Costa Rica: tourism growth, livelihoods and conservation
A sourced example of Costa Rica's international tourism growth, economic benefits and protected-area management, with visitor pressure treated as a sustainability risk. Confirm that your centre selected Costa Rica.
Exam scope and assessment notes
Cambridge IGCSE Geography 0460, 2027–2029 syllabus, Topic 9.3.5. The syllabus does not prescribe one universal set of named detailed specific examples: centres select places suited to their learners. Sixteen optional StudyForA evidence packs now cover all sixteen example objectives, but the centre's choices are unconfirmed. Match each pack to your centre's chosen place and replace any mismatch before treating the course as complete. Original StudyForA explanations and self-check practice are not Cambridge papers, official grades or teacher-marked coursework. Map, graph and written answers are not automatically assessed. Paper 4 practice uses supplied or invented data and cannot certify safe fieldwork, equipment use or real data collection. Centre-set coursework and specialist teacher review remain pending.
Before you begin
- No previous Geography course is assumed. Use the supplied map, data or scenario; distinguish observation from explanation and support conclusions with evidence.
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
Give one reason tourists are attracted to Costa Rica.
What you will learn
- Explain why Costa Rica attracts a growing number of tourists
- Use dated evidence to assess tourism's economic benefits
- Identify environmental and market risks as well as benefits
- Evaluate how protected areas and tourism standards can manage impacts sustainably
Natural attractions and access support growth
Costa Rica is marketed for wildlife, beaches, forests and outdoor activities. Its network of legally protected areas, varied landscapes and relatively short travel distances between attractions support ecotourism and adventure tourism. Air access and established international marketing connect the country to overseas markets, especially North America.
The Costa Rican Tourism Institute reported 2,661,488 air arrivals in 2024, 7.7% above 2023. This is an annual arrival measure by air, not every tourist entering by land or sea. Seven in ten air visitors came from the United States, showing both a large market and dependence on one source region.
Tourism supports jobs and foreign exchange
The Tourism Institute, using Central Bank and labour-force survey data, reported US$5.434 billion in tourism foreign-exchange receipts and 183,016 direct tourism jobs in 2024. Accommodation, food, transport and recreation link visitor spending to work and local businesses. Protected-area visits can also support conservation revenue and communities near parks.
Benefits depend on where spending goes and the quality and security of jobs. If imported goods, external operators or concentrated destinations capture much of the revenue, local multipliers may be smaller. Heavy dependence on overseas visitors also exposes jobs and income to changes in travel costs, safety perceptions and global economic conditions.
Visitor pressure needs active management
Visitors can create pressure on water, energy, waste systems, wildlife and trails, especially when many arrive at the same protected site. Costa Rica's National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) identifies visitor-flow tools, tourism plans, waste and wastewater management, local capacity and impact monitoring as parts of sustainable management. These measures acknowledge the risk of pressure; they do not prove that every park is already damaged.
Management includes protected-area rules, visitor-flow planning, environmental standards and certification for tourism businesses. SINAC also aims to connect visits with nearby communities. Sustainable tourism should conserve ecosystems while offering local jobs and cultural benefits. A strong evaluation compares visitor numbers and ecological indicators with local income, water use, waste and seasonality rather than relying on arrival totals alone.
Sources for this lesson
- Cambridge IGCSE Geography 0460 syllabus, 2027–2029 · objective 9.3.5
- Costa Rican Tourism Institute · Air arrivals in 2024
- Costa Rican Tourism Institute · Tourism receipts and employment in 2024
- SINAC · Sustainable tourism programme and visitor-flow management
- SINAC · Sustainable tourism in protected wild areas
Pause and explain
Why does the Tourism Institute's 2024 jobs figure not reveal how evenly tourism income is shared?
Worked example
Air arrivals rose from approximately 2.47 million in 2023 to 2.66 million in 2024. Calculate the approximate increase and explain why this is not a count of all visitors by every route.
Show the worked solution
- Subtract the 2023 total from the 2024 total.
- The data series counts air arrivals; land and sea routes are outside this total.
- Round the result because the first figure is approximate.
Answer The approximate increase was 2.66 − 2.47 = 0.19 million, or about 190,000 air arrivals. This series counts arrivals by air, so it is not a total for every visitor entering by land or sea.
Look for these in your work
- Increase calculated
- Estimate presented as approximate
- Measure's coverage explained
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Give two reasons for Costa Rica's tourism growth and interpret the 7.7% rise in air arrivals in 2024.
Give me a hint
Use attractions and access or marketing, then keep the visitor measure's route clear.
Compare my reasoning
- Protected forests, wildlife, beaches and outdoor activities attract visitors.
- Air arrivals totalled 2,661,488 in 2024, 7.7% above 2023.
- The statistic measures air arrivals, not every route or ecological effect.
Costa Rica's natural attractions and international access and promotion draw visitors. The Tourism Institute recorded 2,661,488 air arrivals in 2024, up 7.7%; this is an air-arrival measure rather than all entries or a measure of sustainable capacity.
Look for these in your work
- Two growth factors stated
- Figure and year accurate
- Scope limitation included
Use the 2024 figures to explain one economic benefit of tourism and one sustainability risk.
Give me a hint
Link receipts or jobs to livelihoods, then connect visitor pressure to a resource or protected habitat.
Compare my reasoning
- Tourism generated US$5.434 billion in foreign-exchange receipts and 183,016 direct jobs in 2024, according to the ICT and cited official statistics.
- Work and spending can support accommodation, transport, food and recreation businesses.
- Concentrated visitor flows may pressure water, waste systems, trails and wildlife; monitoring is needed to judge actual impacts.
Tourism supported jobs and foreign-exchange receipts in 2024, helping businesses linked to accommodation, food and transport. But concentrated visitor flows can place pressure on water, waste systems and protected habitats. The pressure is a risk to monitor; the national employment and revenue totals do not show which sites experienced damage.
Look for these in your work
- Economic benefit explained
- Specific environmental risk identified
- Risk distinguished from measured outcome
Evaluate whether expanding visitor numbers is the best way to improve Costa Rica's tourism benefits.
Give me a hint
Balance income and jobs against environmental capacity, seasonality, local ownership and management evidence.
Compare my reasoning
- More arrivals can raise revenue and employment, as the 2024 national figures show.
- Visitor growth can concentrate environmental and service pressure, and 70% of air visitors in 2024 came from the United States.
- SINAC's flow management, local links and impact monitoring can improve quality and distribution, but outcomes need site-level evidence.
More arrivals may increase national revenue and jobs, but volume alone is a weak goal. Costa Rica depends heavily on the US air market, and crowded protected sites may face resource and habitat pressure. A better strategy diversifies markets and seasons, supports local businesses, manages visitor flows and checks ecological indicators alongside income and employment.
Look for these in your work
- Growth benefit balanced against costs
- Market dependence considered
- Sustainable management and indicators recommended
Common mistakes
- Calling air arrivals the total number of all visitors
- Treating tourism receipts as money retained by every local community
- Assuming a protected-area designation eliminates visitor impacts
- Presenting a management plan as proof of successful outcomes
- Claiming all tourism jobs are secure or high-paid
- Ignoring seasonality and reliance on a few source markets
- Using this optional pack without confirming the centre's selected destination
What can you explain now?
Does a 7.7% rise in air arrivals prove that every protected area can absorb more visitors sustainably?
Compare with the explanation
No; visitor capacity and impacts vary by site, season and local services
National growth must be compared with place-specific ecological and infrastructure evidence.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
Name two attractions, one 2024 tourism benefit, one visitor-pressure risk, and two measures Costa Rica uses to manage tourism sustainably.
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.