by Brian Major
Last updated: 9:00 AM ET, Tue January 7, 2020
Widely recognized for its distinctive landscapes, stunning natural environments and diverse wildlife, Costa Rica's tourism stakeholders are focusing squarely on these natural elements as they seek to develop the country's visitor attractions.
Home to five percent of the known biodiversity in the world, Costa Rica Tourism Board and tourism ministry officials are linking the country's travel marketing to its natural environment and numerous sustainability initiatives.
Costa Rica's government has drafted a detailed plan to decarbonize its economy by 2050 and in 2017 Costa Rica officials pledged to ban all single-use plastic by 2021. Last year Costa Rica received a 2019 "Champions of the Earth" award from the United Nations, the organization's highest environmental honor, for protecting natural species and implementing policies to combat climate change.
The Costa Rica Tourism Institute (ICT) last year launched "Only the Essentials" an advertising campaign designed to focus travelers on Costa Rica's natural attractions. Costa Rica also offers a highly developed tourism infrastructure and activities.
We spoke with María Amalia Revelo, the country's minister of tourism, to discuss the country's tourism initiatives for 2020.
TP: How was Costa Rica able to achieve "Champions of the Earth" recognition from the United Nations?
MR: "Costa Rica was able to reverse our deforestation. Years ago it was 30 percent; now we have 52 percent of the re-foresting covered. I think that is very unique in the world. Half of the [re-forested area] is dedicated for government research, and the rest belongs to the private sector. [They've] decided the forest is a great alternative and they are [closing] cattle farms to raise the forest again. So we have a secondary forest where many of the farms were used for raising cattle.
We produce most of our energy from renewables, particularly hydro-electric. We have so many rivers in Costa Rica and have built big dams. Our president has also launched a de-carbonization plan, and our goal is to be carbon neutral by 2050.
TP: Does the country's commitment to sustainability attract travelers who consider this an important aspect pf their travels?
MR: That is the type of market we are inviting to come. We don't compete on the mass market. Our goal in Costa Rica is to promote hotels that are sustainable. I have over 40 years of working in tourism, and 25 to 30 years ago we [made] a decision, together with the private sector, to determine what type of tourism we wanted in the country. At that time the big all-inclusives and beaches were very popular, but we wanted to have a different type of tourism. If we were going to compete with beach destinations, we would lose that battle. We decided to go the other way and start selling our beautiful nature, all of the diversity we have to offer, and our small- and medium sized [hotel] properties.
TP: Where do the beaches and "sun and fun" activities fit into the mix or Costa Rica?
MR: Beaches are an important element. Sixty-five percent of our tourists go to the beach. We do have all-inclusive and large beachfront hotels, but people don't come to Costa Rica to just go to the beach. We already have a lot of national parks, [so] we wanted to develop tourism that was more related to nature. We understood what Costa Rica needed to sell was its great diversity in a small country.
TP: How would you describe Costa Rica's hotel base?
MR: Today 94 percent of the properties are less than 40 rooms, and they are located all over Costa Rica. That gives us the possibility to create wealth and distribute wealth and create a better quality of life for our communities. We are not measuring tourism success by how many visitors arrive or even by how much money they produce, but really by how we can understand how tourism can improve the quality of life of our citizens and the many foreigners who live in Costa Rica.
TP: How would you describe travelers to Costa Rica?
MR: We are attracting high-end [tourists] who stay 12 nights on average. Americans stay 10 nights [and] Canadians stay 14 nights. It's a market that wants to have a variety of experiences in the country and is willing to pay a little bit more to have all of the diversity Costa Rica offers.
Also, tourists who come to Costa Rica are a little different because they value the experiences we offer. So we are further developing experiences like bird-watching, wellness and yoga and active [pursuits] like water-rafting and zip-lining. We have seen more and more families coming and we see more couples coming and groups of friends coming who want to enjoy and experience that has to do with nature. That's the kind of customer we want to bring to Costa Rica, the ones who appreciate what the country has to offer."
TP: Does the destination work closely with travel agents?
MR: We love travel agents because ours is not an easy destination to go to if you don't know much about Costa Rica! The specialized travel agents who are really experts on Costa Rica have been working with the destination for years and years and really know what the customer is looking for. I believe the relationship between travel agents and Costa Rica has been a strong one.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
