Who Is Costa Rica Really Competing With for Tourists?

Costa Rica’s tourism board says the real rivals are not its neighbors. The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) places the competition in faraway destinations such as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and New Zealand, which it considers comparable in nature and outdoor activities, rather than anywhere in Central or Latin America. Business chambers in tourism see a much wider field. They count Panama, Colombia, Mexico and the Dominican Republic among Costa Rica’s rivals depending on the market segment, and they warn that a stronger colón has made Costa Rica noticeably more expensive for visitors. The ICT’s position is not new as in May 2025, then-Tourism Minister William Rodríguez rejected comparisons with neighboring countries by likening Costa Rica to a luxury car that does not compete with a $15,000 or $20,000 vehicle, and he named the Maldives, Thailand, the Seychelles and Sri Lanka as the true competitors. The institute has kept that stance under the new administration. Tourism Minister Marcos Borges has described Costa Rica as offering a unique product, while acknowledging that tourism is a highly competitive industry in which it has to stay ahead. Some data support the institute’s view. Figures from the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office show Costa Rica has held roughly one-third of U.S. travelers to Central America, with shares of 32.1% in 2022, 33.6% in 2023, 32.7% in 2024 and 33.4% in 2025. However, a closer look suggests growth has been less convincing. Air arrivals rose only about 1% in 2025, and the National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur) contrasted that result with gains of 4% in Colombia, 5% in the Dominican Republic, 6% in Mexico and 10% in Guatemala. Costa Rica opened 2026 with double-digit growth in the first months of the year, but momentum has faded since. Cumulative air arrivals through August were up 5.8%, and just 2.7% from the United States, as tourist numbers lag behind a fast-growing supply of rentals. Hans Pfister, president of the National Chamber of Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism (Canaeco), said the competition depends on the segment. In wildlife ecotourism, he said, Costa Rica can go up against African safari destinations, while for regional biodiversity it competes with Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile. Within Central America, Pfister said, the main rival is Panama, and on a global scale he pointed to Australia and New Zealand. Canatur, for its part, has repeatedly cited Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Panama as benchmarks in its public statements. The disagreement reflects two different definitions of competition. The ICT measures it by similarity of product, while the chambers also weigh competition within specific segments and on the balance between price and quality. Pfister described Costa Rica’s differentiation around nature, biodiversity and sustainability as solid, but said the advantage has narrowed as other destinations develop comparable offerings, some with the added appeal of novelty. He said value for money has become critical. According to Pfister, stability, physical and legal security, and hospitality still justify a premium price. The limit comes, he said, when those qualities stop matching the cost of a stay and price begins to look like a competitive disadvantage rather than a premium for quality or sustainability. That calculation has shifted quickly. The U.S. dollar averaged 648.76 colones in 2022 and 450.93 colones through August 2026, a difference of about 30%, and the dollar-colón exchange rate has hovered near record lows in recent weeks. The stronger colón hits the industry from two directions. Tourism businesses earn much of their revenue in foreign currency but pay wages, services and supplies in colones, while the same trip becomes more expensive for visitors spending dollars. Canatur says the appreciation is affecting the operations, competitiveness and financial stability of its member companies. Canaeco has warned of significant effects on small and medium-sized businesses and of a threat to the small eco-lodge model that helped set Costa Rica apart, a strain already visible in tourism job losses tied to the strong currency. The ICT acknowledges that exchange rates can influence how travelers perceive value and calls the rate a relevant factor in the competitive environment. It says, however, that it lacks sufficient comparative evidence to conclude that Costa Rica has lost ground to other destinations across the board. The effect may be showing up in how long visitors stay rather than whether they come at all. According to ICT data, air travelers spent an average of $1,848 in 2025, the second-highest figure since 2006, but stayed just 10.3 nights on average, down from 12.2 in 2024 and 12.9 in 2023 and the shortest stay in 20 years. Canatur has said higher costs may not keep tourists away but can lead them to book fewer nights, compress their itineraries or visit fewer places within the country. The figures alone do not establish cause and effect. Pfister also pointed to infrastructure, mobility and security as challenges that could weigh on competitiveness in the coming years. The ICT itself said its main challenge for the next three to five years is ensuring that tourism growth is matched by greater service capacity, citing tourism infrastructure, connectivity and destination management. As a measure of visitor experience, the ICT pointed to results from the travel analytics firm Mabrian. Between January and August 2026, the tool scored Costa Rica 91 out of 100 for overall perception, 88.3 for product and 93.2 for perceived safety. Costa Rica has long chosen to compete on quality rather than price, and few dispute that the country offers something distinct. Whether that distinction continues to justify a steadily rising bill will depend as much on roads, safety and public services as on beaches and rainforests.