QCOSTARICA — Tourist arrivals in Costa Rica fell more than 7% compared to a year ago, According to data from the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) – Costa Rican Tourism Institute, 592,259 foreigner arrivals were registered in the first two months of 2025.
This represents a 4% drop compared to the same period in 2024. However, in February, the decrease was 7.6% compared to 2024.
Official sources attribute the decline to a lack of airline capacity and the resulting decrease in tourists, but economist Luis Vargas believes they are reacting to Costa Rica’s loss of competitiveness due to high prices, which rank it among the most expensive in the world, which reduces tourists’ purchasing power.
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According to the Minister of Tourism, William Rodríguez, airlines such as American Airlines, Delta, and Alaska Airlines reduced their seat availability on planes bound for Costa Rica by 15%, 17%, and 41%, respectively.
“Airlines, especially in the European and United States markets, have reduced their number of seats. We are implementing a series of measures that we are sure will recover those seats,” explained Rodríguez.
For its part, the Camara Nacional De Turismo (Canatur) – National Chamber of Tourism, points out that the main cause is the deterioration of airport infrastructure. At both the San José and Liberia airports, the immigration and customs processing times may exceed one hour during busy periods.
“The exchange rate has undoubtedly hit us hard, but so has the deterioration of road and airport infrastructure,” said Shirley Calvo Jiménez, executive director of Canatur.
Calso added that the biggest challenge is the distortion of economic policy, both monetary and exchange rate, particularly over the past year. “The Central Bank has had room to make more significant decisions to somewhat balance the distortions and alleviate the impact on the sector, but the problems appear to be greater,” said the Canatur director.
Insecurity is another issue of concern for the sector. There are two dimensions to the problem: local security, which directly affects tourists in the country, and the increase in international organized crime, which impacts the perception of Costa Rica as a safe destination.
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Calvo points out that “a good portion of tourists come to Costa Rica because they recognize us as a peaceful country,” where they can enjoy nature, tranquility, and the “pura vida” way of life.
The decline is due to visits from North America and Europe, two of the country’s main markets.
To counter these challenges, the tourism sector is investing in market diversification and innovation in tourism products. In this regard, the ICT has made efforts to attract more tourists from Europe and Latin America and to promote more flights from other destinations.
Tourism has played a significant role in Costa Rica’s economy, particularly since the late 1990s when the country experienced a significant increase in visitors and established itself as a popular global destination.
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Since then there has been a consistent increase in tourist visits, reaching a peak of over 3.1 million in 2019. In 2024, this number slightly decreased to just over 2.9 million.
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