Costa Rica Tourism Numbers

Between the beginning of September 2008 and the end of February 2009 there were 82,000 less tourist visitors entering Costa Rica in comparison with the same period in the previous year…

This is a drop of 8%. Some 54% of the tourists typically come from the USA and with the recession in the USA – some are now using the word depression – those numbers have been affected. Guanacaste has been hit the hardest with a drop of round 15% whereas San Jose has been more stable…

Carlos Ricardo Benavides, the Minister of Tourism assurered that “this did not take us by surprise and we weren’t sleeping” and added that they are preparing a $20 million budget for promoting Costa Rica this year. Alberto López, the director the National Chamber of Tourism stated that he feels tourism in Costa Rica for the full year 2009 will probably be about 7% lower than 2008.

Earlier in the year in the 24th January 2008 edition of La Nacion newspaper, although the first half of 2008 was excellent, the number of tourists visiting Costa Rica during the last few months of 2008 began to decline slightly because of the economic crisis in the USA.

In total however, Costa Rica received over 2,000,000 tourists in 2008 which is 100,000 more than 2007 and a new record.

Some Costa Rica Tourism Numbers For You:

• The total number of tourists entering the country through San Jose and Liberia airports fell by 2.4% (22,000 people) in the second half of 2008 (between July and October 2008) in comparison with the second half of 2007
• San Jose: In the second half of 2008, the number of tourists entering through San Jose international airport was 744,000 in comparison to 751,000 in 2007 – a drop of only 7,000 people.
• Liberia: In the second half of 2008, the number of tourists entering through Liberia airport was 155,000 in comparison to 170,000 in 2007
• Liberia: For the full year though, the number of tourists entering through Liberia airport was 414,000 which is 46,000 more than in 2007

75% of Liberia’s foreign visitors are from the USA so with continued economic weakness in the USA, it’s likely that Liberia will experience more weakness in tourism than San Jose which has a more diversified base of visitors with tourists, medical tourists and the majority of business visitors.

Written by Scott Oliver, author of How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa and Costa Rica’s Guide To Making Money Offshore.

Our thanks to our friends at La Nación – Costa Rica’s largest Spanish circulation newspaper for their permission to include their chart…

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.