Impacts on developing countries of changing production and consumption patterns in developed countries. Ecotourism costa rica, information about ecology and. Despite of the still present menace of deforestation, costa rica has a fairly good environmental record. Costa ricas landscape has fascinated travelers for centuries, establishing costa rica as a. Ecotourism impacts in the nicoya peninsula, costa rica. Costa ricas push towards ecotourism began with the establishment of the cabo blanco national reserve in 1963 and the first national parks in 1971. It therefore offers a unique possibility to ground test the economic, social and environmental impacts of ecotourism compared with other employment. By the early 1990s, costa rica became known as the poster child of ecotourism.
Costa ricas landscape has fascinated travelers for centuries, establishing costa rica as a popular tourist destination hintzen 2014. Within costa rica an increasingly popular ecotourist destination is monteverde. The deterioration of the natural ecosystems and the disappearance of species are environmental problems growing since long time ago. The rainforest package at the multi awardwinning lapa rios lodge, overlooking the pacific ocean, for instance, costs around. Costa rica was a pioneer in this type of tourism and the country is recognized as one of the few with real ecotourism. Pdf ecotourism impacts in the nicoya peninsula, costa rica.
In order to increase the likelihood that ecotourism achieves goals of sustainable development in costa rica, all of the key actors must to begin to take more proactive measures in order to ensure that ecotourism is carefully planned and implemented. The discussions about the management of ecotourism as a resource, including the development of national parks, control over foreign investment, provision of business incentives, and regulation of certification programs are particularly useful. Limon visit costa rica costa rica tourism official website. Cologne business school cbs ecotourism in costa rica. The trend continued and today the costa rican park system includes 70 entities and protects over 3,221,000 acres 1,303,492 ha. Costa rica is a central american country with a land area of 51,100 sq km and a population of nearly 3. Conservation strategies, protected areas, and ecotourism in costa. In order to participate in daily excursions, travelers must be able to walk unassisted for a minimum of two miles over uneven terrain and often muddy, slippery surfaces, up and down. Dec 17, 2015 ecotourism activities in costa rica provides a combination of luxury and adventure activities, which includes visits to rich wildlife to experience flora and fauna, visiting volcanoes, hiking, river rafting, bird watching, whale watching, canopy tours, horse riding, bungee jumping, surfing and snorkeling are some of the few mentions. Whether or not ecotourism in costa rica will prove to be sustainable in the longterm remains to be seen. Although ecotourism has served good the country of costa rica for the last 30 years, the. Costa rica is one of the worlds most popular ecotourism destinations, with travellers drawn to national parks, reserves and rainforests.
Costa rica is a small, peaceful and democratic country just less than half the size of england located between nicaragua and panama in central america. Survey respondents saw legal restrictions as more influential than tourism in prompting declines in deforestation and hunting rates. May 27, 2014 ecotourism development in costa rica is a concise, clearlywritten, and balanced portrait of ecotourism as a development strategy in costa rica. Other exemplary operators include costa rica expeditions, 22570766 and costa rica sun tours tel 8662716263 in the u. Costa rica is known as one of the premier sites to study and experience highaltitude tropical cloud forests and nature conservation forsyth, 1988. Study findings were mixed regarding ecotourisms effectiveness as a conservation and community development tool. With over 300000 national park visits per year, costa rica is among the worlds first eco travel destinations. If you want to experience tropical nature and wildlife in a compact and safe form, costa rica is your perfect destination. Biodiverstiy and tourism in costa rica march, 2001 6 1. Hereby the activities to promote sustainability and conservation are necessary. Ecotourism costa rica the impacts on three guides it is hard to deny that ecotourism has benefited the nation of costa rica in a great number of ways.
Limon has the highest percentage of protected land in costa rica, as well as a wide variety of flora and fauna. Forestybased ecotourism in costa rica as a driver for positive social. Based on the extensive research, and the handon experience of seeing it from my own eyes, i truly believe and become a great supporter of ecotourism. Many other hotels, lodges, and tour operators are earnestly jumping on the. Many of the hotels, isolated nature lodges, and tour operators around the country are pioneers and dedicated professionals in the sustainable tourism field. Costa rica is one of the planets prime ecotourism destinations. Keywords costa rica development strategy ecotourism impact assessment sustainable tourism 1 ecotourism. Every year, many thousands of visitors come to costa rica because of one simple fact. Pdf ecotourism impacts in the nicoya peninsula, costa. However, costa rica is not immune to the pressures of deforestation and land use change, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and agriculture cia 2003. Ecotourism in costa rica sustainable eco travel vacations. Ecotourism in costa rica is one of the key activities of the tourism industry in the country. Mouse over or tap dates above to view prices for specific departure dates. Between the 1970s and the 2000s, costa rica became established as the worlds leading ecotourism destination.
Which tools and techniques were used in order to develop to one of the most popular destinations for sustainable tourism. The impacts of ecotourism in costa rica by sujata narayan introduction. Forestybased ecotourism in costa rica as a driver for positive. Opportunities and threats to local sustainable development. Pdf ecotourism in costa rica melissa brucher academia. As a result, its biodiversity is virtually unparalleled. This paper considers the ad hoc development of ecotourism at ostional, costa rica, and the potential bene. My objective is to examine some of the host community impacts of ecotourism through a casestudy approach with a womens artisan group which is in conjunction with a community cooperative in monteverde, costa rica.
The human development model has always been based in the exploitation of the natural resources. Ensuring excellent ecotourism, costa rica has devoted an estimated 26% of its land to national parks, wildlife reserves and protected lands. Ecotourism must account for social, economic and environmental implications, in order to succeed. Along with the cheaper ones, there are some of the worlds most opulent and expensive options. Costa rica description cost rica is a central american country of 3.
