Responsible tourism in Costa Rica
But the most impressive thing about Costa Rica is not just its nature – it’s the lengths that it has gone to in order to protect it; creating national parks, wildlife reserves and conservation projects – and becoming a pioneer in ecotourism that the rest of the world has scrambled to follow. However, as perspectives on conservation have developed and grown, the concept of ecotourism has given way globally to the more holistic responsible – or sustainable – tourism. Conservation can only be truly sustainable when local communities are involved, and this is the vital piece of the puzzle that, until now, was missing in Costa Rica’s master plan. As ecotourism is reaching its capacity here and lessons are being learned, making people as much a part of your Costa Rican vacation as the wildlife will be a smart move, and one which will have the greatest impact on the country’s culture and nature for future generations.
Our Costa Rica Vacations
Costa Rica wildlife vacation
An amazing variety of Costa Rican wildlife
Costa Rica highlights vacation & beach
Short highlight itinerary covering city, forests and beach.
Self drive vacation in Costa Rica, Pacific Coast
Self-drive Costa Rica's Pacific coast, away from the crowds
Costa Rica wildlife tour
Experience Costa Rica's incredible wildlife and wilderness
Costa Rica highlights vacation
Two weeks exploring the highlights of Costa Rica.
Costa Rica wildlife vacation, Coastal Secrets
Wildlife rich waterways of Tortuguero to the dense jungle
Family volunteering with turtles in Costa Rica
Family turtle conservation volunteering in Costa Rica
Costa Rica vacation, off the beaten track
Off the usual tourist trail in 3 weeks.
Costa Rica 13 day family vacation
Spend your summer vacation in the land of Pura Vida!
Costa Rica tour
Explore the Caribbean coast to the Pacific
Costa Rica Wildlife tour, small group
Visit one of most biologically intense places on earth
Central America cycling vacation
Colonial cities, cloud forests and tropical island paradise
Costa Rica turtle conservation experience
Help protect turtles by volunteering in Costa Rica!
Costa Rica family vacation
Discover Costa Rica's famous national parks
Costa Rica vacation, tailor made
Great value vacation through stunning Costa Rica
Turtle conservation in Costa Rica
Join a conservation team protecting sea turtle populations
Costa Rica tailor made adventure
Off the beaten track tailor made adventure in Costa Rica
Costa Rica and Nicaragua self drive vacation
Self drive vacation through the best of Nicaragua and Costa Rica
Costa Rica and Panama vacation
The classic Costa Rica and little known treasures of Panama
Costa Rica family tour, 11 days
Head into nature and explore Costa Rica's highlights
Costa Rica and Galapagos wildlife vacation
Galapagos wildlife cruise plus Costa Rica nature/beach week
Wildlife rescue volunteering in Costa Rica
Assist caring for rescued animals in Costa Rica
Coast to coast cycling vacation in Costa Rica
Take in the variety of Costa Rica by bike
Natural highlights tour of Costa Rica
A tropical paradise bursting with wildlife
Costa Rica vacation, natural highlights
Discover Costa Rica's natural highlights on this tailor made journey
Costa Rica tours
An idyllic beach getaway for relaxation or adventure
Costa Rica luxury small group vacation
Exclusive luxury small group tour to stunning Costa Rica
Costa Rica bespoke vacation, wildlife and volcanoes
See wildlife, jungle and volcanoes in beautiful Costa Rica
Costa Rica and Nicaragua walking vacation
Walking vacation in Costa Rica and Nicaragua
People & culture
The indigenous struggle
Costa Rica’s excellence in environmental conservation has often come at a cost to the preservation of its local cultures. They may hardly be Amazonian hunter-gatherers – but 60,000 indigenous Costa Ricans still live in largely traditional communities in isolated, rural areas. They depend on the forests and rivers in their daily lives – gathering fruit, fishing, and using forest materials for traditional medicines and in the construction of their homes.Somewhat shockingly in the context of Costa Rica’s inclusive, democratic society, indigenous people were only given the right to vote in 1994, meaning they had virtually no say in the control of their land – which was handed over to ranchers and farmers. Support for indigenous communities is increasing and they have reserves set aside for them – although close to 40 percent of this land has been acquired by non-indigenous landowners. Modern challenges include mining, petroleum exploration and a proposed hydroelectric dam, which would flood vast regions of their territory.
With the loss of land, the encroachment of the Western world and few opportunities in their native regions, families and communities have become fragmented as people leave to seek employment elsewhere. Those that do stay may end up working in low-paid manual jobs which are particularly risky; the early deaths of young men have been blamed on the high use of pesticides and fertilisers used on the banana plantations where they worked.
What you can do
Read more about community tourism with the Bribri on the Cultural Survival website.
Wildlife & environment
Save what you see
With over a million people now visiting Costa Rica each year, it’s more crucial than ever that the tourism that happens here happens in the right way. Fortunately, most of the money spent on tourism in Costa Rica stays in the country, and this has played a significant role in the reduction of poverty levels, which have dropped from 50 percent to 20 percent in the last few decades – as well as the preservation of a third of Costa Rica’s land. This shows that tourism, when well managed, really can have an enormous impact.While the Ministry of the Environment manages the national parks, a citizens’ branch of the ministry called the Committee for the Vigilance of Natural Resources brings the parks’ neighbours together to report environmental crimes, bring environmental education into schools, start recycling initiatives and tend to organic gardens. This really is a land of bottom-up conservation.
What you can do
Where to begin? Costa Rica’s environmental protection schemes are as abundant as its wildlife, and encompass day tours, guides, community tourism and volunteer projects. So here are a few pointers to get you started:
Incredible ecolodges
“We get people requesting to stay in places that are sustainably run, but it’s actually one of the countries that you don’t need to worry about as much in that respect. Many hotels are actually part of the NCST – National Sustainable Tourism Certificate. It’s quite rigorous, there are lots of checks and rules on how they manage waste, how they deal with energy saving, and the hotels are graded from 1-5 depending on how well they are doing with that. It’s not all about the small ecolodges; a lot of the bigger resorts are very keen to have the certification, as although they are huge, they are employing local people and reducing waste and energy usage. It’s something that they’re really proud of and it’s very common for hotels to be part of that. And even if they’re not certified, they still have their own little eco agenda. It’s something they really strive to have countrywide.”
The tale of the golden toad
Over the 1980s, the concept of ecotourism developed, and visitor numbers increased from 2,700 to over 40,000 in the space of a decade. However, golden toad numbers, did not follow the same pattern. Scientists had counted around 1,500 adult toads each breeding season since the 1960s. In 1988, however, only 10 were seen. The following year, a single, lonely male was spotted – and since then, none have been seen. The golden toad has now been declared extinct.*
No-one knows the real reason behind the toad’s disappearance. Amphibians are indicator species – susceptible to minute fluctuations in temperature, precipitation and humidity. Fungus has been blamed, as have El Niño and a reduction in rainfall. Some have even argued that the increase in ecotourism during the exact period that the toads ceased to exist is no coincidence. Whatever the reason, it does prove that, even in this hyper-protected landscape, many challenges still remain, and complacency is not an option.
Recommended reading: Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise?, by Martha Honey
Responsible tourism tips
“Tourism is the main industry and Costa Rica is massively promoting the responsible side of it – especially as there are a lot of North American travelers who come just for the beaches, and aren’t so aware of that. So it’s good to see that beach resorts are joining certification schemes and trying to be as sustainable as possible. There’s a lot of promotion, so if you are staying there you’d be really aware of what’s going on, signs telling you to recycle, and how they manage things. It’s very visible.”