Tourism in Costa Rica has been one of the fastest growing economic sectors of the country and by 1995 became the largest foreign exchange earner. Since 1999, tourism has earned more foreign exchange than bananas, pineapples and coffee exports combined. The tourism boom began in 1987, with the number of visitors up from 329,000 in 1988, through 1.03 million in 1999, over 2 million in 2008, to a historical record of 2.66 million foreign visitors in 2015. In 2012, tourism contributed with 12.5% of the country's GDP and it was responsible for 11.7% of direct and indirect employment. ''See Table 4, pp. 18 and Country/Economy Profile: Costa Rica, pp. 142-143.'' In 2009, tourism attracted 17% of

foreign direct investment A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country. It is thus distinguished from a foreign portfolio investment by a notion of direct co ...

inflows, and 13% in average between 2000 and 2009. See pp. 422 and 425. In 2010, the tourism industry was responsible for 21.2% of foreign exchange generated by all exports. According to a 2007 report by

ECLAC The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, known as ECLAC, UNECLAC or in Spanish and Portuguese CEPAL, is a United Nations regional commission to encourage economic cooperation. ECLAC includes 46 member States (2 ...

, tourism contributed to a reduction in poverty of 3% in the country. Since the late 1980s,

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

became a popular nature travel destination, and its main competitive advantage is its well-established system of

national parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

and

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

s, covering around 23.4% of the country's land area, the largest in the world as a percentage of the country's territory, and home to a rich variety of

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

, 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 Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

. ''Chapter 5. Costa Rica: On the Beaten Path'' The country also has plenty of beaches, both in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

and the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

, within short travel distances, and also several

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

es that can be visited with safety. By the early 1990s, Costa Rica became known as the

poster child A poster child (sometimes poster boy or poster girl) is, according to the original meaning of the term, a child afflicted by some disease or deformity whose picture is used on posters or other media as part of a campaign to raise money or enlist ...

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...

, with tourist arrivals reaching an average annual growth rate of 14% between 1986 and 1994. According to the

Costa Rican Tourism Board The Costa Rican Tourism Board ( es, Instituto Costarricense de Turismo) is the government agency responsible for promoting sustainable in Costa Rica. Originally the agency was created by decree in 1931 as the National Tourism Board, and by a law ...

, 47% of international tourists visiting the country in 2009 engaged in activities related to ecotourism, which includes trekking, flora, fauna, and bird watching, and visits to rural communities. However, most visitors look for adventure activities.

Description and key statistics

Costa Rica stands as the most visited nation in the Central American region, with 3.0 million foreign visitors in 2018. During the same year, Panama was ranked second in the region with 2.5 million, followed by Guatemala with 2.4 million visitors. The number of tourists visiting Costa Rica surpassed the 2 million milestone in 2008, and tourist-related income reached billion that year. As a result of the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

, international arrivals began falling since August 2008, as the number of U.S. citizens visiting the country shrank, and this market segment represented 54% of all foreign tourists visiting Costa Rica. The combined effect of the global economic crisis and the

2009 flu pandemic The 2009 swine flu pandemic, caused by the H1N1 influenza virus and declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) from June 2009 to August 2010, is the third recent flu pandemic involving the H1N1 virus (the first being the 1918–1920 Span ...

resulted in a reduction of tourists arrivals in 2009 to 1.9 million visitors, an 8% reduction as compared to 2008. In 2010, the number of visitors rose to 2.1 million, barely exceeding the 2008 peak, and a record was reached in 2012 with 2.34 million visitors, a 6.9% increase over 2011. A historical record of 2.5 million international visitors arrived in the country in 2014, up 4.1% year-on-year, and the corresponding receipts rose to in 2014, up 8.3% from the previous year. In addition, the average expenditure per tourist increased from in 2010 to in 2014, and the average stay increased from 11 days in 2010 to 13.4 in 2014. Costa Rica achieved new records in 2016 with 2.93 million visitors and total earnings of . The country finally reached the 3 million tourists' milestone in 2018. In terms of the 2017 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), Costa Rica reached the 38th place in the world ranking, classified as the fourth most competitive among

