Key Factors
- 2025 ended with only one% progress in air arrivals, regardless of a stronger international journey rebound.
- The U.S. market is flat, whereas South America is rising quick and reshaping demand.
- A robust colón, safety worries, and infrastructure gaps are hurting competitiveness.
Costa Rica stays a flagship eco-tourism vacation spot. However 2025 information present its momentum slowed sharply.
Air arrivals reached about 2.68 million in 2025, roughly 27,790 greater than in 2024, a achieve of simply 1%. A number of months fell beneath 2024 ranges, earlier than a late restoration.
December was decisive. Arrivals by air rose about 13.6%, from roughly 278,437 in December 2024 to about 316,226 in December 2025. Canatur, the nationwide tourism chamber, welcomed the turnaround however warned it doesn’t repair deeper issues.
The broader rebound is leaving Costa Rica behind. UN Tourism reported worldwide arrivals worldwide had been up about 5% by September 2025.
Within the Americas, opponents expanded sooner in 2025: Colombia about 4%, the Dominican Republic 5%, Mexico 6%, and Guatemala 10%.
The customer combine can also be shifting. North America stayed dominant, contributing shut to 2 million vacationers. But arrivals from america, the nation’s principal market, elevated solely about 0.5% in 2025, signaling stagnation amongst conventional guests.
Costa Rica tourism slows
Europe weakened, down about 2.1% for the yr to round 419,820, though December arrivals from Europe rose about 7.4%. South America was the brilliant spot, up about 14.5% to roughly 145,000 guests, with Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia among the many strongest sources.
Canatur blames home headwinds. A robust forex has made Costa Rica really feel costly. Late-2025 reporting positioned the greenback reference charge beneath ¢500, together with round ¢496, ranges final seen round 2008.
Operators additionally cite infrastructure shortcomings, rising safety considerations, softer buying energy, and a rising casual sector that undercuts compliant companies.
These pressures land hardest on small corporations. Sector reporting says greater than 85% of tourism corporations are micro, small, or medium-sized.
Canatur is urging a more durable advertising and marketing push, particularly into high-growth South America, and nonetheless targets at the very least 5% annual progress in arrivals.
After 2025, the lesson is sensible: pro-investment, market-oriented fixes on prices, safety, and infrastructure can beat new layers of state management.
