La evolución de la actividad turística en Costa Rica: Crecimiento antes de la pandemia y resiliencia a partir de la reapertura

Abstract

The research developed based on data from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Costa Rican Tourism Institute of Costa Rica (ICT), allows analyzing the evolution of tourism activity in the country in relation to highly competitive destinations such as Spain, France, and USA. A descriptive methodology with a qualitative approach was used to analyze the phenomenon with bibliographic and statistical information from the World Bank, UNWTO and ICT databases, which allowed analyzing the resilience of this sector and its transformation capacity in the face of a pandemic. We worked with some indicators that explain the behavior, demand, and concentration of the tourism industry. The data presented by Costa Rica show a positive and resilient dynamic in a context of high geographic concentration of demand, perhaps because of its proximity to the United States and the importance that ICT itself gives it as a priority demand given the opportunity to generate foreign exchange for the country. This result raises new questions about the possible overestimation of the impact on production and employment or the relevance of the concentration of demand on tourism resilience.