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

countries after Mexico (22), Brazil (27) and Panama (35), and ranking sixth in the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. ''See Table 1, pp. 25 and Country/Economy Profile: Costa Rica, pp. 150-151.'' Just considering the subindex measuring natural resources, Costa Rica ranks in the 3rd place at a worldwide level, 21st in the world when considering international openness criteria, and 24th worldwide when considering the subindex measuring prioritization of travel and tourism. The 2017 TTCI report also notes Costa Rica's main weaknesses are price competitiveness (108th) and ground and port infrastructure (99th), with quality of the roads ranking 123th and ground transport efficiency 108th between 138 countries analyzed. In 2012, most visitors came from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(39.3%),

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

(20.2%),

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(6.5%),

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

(3.9%), and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

(2.9%). See tables 1, 63 and 64. Tourists from

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an countries made up 60.8% of all international visitors, and visitors from

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

represented 30.8%. According to a 2006 survey, visitors from the Caribbean Basin and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

travel to Costa Rica mainly for business or professional purposes, while a majority of Americans, Canadians and Europeans visit the country for leisure. 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 visitor's complaint is the poor condition of the roads.

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

, including

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, and several of the top ten

countries according to their 2013 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), which are competitors in the nature travel market segment. * Notes: Green shadow denotes the country with the top indicator. Yellow shadow corresponds to Costa Rica's.
(1) Visitors and receipts for Cuba correspond to 2011. For Bahamas tourism revenues as % GDP are for 2003, and direct and indirect employment for 2005.

Ecotourism

Bandera Azul Ecologica CRC 07 2009 Playa Langosta 6248

Tourism Certification Programs CRC 07 2009 6275

Viewing area Poas volcano 6651 CRI 08 2009

Ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...

is extremely popular with the many tourists visiting the extensive

and

s 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. In 2006, 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. ''2006 Annual Survey from the Costa Rican Board of Tourism (ICT)'' In recent years, several of Costa Rica's top travel service providers have been internationally recognized for their commitment to planet-positive tourism. Examples include

Nature Air Nature Air was a regional airline headquartered in San José, Costa Rica that offered a scheduled service to a range of tourist destinations in Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua. It operated scheduled domestic and international services, as well ...

and Hotel Punta Islita as winners of the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, sponsored by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), and Lapa Rios Ecolodge as winner of the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Standard-Setter.

The "Bandera Azul" Program

Implemented in 1996 and inspired by a similar program developed in Europe in 1985, the ''"Bandera Azul Ecológica"'' (Ecological Blue Flag) Program is intended to promote development while curbing the negative impacts of mass tourism by helping the local community to work against pollution and protecting the environment. The program evaluates the environmental quality of coastal areas, in terms of the quality of the beaches and sea water, access and quality of drinking water, water and waste management, security, and environmental education. Depending on the degree of compliance against the optimal criteria established, a certain number of stars are awarded to the Blue Flag.'' pp. 10'' After the first evaluation, ten beaches were awarded the distinction, which usually is highly publicized to potential visitors. In 2008, based on the evaluation carried out in 2007, 59 beaches kept the distinction while eight beaches lost it. In 2009, out of 81 applicants, only 61 beaches won the distinction, and just two obtained the maximum 5 stars, Playa Blanca in Punta Leona and Playa Langosta in Santa Cruz.

Voluntary Certification Program

Developed in 1997 by the

, the public agency responsible for tourism development and regulation in the country, a voluntary Certification for Sustainable Tourism Program (known as CST) was introduced in order to turn "the concept of sustainability into something real" by "improving the way in which the natural and social resources are utilized, to motivate the active participation of the local communities, and to support the competitiveness of the business sector." The program was aimed for all types of businesses in the tourism industry, but it began only with lodging providers. By 2007, a total of 108 parameters are considered for the CST evaluation. CST hopes to encourage businesses to become sustainable in a variety of ways, including using recycled products, implementing water and energy saving devices, properly disposing and treating waste, conserving and expanding Costa Rica's forests, and developing better systems of information management. As of October 2009, out of approximately 3,000 hotels and tours operators, only 105 have a Certification for Sustainable Tourism. Some tour operators in the U.S. and Europe promote several small hotels that hold this certification through their travel packages.

