The Benefits of the Costa Rican Tourism Model vs. Sun and
Beach Mass Tourism
According to INCAE Business School Professor Lawrence Pratt,
the Costa Rican Tourism model is able to create more than 10 times more wealth
for the local economy than the typical “beach and sun” destinations such as
Cancun, the Spanish Riviera or parts of the Dominican Republic. Why is
this? And what is the Costa Rican model? Traditionally, visitors to
Costa Rica stay in three to four different hotels and travel all over the
country. From Manuel Antonio to the Osa Peninsula to Arenal to
Guanacaste, etc. On their way, they spend money. Most visitors book
their trips directly with the small hotels, rent a car or use public
transport. If you book a vacation to Cancun or the Dominican Republic,
most likely, you will get picked up at the airport by a hotel bus and spend
your week inside the walls of an all-inclusive resort. You might go on an
excursion, but most likely with a hotel bus on a hotel operated tour.
So it is not surprising that the beach and sun model only
leaves about 10% distributed in the country while the Costa Rican model allows
for over 40% to stay. Furthermore, the sustainable and eco-tourism that
Costa Rica attracts has multiplier of 2 to 3 times that of beach and sun
tourism. That means that the money that stays in the country gets distributed
within the country 2 to 3 times more. We think that we have something
very special here and should make sure we don’t fall into the trap of copying
the sun and beach mass tourism model of other countries. What do you
think? Which model would you like to support?
Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality is a world leader in sustainable hospitality
management. We manage and market hotels, resorts, eco lodges and
Haciendas in Costa Rica and Nicaragua with a focus on high end experiences and sustainability.













