Costa Rican Tourism Institute Announces Record Number With Arrival of 2.47 Million Tourists by Air

The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) reported this past Wednesday that the country reached the record number of tourist arrivals with 2.47 million arrivals by air, for a growth of 16.7% compared to 2022 and 2. 2% compared to 2019, the last year before the covid-19 pandemic.

The Minister of Tourism, William Rodríguez, expressed in the press conference after the Government Council that Costa Rica consolidated its success as a tourist destination during 2023, after reaching 2,471,150 visitors, of which a total of 1,431,644 came from United States, the country’s main market.

Positive and historical data

«These positive and historical data exceed the tourism indicators that the country had before the pandemic, prior to the global recovery. In 2019, 2,418,300 visited us by air, we closed 2023 with almost 53,000 more tourists, a result of the correct and timely promotion of the destination in our main tourist source markets,” said the Costa Rican minister.

According to data from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), North America stood out as a key source of tourists, registering 1,756,578 arrivals by air throughout 2023, with an increase of 18.6% compared to the year former. The United States led with 1,431,644 tourists, followed by Canada with 242,970 tourists and Mexico with 81,964 people.

For its part, Europe also contributed with the record figure, adding 431,980 tourist arrivals during the period from January to December, which represents an increase of 5.1% compared to the previous year. The main European markets were France, Germany and the Netherlands.

Offering unique experiences and exceptional hospitality

“This result thanks to the permanent efforts to recover the country’s air connectivity with those markets and the notable joint effort between the public and private sectors to offer unique experiences and exceptional hospitality,” commented Rodríguez. During December 2023, the airway experienced the arrival of 281,095 tourists, 18% more compared to the same month of 2022.

The Juan Santamaría international airports, located on the outskirts of San José, and the Daniel Oduber, in the North Pacific, were especially notable, with 181,002 and 100,051 tourists entering respectively in the previous December. This represents an increase of 18% and 28.5% compared to December 2022 and 10% compared to December 2019.