Educational Opportunities

Costa Rica is a beautiful country with lots of educational opportunities. One opportunity is to learn about the history of oxcarts. In 2005, Costa Rica’s oxcarts with beautiful colors and designs were recognized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and declared them to be an Intangible World Heritage. You can learn about these oxcarts and how they transformed from symbols of Spanish colonization to a treasured symbol featured in most holidays and celebrations. Another educational opportunity is Museo Nacional de Costa Rica. This museum will enlighten you on the lifestyle of ancient cultures through artifacts and carvings recovered over time. Some of the artifacts show a glimpse of the rituals and celebrations that took place in Costa Rica hundreds of years ago. In addition to the artifacts there is information about some of Costa Rica’s political history including involvement in Civil Wars and its well-known Presidents.

Ethical Traveler Destination

Costa Rica was listed by Ethicaltraver.org in "The Developing World's 10 Best Ethical Destinations" for 2011 and 2012. These lists were complied using metrics such as environmental protection, social welfare, and human rights. Costa Rica was absent from the list for several years because

World Vision In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

considered the country among the world's most notorious destinations for

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...

and sexual predators. Ethical Traveler included Costa Rica on the 2011 list due to the government's efforts to address the problem.

Camino de Costa Rica

The

Camino de Costa Rica The (Way of Costa Rica) is a long hiking trail across Costa Rica. It runs from the Atlantic Ocean (Caribbean coast), the southernmost part of the Tortuguero canals, up the mountain and through indigenous territory near the Barbilla National Pa ...

is a 280 km long hiking trail across

. It runs from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

(Caribbean coast), the southernmost part of the Tortuguero Canals, up the mountain and through indigenous territory near the

Barbilla National Park Barbilla National Park is a National Park in the Caribbean La Amistad Conservation Area of Costa Rica located on the eastern slopes of the Cordillera de Talamanca. It protects forests as well as Laguna Ayil and Cerro Tigre and the Dantas River wa ...

and through valleys and mountain ranges of the central region of the country, just south of the

Turrialba Turrialba may refer to: Places * Turrialba Volcano * Turrialba Volcano National Park, created around Turrialba Volcano. * Turrialba (canton), located in Cartago Province * Turrialba (district), located in Turrialba canton. Other * Turrialba cheese ...

and Irazu Volcanos and through the Los Santos coffee region down to the Pacific coast in

Quepos Quepos () is a districts of Costa Rica, district of the canton of Quepos (canton), Quepos, in the province of Puntarenas Province, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Toponymy The town is named for the native Quepo Indians who inhabited the place in the colo ...

. By 2018, the rural population had declined from 40% inhabitants (2000) to 27% inhabitants, poverty at 25% was significantly higher than among the urban population, and income was more than 40% lower. These sobering facts as well as other factors such as level of education, unemployment and underemployment in rural areas gave rise to the NGO, the Asociación Mar a Mar in year 2016. The aim of the Camino de Costa Rica is to establish a world class long-distance trail and through its success in bringing hikers from all over the world, to improve the economic situation in the rural areas of Costa Rica.