Guidelines for sustainable ecotourism in monteverde, costa rica. In 2006, 54% international tourists visited national parks or protected areas, visiting at least two such natural refuges, and it goes up to three for european visitors. September 2009 598 john rutter an ecotourism case study. Ecotourism in costa rica wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. A world heritage site, ranked among the top 77 nominees for pewdiepies new 7 wonders of nature ecotourism in costa rica is one of the key activities of the tourism industry in the country. Summary of the socioeconomic situation in costa rica1. Conservation strategies, protected areas, and ecotourism. If measured in terms of specialized accommodations, visits by specialist ecotourists, direct social and economic impact, activity space, or government investment, ecotourism is a relatively minor activity. For more than three decades, however, nat hab has been guiding guests through costa ricas natural wonders. Click here to learn how you can avoid the single supplement. Globally we are witnessing growing environmental destruction, particularly to the natural resource bases of underdeveloped countries.
Costa rica, with a surface of 51,100 km2 figure 1, encompasses 5% of the worlds biodiversity in just. The ecotourism boom began in the mid1980s and really took off in the 1990s with 800,000 foreigners visiting the central american nation in 1995, 1. Costa rica is considered one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. More than onequarter of costa rica is considered to fall under some form of protected status, and costa rica has become a worldrenowned ecotourism destination because of its extensive protected areas. Ecotourism visit costa rica costa rica tourism official. Ecotourism has more promise for achieving sustainability than alternative types of land use such as agriculture, cattle grazing, logging, or mass tourism. Entrepreneurs and the cocreation of ecotourism in costa rica. Costa rica has been selected as a focus country to examine these impacts due to its strong reputation as an ecotourism destination and because its economy has been. The caribbean province is a natural paradise, formed by a combination of dense jungles, imposing mountains, and paradisiac beaches. Ecotourism in costa rica last updated january 15, 2020 cocos island is a prime ecotourism destination in costa rica.
Environmental impacts and management emily mckeone, b. Ecotourism development in costa rica is a concise, clearlywritten, and balanced portrait of ecotourism as a development strategy in costa rica. Sustainable travel and ecotourism in costa rica frommers. Campbell university of western ontario, canada abstract.
Incae, available at international institute for sustainable development website. The growth of ecotourism in costa rica has been greatly facilitated by the presence of institutions such as the organization for tropical studies ots and the institute for biodiversity inbio, which helped to create costa ricas image abroad. Nov 24, 2016 between the 1970s and the 2000s, costa rica became established as the worlds leading ecotourism destination. This working paper suggests that although costa rica benefited from biodiversity and a pleasant climate, the countrys preeminence in. The next chapter analyzes the costa rican sustainable tourism industry with. In costa rica an ecotourist can, among other things, observe nature, go rafting, visit a coffee. This adventure does not require a high degree of physical fitness, though our days in costa rica generally start quite early and are very full with activities. The osa peninsula is the last remaining section of costa ricas pacific coast where ecotourism is the dominant economic activity. Creating ecotourism in costa rica, 19702000 enterprise.
Ecotourism and sustainable development in costa rica citeseerx. Originally conceived in the 1960s in response to declining environmental and economic conditions throughout the developing world, ecotourism is described as tourism that has a lowimpact on the environment, contributes to the local economy, engenders crosscultural exchange, and fosters. The human development index places it as a highlevel country. Ecotourism in costa rica is a robust industry because the country was one of the earliest adopters of connecting naturewildlife conservation with responsible travel costa rica has been ranked among the worlds best ecotourism destinations on more than one occasion, and became the first country in the americas to ban hunting in 2012. An examination of ecotourism patterns within costa rica and kenya reveals differential magnitudes across an array of relevant criteria. How does ecotourism effect the costa rican environment and its wildlife. This article argues that although costa rica benefited from biodiversity and a pleasant climate, the countrys preeminence in ecotourism requires more than a natural resource endowment explanation. Ecotourism activities in costa rica provides a combination of luxury and adventure activities, which includes visits to rich wildlife to experience flora and fauna, visiting volcanoes, hiking, river rafting, bird watching, whale watching, canopy tours, horse riding, bungee jumping, surfing and snorkeling are some of the few mentions. Ecotourism in costa rica perhaps more than anyone else, it was the two writers of a field guide about tropical birds that were responsible for the ecotourism movement in costa rica. Study findings were mixed regarding ecotourism s effectiveness as a conservation and community development tool. Pdf costa rica is a small central american nation that has gained an international reputation as a leader in environmental conservation. Annually, more than one million tourists visit the country, and the tourism industry has an annual. Its greatest benefits in the social, economic, environmental and cultural areas have helped put the little country of costa rica onto the international map awareness setting costa rica as a worldwide leader and a success story of how ecotourism can positively impact a whole country as long as it is done properly, at an early stage of.
It is bordered by nicaragua and panama in the north and south, respectively, and by the caribbean and pacific oceans on the east and west. Costa rica case study unedited working paper 1 1 introduction. We inform you and organise an itinerary that best matches your desires. The purpose of this paper is to provide a synopsis of the current issues facing ecotourism in costa rica. Costa rica case study unedited working paper 2 how nature conservation can become an engine for ecotourism and sustainable development umana 2001. Guidelines for sustainable ecotourism in monteverde, costa. With 28 national parks, 58 wildlife refuges and scores more protected nature reserves, costa rica offers so much to see and do that planning a trip on your own can be overwhelming. Ecotourism costa rica the impacts on three guides around. Conservation strategies, protected areas, and ecotourism in.