On the morning of Friday, September 26, various institutions launched a guide to investing in tourism in Costa Rica. This reference document will reach thousands of investors around the world.
The document was created by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF).
The Foreign Trade Promoter (Procomer) and the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) also participated in its creation.
Five reasons to pick Costa Rica
The paper gives five reasons why potential investors should conduct business in the country.
- A lot of different kinds of plants and animals
The guide says that Costa Rica is known around the world for its biodiversity. It has 6% of the world’s biodiversity, which is more than 500,000 species, even though it only covers 0.03% of the world’s land. Another interesting thing to note is that around 60% of the country’s land is covered in trees.
“This biodiversity is not only a national symbol, but also a strategic asset for investors in the tourism sector,” says the guide that came out on Friday. “It allows for the development of a wide range of tourism products throughout the year that are suitable for all types of visitors.” - A standard for tourism and sustainable development
This trait has to do with making responsible experiences that fit in with nature. It also has to do with social progress in the tourism industry.
The guide also talks about problems like getting clean drinking water, using renewable energy, and the “Esencial Costa Rica” country brand.
The statement says, “All of this makes the country a very competitive place for investments that want to make money while also having a positive effect and lasting success.” - Very skilled people
The research says that Costa Rica has a literacy rate of 97.8%, which is one of the highest in Latin America. It also shows that the workforce is youthful and skilled. Lastly, customers know that its people are friendly, welcoming, and dedicated to providing good service.
It also says that there is a set of rules that lets academics be free to do what they want.
It also says that there are several tourism training programs, such as those at the National Learning Institute (INA), the State Distance University (UNED), and the University of Costa Rica (UCR), to name a few. - A tax incentive system that is competitive
The book also says that Costa Rica has a strong and very appealing tax environment for tourism investors because of tools that lower costs.
Some of these tools are:
– Law No. 6990: Law on Incentives for Tourism Development
– Law No. 6758: The Law That Controls the Planning and Execution of the Gulf of Papagayo Tourism Project
– System for Free Trade Zones
– Law to Make Territorial Competitiveness Stronger
The Single Window for Investment (VUI), technical assistance, and financial arrangements are also helpful in this field. - A stable political and economic climate
The sixth thing that the handbook for Costa Rica talks about is political and macroeconomic stability. The paper says that this is one of the strongest parts of the value proposition.
The rule of law, the quality of regulations, the effectiveness of government, and the fight against corruption are some of the things that this section talks about.
The guide also says that the country has high levels of human development and has showed strength in the face of current calamities.
It also points out that the country is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The statement says, “This strong institutional environment, along with public policies that support productive development and innovation, makes the country a safe, reliable, and strategic place for tourism investment projects.”
“Come, grow with us,” says the Minister of Tourism.
William Rodríguez, the Minister of Tourism, was at the ceremony on Friday. The minister took the chance to tell people to stop worrying about how many tourists come to the country and how much money they bring.
This is because there will be fewer tourists in Costa Rica in 2025 than there were in 2024, which was a record year.
Rodríguez added, “It is a document that we are sending to the world, and especially to those who want to come and invest in Costa Rica: come and grow with us, come and enter an economic world.”
“We will keep saying that tourism in Costa Rica has a purpose.” Let’s stop only counting the visitors who come into the country. Tourism performs a lot of labor, and the number of people or cash it brings in isn’t the only way to quantify it. It is a very social thing to do. “The minister said that tourism started as a social activity, not an economic one.”