Beaches and adventure

Most of the main attractions are nature related, a combination of

with

leisure Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Leisure ...

and adventure activities: sun, sea and sand (55%);

and

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...

watching (44%); visiting

es (43%); trekking (41%); bird watching (30%); canopy tours (26%);

bungee jumping Bungee jumping (), also spelled bungy jumping, is an activity that involves a person jumping from a great height while connected to a large elastic cord. The launching pad is usually erected on a tall structure such as a building or crane, a ...

from bridges (11%);

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

(11%); snorkeling (10%); and rafting (7%). Cultural activities such as visiting

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

s, art galleries and

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

s corresponds to 11%, and

business travel Business travel is travel undertaken for work or business purposes, as opposed to other types of travel, such as for leisure purposes or regularly commuting between one's home and workplace. According to a survey, 88% small business owners e ...

corresponds to 17%. Seven Costa Rican

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...

s were included in the 2012

Condé Nast Traveler ''Condé Nast Traveler'' is a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine published by Condé Nast. The magazine has won 25 National Magazine Awards. The Condé Nast unit of Advance Publications purchased ''Signature'', a magazine for Diners Club memb ...

Readers' Choice Awards, ranking among the top 15 resorts in Central and South America. The resorts are Xandari Resort and Spa (2),

Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

at Peninsula Papagayo (3), Hotel Punta Islita (8), El Silencio Lodge and Spa (9), Los Sueños Marriott Ocean and Golf Resort (11), Arenas del Mar (12) and the Westin Playa Conchal, Resort and Spa at Playa Conchal (15). The award selection is based on surveys among the magazine's subscribers, who evaluate the resort's quality of rooms, service, food, location, design, and activities. Two hotels were also chosen by the magazine readers among the top 5 in Central America, Hotel Grano de Oro (3) in

San José San José or San Jose (Spanish for Saint Joseph) most often refers to: *San Jose, California, United States *San José, Costa Rica, the nation's capital San José or San Jose may also refer to: Places Argentina * San José, Buenos Aires ** San ...

and Hotel Villa Caletas (4) in Puntarenas Central Pacific.

Main natural attractions

National Parks and Biological Reserves

In 2009 more than 1.2 million tourists visited national parks and protected wild reserves, up from 812 thousand visitors in 2000 and 510 thousand in 1990. Since 2003 slightly more than half the visitors are international tourists. The most visited parks are

Manuel Antonio Manuel Antonio Pérez Sánchez (July 12, 1900 – January 28, 1930), better known as Manuel Antonio, was a Galician poet. He was honoured on Galician Literature Day Galician Literature Day ( gl, Día das Letras Galegas) is a public holiday o ...

, Tortuguero,

Cahuita Cahuita is a district of the Talamanca canton, in the Limón province of Costa Rica. It is located on the Caribbean coast. History Cahuita was created on 19 February 1970 by Decreto Ejecutivo 13. Geography Cahuita has an area of km² and an ...

, and the parks around the volcanoes Poás, Arenal and Irazú. ''See table 4, pp. 4''. Other favorite national parks and wild reserves are: *

Cocos Island Cocos Island ( es, Isla del Coco) is an island in the Pacific Ocean administered by Costa Rica, approximately southwest of the Costa Rican mainland. It constitutes the 11th of the 13 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the Province of Puntarenas ...

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

, ranked among the final top 77 nominees in the contest to choose the world's

New 7 Wonders of Nature New 7 Wonders of Nature (2007–2011) was an initiative started in 2007 to create a list of seven natural wonders chosen by people through a global poll. It was the second in a series of Internet-based polls led by Swiss-born Canadian Bernard Web ...

. * Area de Conservación Guanacaste,

, * La Amistad International Park,

, Border

Corcovado National Park Corcovado National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Corcovado) is a National Park on the Osa Peninsula, in Osa Canton, southwestern Costa Rica (9° North, 83° West), which is part of the Osa Conservation Area. It was established on 24 October 1975 ...

* Chirripó National Park * Tapantí National Park *

Braulio Carrillo National Park Braulio Carrillo National Park is a national park in Heredia Province and San José Province, in central Costa Rica. It is part of the Central Conservation Area. Geography The park is located on the volcanic Cordillera Central (Central mountain ...

La Selva Biological Station La Selva Biological Station is a protected area encompassing 1,536 ha of low-land tropical rain forest in northeastern Costa Rica. It is owned and operated by the Organization for Tropical Studies,Matlock, R., & Hartshorn, G. (1999). La selva biol ...

