Tourism in 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. Since 1999, tourism earns 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, to a historical record of 2.2 million foreign visitors in 2011. In 2010 tourism contributed with 5.5% of the country's and 21.2% of foreign exchange generated by all exports. In 2009 tourism attracted 17% of foreign direct investment inflows, and 13% in average between 2000 and 2009; it was responsible for 13.3% of direct and indirect employment in 2005.

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, 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 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'sbiodiversity. The country also has plenty of beaches, both in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, within short travel distances, and also severalvolcanoes that can be visited with safety. By the early 1990s, Costa Rica became known as the poster child of ecotourism, with tourist arrivals reaching an average annual growth rate of 14% between 1986 to 1994. According to the Costa Rican Tourism Board, 46% of international tourists visiting the country in 2009 engaged in activities related to ecotuorism, which includes trekking, flora, fauna, and bird watching, and visits to rural communities. However, most visitors look for adventure activities. Costa Rica was included by Ethical Traveler magazine in the 2011 and the 2012 list of The Developing World's 10 Best Ethical DestinationsThe Developing World's 10 Best Ethical Destinations