UNA report indicates that these destinations feature exclusive tourist enclaves separated from local communities.
A report from the Observatory of Tourism, Migrations, and Sustainability of the Chorotega Region (Obtur) identified a tourism development model in Guanacaste characterized by the creation of exclusive enclaves that coexist with local communities without integrating.
The analysis, focused on destinations like El Coco, Nosara, and Tamarindo, warns that this dynamic differs from traditional gentrification, as it does not involve direct displacement but does generate territorial separation and inequality.
The study determined that in these localities there is a high concentration of properties intended for short-term rentals, mainly thru Airbnb.
According to data collected in the low season of 2025, approximately 800 spaces were registered in El Coco, 600 in Nosara, and 1000 in Tamarindo, for a total of around 2400 properties including apartments, condominiums, rooms, villas, and hotels listed solely on that platform. This distribution coincides with the areas of greatest real estate development, suggesting that tourist rentals constitute one of the main uses of these spaces.
In El Coco, the report indicates that the new developments are located in areas such as Playa Ocotal, Las Palmas, and elevated zones, many of which were previously designated for productive activities or covered by vegetation. These projects are built separate from the areas where the local population resides, which reinforces a territorial division.
The coordinator of Obtur, Esteban Barboza, commented:
Unlike gentrification, where wealthier classes from elsewhere replace local inhabitants thru the purchase and renovation of their properties, in El Coco we observe the construction of new spaces that are not intended to be permanent residences for newcomers, but rather aim to generate dividends thru their temporary rental to tourists.
In the case of Nosara, there is a concentration of temporary rental spaces in the areas of Guiones Beach, the surrounding hills with sea views in front of that area, Pelada Beach, and the surroundings of the American Project.
In these last two locations, there is an abundance of accommodation options around the boundaries of the Ostional Wildlife Refuge. This refuge has been in the news for months due to the controversial eviction actions against local residents who have occupied these spaces for generations.
Additionally, there is a much smaller number of accommodations dedicated to temporary rentals in the center of Nosara, which confirms a trend already noted in El Coco, namely that places already occupied by local residents are not as attractive as those where there were previously no homes.
In Tamarindo, the study also highlights that the largest supply of accommodations is concentrated around the beach and the surrounding hills, precisely where the tourist accommodation offerings have traditionally been located.
Although there are accommodations in areas like Villarreal, Santa Rosa, and Huacas, small towns mainly inhabited by local workers, the supply is considerably lower compared to the beach and its surroundings.
In El Coco, Nosara, and Tamarindo, there is a clear boundary between the areas dedicated to this type of rental and those where people who live permanently and contribute their labor to the local tourism system reside, the information specifies.
The researcher detailed:
They favor locations near the sea or on hills with ocean views, generally away from population centers, creating a model oriented toward exclusivity.
This type of real estate development, based on locations that seek hills by the sea or nearby, the pursuit of exclusivity and luxury, causes a systemic environmental impact that needs to be studied with the appropriate tools, the study points out.
“This environmental impact is partly fueled by the scarce or nonexistent planning of where and how these houses are built, beyond what hegemonic landscape or architectural imaginaries dictate, or the measurement of the territory’s capacity to host them,” warns the study.
Barboza detailed that this form of territorialization does not in itself cause the displacement or expulsion of the local population; rather, it generates higher levels of inequality and exclusion of certain groups who, although they remain on site, are left out of the new dynamics.