Organization for Tropical Studies The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), founded in 1963, is a non-profit consortium of over 50 universities and research institutions based in the United States, Latin America, and South Africa. OTS manages a network of ecological research s ...

(private reserve) *

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve ( es, Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde) is a Costa Rican reserve located along the Cordillera de Tilarán within the Puntarenas and Alajuela provinces. Named after the nearby town of Monteverde and fo ...

, Monteverde, Puntarenas (private reserve)

Volcanoes

Poás Volcano The Poás Volcano, ( es, Volcán Poás), is an active stratovolcano in central Costa Rica and is located within Poas Volcano National Park. It has erupted 40 times since 1828, including April 2017 when visitors and residents were evacuated. T ...

at Poas Volcano National Park, Alajuela. * Irazú Volcano at Irazu National Park, Cartago. * Arenal Volcano at Arenal National Park, Alajuela. *

Turrialba Volcano Turrialba Volcano is an active volcano in central Costa Rica that has been explosively eruptive in recent years including 2016 and in January, March and April 2017. Visitors used to be able to hike down into the main crater, but increased volc ...

, at

Turrialba Volcano National Park Turrialba Volcano National Park, or in Spanish the is a National Park in the Central Conservation Area of Costa Rica that encompasses the area around the Turrialba Volcano in Cartago Province. Major eruptions in the past include the years betw ...

, Cartago. * Tenorio Volcano National Park, where the popular

Rio Celeste Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

(Light Blue River) is located, Guanacaste. *

Rincón de la Vieja Rincon or Rincón (Spanish for ''corner'') may refer to: * Rincon (meadow) * Rincon (abandoned meander) People * Rincon (surname) * Rincón (footballer, born 1977), born Gilvan Santos Souza, Brazilian football striker * Rincón (footballer, 1 ...

Rincón de la Vieja Volcano National Park Rincon or Rincón (Spanish for ''corner'') may refer to: * Rincon (meadow) * Rincon (abandoned meander) People * Rincon (surname) * Rincón (footballer, born 1977), born Gilvan Santos Souza, Brazilian football striker * Rincón (footballer, 1 ...

, Guanacaste.

Beaches

See '' List of beaches of Costa Rica'' * Manuel Antonio Beach at

Manuel Antonio National Park Manuel Antonio National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio) is a small national park in the Central Pacific Conservation Area located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, just south of the city of Quepos, Puntarenas, and from the nation ...

, was listed by

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

in 2011 among the world's 12 most beautiful national parks. * Cahuita Beach at

Cahuita National Park Cahuita National Park is a terrestrial and marine national park in the Caribbean La Amistad Conservation Area of Costa Rica located on the southern Caribbean coast in Limón Province, connected to the town of Cahuita. It protects beaches and ...

, Limón * Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón * Manzanillo Beach, Limón * Gandoca Beach, Limón * Tamarindo Beach, Guanacaste * Playa Junquillal, Guanacaste *

Flamingo Beach Flamingo Beach ( bg, бряг Фламинго, bryag Flamingo, ) is the beach on Drake Passage extending 2.6 km in east-west direction and 600 m wide, situated on the north coast of Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarc ...

, 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, these natural sites are among the most popular destinations by both foreign and domestic tourists, with the exception of

, which it is not easily accessed, because it is located in the

, approximately 550 km (340 mi) from the Pacific shore of Costa Rica. }) ! Isla del coco

, - ! 2 ! style="text-align:left;" , Arenal Volcano ( es, Volcán Arenal) ! Costa rica arenal fortuna 2001 12

, - ! 3 ! style="text-align:left;" , Chirripo Mountain ( es, Cerro Chirripó) ! Cerro Chirripo Picture 1191 zoom in

, - ! 4 ! style="text-align:left;" ,

Celeste River Celeste River () is a river in Tenorio Volcano National Park of Costa Rica. It is notable for its distinctive turquoise coloration. The Celeste River also borders several hot springs and has one large waterfall. It takes about an hour to hike to ...

