Tourists from the United States flock to Costa Rica with 39% of them saying nature as the main reason. The government of Costa Rica, fortunately, quickly recognized the importance of ecotourism in their industry and took steps to protect their natural resources. As a matter of fact, a fourth of the country forms part of the 29 parks and protected areas, considered as one of the world's highest protection rates of the natural resources. As ecotourism grew, Costa Rica's economy also grew as best reflected in the country's gross domestic product. In 1995, tourism became the highest money-making venture in the country followed by banana, coffee and beef industry.
Costa Rica was able to meet to the expectations of the tourists by supplying an environmentally conscious tourism. The huge tract of land under the protected area preserved the natural beauty of the environment in Costa Rica. This, in turn, sustains the tourist influx into the country. A number of local and governmental programs have been established to further promote education and conservation of ecotourism. For instance, Monteverde region of Costa Rica which housed a number of notable and popular ecotourism spots such as Monteverde Cloud Forest Private Reserve, the Community Reserve of Santa Elena, the Butterfly Garden, the Orchid Farm, the Community Art Center, CASEM, the Cheese Factory, the Frog Farm and the famous Sky Walk-Sky Trek.
To preserve natural beauty, ecotourism sectors provide guides to accompany the tourists to educate the tourists or impart knowledge about the sites. The Sky Walk project was started by a local family and required the involvement of the entire community. This provides jobs to the locals which they could use to purchase things they need in turn helping the economy move forward. The local schools, churches and road projects also get much needed support from projects such as these.
Costa Rica has not always been a major tourist destination. As a matter of fact, its transformation to become a famous tourist hub was short of miraculous. Ecotourism has started in Costa Rica as early as the 1970's. It took off in 1980's when the government worked hand in hand with USAID, World Bank and IMF to further develop it.
Economic Impacts
The role of economics in ecotourism could not be understated. It was first and foremost the reason behind the creation of ecotourism. It is said that “years ago, the travel agents first dreamed up the idea of "ecotourism" were clearly looking for new markets, not ways to save the world” (Miller and Tangley, 1991, p. 153).
The greatest promise ecotourism holds is its ability to marry economic gains with environment conservation. The movement of travelers from developed to developing countries is essential to earn the much needed dollars to spur the economy. However, this is not the case observed by many in Costa Rica.
Revenue leakage seems to be the order of the day. Revenue leakage is defined as the money which escapes the local economy and went back to developed countries. “In Costa Rica, which by the early 1990's was the number one overseas ecotourism destination for the United States travelers, half of every tourist dollar never left the United States, and only 20 cents actually went into the local economy according to a USAID study” (Honey, 1999, p. 89).
In this scenario, it will be hard for Costa Rica to benefit from ecotourism. Money leaks are observed in the different aspects of the ecotourism business. For instance, paying money to tour operators made up mostly of foreigners, importing of products that attracts foreign tourists and the payment of plane fares to foreign owned airlines.
The economic boost derived from ecotourism is unquestionable. But in order for ecotourism to remain sustainable, the large amount of the profit must go the local communities. According to estimates, 90% of revenue leakage occurs in communities adjacent to natural attractions. In the Tortuguero National Park of Costa Rica, a mere 6% of the total income will go to the local communities.
In order to maximize the economic gains of ecotourism in Costa Rica, revenue leakages must be addressed effectively. Legislation properly in place would make enable the locals to generate a huge percentage of the profits. Also, the need to put up local businesses using indigenous materials and using local labor has to be emphasized to prevent revenue leakage.
Another negative result of ecotourism is it can cause an increase in the cost of living for the locals. A study conducted in the Osa peninsula showed that ecotourism made the inhabitants poorer not richer as thought. Converting the area to a tourist attraction would mean higher cost of living for the locals but the income remains the same because the profits generated often go to outsiders with more experience leaving the community to share the crumbs.
