonardo Coutinho and Otávio Cabral (2008-05-21). O desafio da economia verde (Portuguese). Revista Veja. Retrieved on 2008-06-08. Published on website "Planeta Sustentável"
  10. ^ Leo Hickman (2007-05-26). Shades of green. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-06-08.
  11. ^ a b c d Honey, Martha (1999), Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise?, Island Press; 1 edition , Washington, D.C., p. 128-181, ISBN 1-55963-582-7  Chapter 5. Costa Rica: On the Beaten Path
  12. ^ Bruce Aylward et al. (1996). Sustainable ecotourism in Costa Rica: the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve. Biodiversity and Conservation vol 5, no. 3, 315-343.
  13. ^ a b c d World Tourism Organization. Tourism Highlights 2007 Edition. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.Data corresponds to 2006.
  14. ^ a b c Jennifer Blanke and Thea Chiesa, Editors (2008), The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2008, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland, <http://www.weforum.org/pdf/CGR08/Rankings.pdf> 
  15. ^ País segundo en competitividad turística en América Latina (Spanish). La Nación (2008-03-06). Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
  16. ^ Podemos ser aún mejores (Spanish). La Nación (2008-03-08). Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
  17. ^ a b c Informe de Encuestas IV Trimestre 2006. Aeropuerto Internacional Juan Santamaria (Spanish). Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (2006). Retrieved on 2008-06-06. 2006 Annual Survey from the Costa Rican Board of Tourism (ICT)
  18. ^ País cierra el año con llegada de 1,9 millones de turistas (Spanish). Nación (2007-12-19). Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
  19. ^ a b c d World Tourism Organization (2006). Tourism Market Trends, Annex 12, 2006 Edition. Retrieved on 2008-03-30. Data corrresponds to 2005.
  20. ^ a b World Tourism Organization (2005). Tourism Market Trends, Annex 5, 2005 Edition. Retrieved on 2008-03-30. Data corrresponds to 2004.
  21. ^ World natural wonder. La Nacion (2004-12-29). Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
  22. ^ Randall Corella V. (2007-08-26). Concurso 7 maravillas naturales de Costa Rica (Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved on 2008-06-08.
  23. ^ Unos 130 sitios de internet promueven turismo sexual Costa Rica (Spanish). La Nación (2004-12-05). Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
  24. ^ Otto Vargas (2004-12-04). Agencias ofrecen en el exterior damas para vacaciones eróticas en Costa Rica (Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
  25. ^ Wright, Phillip. "Sex tourism: Lessons learned in Costa Rica", BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-12-21. 
  26. ^ Kovaleski, Serge F.. "Child Sex Trade Rises In Central America", Washington Post Foreign Service, Washington Post Foreign Service, 2000-01-02. Retrieved on 2006-12-20. Archived from the original on 2006-12-20. 
  27. ^ Otto Vargas (2008-04-07). Red trajo al país más de 400 dominicanas para prostitución (Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
  28. ^ Schifter-Sikora, Jacobo (2006), Mongers in Heaven: Sexual Tourism and HIV Risk in Costa Rica and in the United States, ISBN 978-0761835974 
  29. ^ Schmidt, Blake. "Businesses Say No to Sex Tourism Industry", Tico Time, July 27, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-30. 
  30. ^ Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica. Código Penal, Ley No. 4573 de 1970 y reformas hasta 26 de febrero de 2002 (Spanish). Retrieved on 2007-03-17. see SECCIÓN III: Corrupción, proxenetismo, rufianería (Articles 167 to 172).
  31. ^ "Promoción de la prostitución: Unos 130 sitios de internet promueven el turismo sexual de Costa Rica" (Spanish). LaFlecha.net (2004-12-07). Retrieved on 2007-03-17. “...prostitution is not penalized in the country, but a third-party soliciting clients for a prostitute (proxenetismo) is commiting a crime”(free translation from Spanish)
  32. ^ "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Costa Rica", U.S. State Department. Retrieved on 2007-09-28. "...There are no specific laws against sex tourism, which was growing" 

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