( es, Río Celeste) ! Rio celeste zoom in

, - ! 5 ! style="text-align:left;" , Tortuguero Canals ( es, Canales de Torguero) ! Tortuguero boat trip

, - ! 6 ! style="text-align:left;" ,

( es, Volcán Poás) ! Kids Volcán Poás Dic 2005 06

, - ! 7 ! style="text-align:left;" , Monteverde Reserve ( es, Reserva Monteverde) ! DirkvdM canopy walk

Other activities and popular destinations

* Sarchí, Alajuela, for shopping

souvenir A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...

s and typical products, including the popular Costa Rican ox carts. * INBioparque, Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, Santo Domingo de Heredia. *

Lankester Botanical Garden The Lankester Botanical Gardens (also known as the Jardín Botánico Lankester or Charles H. Lankester Botanical Garden) are a set of gardens outside of Cartago, Costa Rica. The garden is open to the public, but is operated by the University of Co ...

, Cartago. * Orosí Colonial Church and Ujarrás historical site, Cartago. * Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles, (Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels), Cartago. * Guayabo arqueologichal site,

, Cartago. *

Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica The 1,140-seat National Theatre of Costa Rica ( es, Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica) is Costa Rica's national theatre, located in the central section of San José. Construction began in 1891, and it opened to the public on 21 October 1897 with a p ...

(National Theater),

. * Teatro Popular Melico Salazar (Popular Theater),

. * Centro Nacional de Arte y Cultura (National Center of Arts and Culture),

. *

Museo Nacional de Costa Rica The Museo Nacional de Costa Rica is the national museum of Costa Rica, located in the capital of San José. It is located at Calle 17, between Central and Second Avenue, Cuesta de Moras. It moved to its current location in 1950.San José San José or San Jose (Spanish for Saint Joseph) most often refers to: *San Jose, California, United States *San José, Costa Rica, the nation's capital San José or San Jose may also refer to: Places Argentina * San José, Buenos Aires ** San ...

. * Museo de Oro de Costa Rica Precolombino (Pre-Columbian Gold Museum),

Central Bank of Costa Rica The Central Bank of Costa Rica ( es, Banco Central de Costa Rica) is the central bank of Costa Rica. Scope In pursuit of its mission, and to maintain the economy’s internal and external balance, the goals and operating objectives of the Central ...

. * Museo de Jade, (Jade Museum), Instituto Nacional de Seguros en

. * Museo Filatélico de Costa Rica (Philately Museum) * Museo Juan Santamaría en Alajuela * Museo de los Niños, (Children Museum),

. * Parque Zoológico Nacional Simón Bolívar, (National Zoo),

. *

(hiking trail across the country, from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast)

Medical Tourism

Costa Rica, together with

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, is among the

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

countries that have become popular destinations for

medical tourism Medical tourism refers to people traveling abroad to obtain medical treatment. In the past, this usually referred to those who traveled from less-developed countries to major medical centers in highly developed countries for treatment unavailable a ...

.Available in pdf
In 2009 Costa Rica received 30,000 international tourists seeking for medical treatment, and spent around . Most medical travelers came from the United States and Canada. During 2010, the number of patients rose to 36,000 international tourists, with 40% of them receiving dental care services. In 2011, that number continued to rise, eventually reaching 46,474. Costa Rica is particularly attractive to American tourists because of its proximity and short flight, the quality of medical services and its health care system, and lower medical costs. The country has 20 medical centers, including small clinics and private hospitals, with international certification, including two hospitals accredited by the Joint Commission International. American tourists prefer Costa Rica, together with Mexico and Panama, for dental services or cosmetic surgeries. Costa Rica offers 30% to 50% savings as compared to U.S. costs for quality dental and cosmetic surgery services, and is attractive for those U.S. citizens without health insurance or seeking procedures not covered by their health insurance plans. Foreign patients also find lower-priced nonsurgical procedures and tests, as an example, a

magnetic resonance imaging Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio wave ...

