Costa Rica has launched the first-ever Costa Rican tourism guide. This guide is a strategic tool for positioning the country as a global leader in sustainable tourism, attracting responsible investment and generating inclusive development in the sector, taking advantage of its competitive advantages. Costa Rica’s first-ever tourism investment guide is being launched with the aim of establishing itself as the preferred destination for sustainable tourism investments that also generate economic growth and jobs.
The guide’s launch was celebrated as part of two significant anniversaries. First, World Tourism Day was commemorated, and second, Costa Rica Tourism Institute (ICT) celebrated 70 years of history, coinciding with the presentation of the “Tourism Doing Business – Investing in Costa Rica” guide, which is a key tool for strengthening tourism investment processes in Costa Rica and the industry’s competitiveness.
The Costa Rican tourism guide is the result of a collaboration between the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Agency (PROCOMER), and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF).
Offering investors a strategic vision
The Costa Rican tourism guide is a strategic tool that provides investors with information on the general context for tourism investment in the country. The guide highlights the macroeconomic conditions, the competitiveness of the destination, and its comparative advantages over other countries. In addition, specific investment opportunities in different sectors are identified, such as hotels and resorts, tourism infrastructure, complementary services, and sustainable tourism projects.
Natalia Bayona, Executive Director of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), shared:
“Costa Rica is already a well-consolidated tourist destination. Its stability, sustainability leadership, and robust infrastructure allow investments to be transformed into high-value projects.”
The Costa Rican Minister of Tourism, William Rodríguez, also commented on the importance of this strategic tool and its impact on the national tourism industry:
“This Investment Guide represents a key step in our national strategy to attract responsible capital and consolidates Costa Rica as an ideal destination for those investors who are committed to sustainable development”.
Human talent is a fundamental pillar
The Costa Rican tourism guide is a fundamental tool that positions the country’s human talent as one of its strengths and most recognized competitive advantages. Mónica Umaña, Manager of Foreign Direct Investment Attraction at PROCOMER, stated:
“The guide highlights one of our country’s most recognized strengths: the quality of our talent. PROCOMER continues to strengthen initiatives that promote specialized human capital, aligned with incentives for companies in the tourism sector.”
Sustainability as one of Costa Rica’s key assets
The Costa Rican tourism guide also highlights the main strength and one of the most recognized competitive advantages of the country, sustainability. Óscar Rueda García, Director of Tourism at CAF, declared:
“Costa Rica has been a paradigm of sustainable tourism long before it became a global trend. This guide arrives at a critical moment to stimulate new developments while maintaining our commitment to being a sanctuary for nature-focused tourism.”
Five reasons to invest in Costa Rica
The Costa Rican tourism guide presents five main reasons to invest in the country, which are fundamental to understanding its positioning as one of the most competitive destinations in the region and globally, as they allow investors to position their resources in places where they generate value for their own benefit and for the destination in the long term.
In addition, this strategic guide offers six chapters that provide a clear picture of the Costa Rican market. The first of them refers to the macroeconomic context, which analyzes the national and regional environment, taking into account the strategic weight that tourism represents for Costa Rica. In this way, the investor can have an approximate view of tourism’s contribution to GDP, generation of direct and indirect employment, foreign exchange income, and the importance of tourism in the country’s economy.
The second chapter presents the general legal and regulatory framework for investment. The tax system is also one of the sections that investors will find in this guide, as it is an important point to take into account in the decision-making process. This publication also includes, among other aspects, an analysis of the main requirements for the creation of new legal entities, as well as regulations that are directly related to the tourist offer, all of which will be of great importance for the entire process of entry into the market.
On the other hand, the investment panorama in Costa Rica shows the behavior of foreign direct investment in the country, focusing specifically on the main trends in the last decade, the main sources of investment and the most relevant investment areas in the tourism sector, as well as opportunities with greater growth potential for those looking for long-term profitability.
Costa Rica’s tourism competitiveness is based on several factors such as infrastructure and connectivity as well as diversity of its tourism offer. This is how the country’s assets such as eco-lodges, natural areas, adventure tourism, gastronomy and wildlife tours, rural tourism, and others are demonstrated. With this information, it is also possible to determine the comparative advantages that Costa Rica has with respect to other destinations.
The financing alternatives with CAF refers to information on the financing and technical assistance mechanisms that CAF has and that are currently available for the execution of sustainable tourism projects.
Finally, the public sector investment initiatives include investments and investment projects of the current government, so the private sector is given an overview of infrastructure improvements such as docks, tourist police stations, and accessible trails. This information also serves to identify opportunities for the private sector to carry out projects and those in which public-private partnerships can be designed.
The Costa Rican tourism guide can be consulted free of charge in digital format and is available on the official websites of ICT, PROCOMER, UNWTO and CAF.