(MRI) in Costa Rica costs from $200 to $300, compared to more than $1,000 in the United States. In average medical costs are 70% lower than in the U.S. Due to the country's natural attractions, many health tourists combine their treatment with

and offer an opportunity to their family or companions to be entertained while the patient undergoes the medical procedure.

Environmental and social impacts

Costa Rica Playa Tamarindo and Rivermouth 2007 Aerial Photograph Tamarindowiki 01

Beachfront developments

In many beach areas, but especially in the towns of

Tamarindo Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae. ...

and Jacó, a

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

boom took place when many foreigners from developed countries began buying

beachfront A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past ...

properties and building holiday and vacation houses and condominiums. These developments completely changed the life style in these towns, and property prices are now so high that it became prohibitive for Costa Ricans to own beach front properties. Also, the lack of planning for these developments is having a negative social impact on small communities, as in some cases they are forced to move to places with less adequate infrastructure and where not enough job opportunities exist.

Hotel siting and construction

Also there have been isolated controversies regarding the site location and construction of

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

s and

beach resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the German ' ...

s invading the protected maritime public zone; also a case of one hotel located within a protected area; and a few cases of resort development with severe negative impacts to existing flora and fauna, by dumping construction wastes damaging

coral reefs A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of Colony (biology), colonies of coral polyp (zoology), polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, wh ...

or filling

mangroves A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several ...

. As a result of these and other similar controversies, the Environment Law 7554 was passed in 1995 to require environmental impact studies before a hotel or any other development is authorized to begin construction. Another source of pollution is due to dumping untreated sewage into rivers that feed into the beach towns. In 2007 the Constitutional Court order the national and 34 local governments to stop dumping sewage into the Río Grande de Tárcoles, to restore the watershed to its unpolluted condition and to adopt an integrated solution to the wastewater problem. Towns such as Jacó where tourism and real estate development has grown ten-fold since 2004 suffered from backlash in September 2008 when the government blamed the local government of

Garabito Garabito is a canton in the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica. The head city is in Jacó district. History Garabito was created on 25 September 1980 by decree 6512. Geography Garabito has an area of km2 and a mean elevation of metres. T ...

for high levels of bacteria on the beach. More recently, controversy took place with the construction of the Sardinal-El Coco-Ocotal aqueduct by private developers, as the community of

Sardinal Sardinal is a district of the Carrillo canton, in the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central Ameri ...

protested violently because they fear that scarce drinking water will be diverted for the tourism developments whose owners are financing the pipeline. As of May 2008, construction works were stopped by order of the local municipality. Developers and the government authorities have explained the aqueduct is public, and that it will benefit not only the tourism developments but also the surrounding communities. Controversy still persists regarding the real capacity of the Sardinal aquifer.

Sex tourism

The rapid growth of tourism also has the consequence of the country becoming a popular destination for

sex tourism Sex tourism refers to the practice of traveling to foreign countries, often on a different continent, with the intention of engaging in sexual activity or relationships in exchange for money or lifestyle support. This practice predominantly oper ...

. Despite the government and industry efforts, child sex trade has become a problem. 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. Also it was reported that about 80% of the sex tourists are from the US. This is largely because

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

is not

illegal Illegal, or unlawful, typically describes something that is explicitly prohibited by law, or is otherwise forbidden by a state or other governing body. Illegal may also refer to: Law * Violation of law * Crime, the practice of breaking the ...

but many of the activities surrounding it are indeed illegal, such as pimping.

References

External links

Costa Rica Travel Guide

Costa Rica

Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) official web site

Costa Rica's Certification in Sustainable Tourism Program

Costa Rica National Parks

Costa Rica Hotels & Resorts - Condé Nast Traveler Gold List 2014

Costa Rica Guide

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

New York Times Travel Guides: Costa Rica

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

, 10 April 2014. {{Tourism in North America