Costa Rica Tourism Statistics Updated November 2026

Human Written & Fact Checked · Updated

169 Costa Rica Tourism Statistics for 2026

Costa Rica received 2,943,991 international tourists in 2025, 0.8% more than in 2024 and still below the 3,139,008 of 2019. Arrivals from January to September 2026 were 4.8% up on a year earlier. Tourism brought in US$5,543.7 million of foreign exchange in 2025, on preliminary central bank figures.

This page gathers the official figures on Costa Rica tourism in one place: arrivals, source markets, 2026 so far, the seasons and the weather, why visitors come and what they do, spending and the economy, jobs, flights, cruises, the regions where tourists stay, hotels, national parks and protected areas, museums, Costa Ricans' own travel, and what visitors say online. Every number links to the document that carries it, with the date.

ICT counts international tourists from migration records. A tourist is a foreign visitor who stays at least one night, so Costa Ricans, foreign residents and cruise passengers are not included. Visitor spending is measured two ways, by ICT's surveys of departing tourists and by the central bank's foreign-exchange receipts. The two give different results, and we name the measure every time.

Headline figures

How many tourists visit Costa Rica each year?

Close to three million, a little below the 2019 peak. Air arrivals are now well above their level before the pandemic, but far fewer people cross the land borders, mainly from Nicaragua, so the total has not caught up.

3.14m 2019 1.01m 2020 1.35m 2021 2.35m 2022 2.75m 2023 2.92m 2024 2.94m 2025
View data table
International tourist arrivals to Costa Rica by year, 2019 to 2025, all entry routes, in millions. One series from one yearbook.
PeriodValue
20193.14m
20201.01m
20211.35m
20222.35m
20232.75m
20242.92m
20252.94m
International tourist arrivals to Costa Rica by year, 2019 to 2025, all entry routes, in millions. One series from one yearbook. (ICT (2025 tourism yearbook), Apr 2026)

ICT counts international tourists from passport records of the migration authority (DGME). They are overnight visitors only: Costa Ricans, foreign residents, people on temporary work permits, crews and cruise passengers are left out. Arrivals count trips, not people. All years come from the 2025 yearbook; earlier yearbooks may give slightly different figures. Sea arrivals are not cruise passengers, who are covered in the cruise section.

Where do Costa Rica's tourists come from?

North America, by a wide margin. The United States sends by far the most tourists and Canada is second. Europe is the next largest region, led by Germany, France and the UK, though it sent fewer tourists in 2025 than in 2019.

  1. 1 North America 2.00m
  2. 2 Europe 472k
  3. 3 Central America 248k
  4. 4 South America 156k
  5. 5 Asia and the Pacific 53k
International tourist arrivals to Costa Rica by world region of nationality, 2025, in thousands. (ICT (2025 tourism yearbook), Apr 2026)

Markets are by nationality, from the passport shown at the border, not by country of residence, so a US citizen living in Europe counts as American. ICT's airport surveys, used in the spending and visitor sections, group visitors by where they live instead.

How is Costa Rica tourism doing in 2026?

Growing, but more slowly since the summer. The first half of 2026 was well ahead of 2025, led by Canada and Liberia airport, but arrivals fell year on year in August and September.

322k Jan 332k Feb 380k Mar 256k Apr 213k May 231k Jun 268k Jul 190k Aug 119k Sep
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International tourist arrivals to Costa Rica by month, January to September 2026, in thousands. Provisional.
PeriodValue
Jan322k
Feb332k
Mar380k
Apr256k
May213k
Jun231k
Jul268k
Aug190k
Sep119k
International tourist arrivals to Costa Rica by month, January to September 2026, in thousands. Provisional. (ICT (arrivals Jan-Sep 2026), Oct 2026)
  • 1,733,596 tourists arrived from January to June 2026, 7.0% more than in the first half of 2025. (ICT (first half 2026 report), Jul 2026)
  • 379,818 tourists arrived in March 2026, the busiest month of the year so far. (ICT (first half 2026 report), Jul 2026)
  • In the first half of 2026 tourist arrivals through Liberia airport rose 13.4% to 608,132, and through San José 4.7% to 996,656. (ICT (first half 2026 report), Jul 2026)
  • Arrivals fell 5.1% in August 2026 and 2.4% in September, compared with the same months of 2025. (ICT (arrivals Jan-Sep 2026), Oct 2026)
  • Arrivals from the United States rose 2.4% from January to September 2026, to 1,288,001, and fell 13.7% in August. (ICT (arrivals Jan-Sep 2026), Oct 2026)
  • Canadian arrivals rose 23.9% from January to September 2026, to 239,065. (ICT (arrivals Jan-Sep 2026), Oct 2026)
  • European arrivals rose 7.3% to 375,245: Germany sent 63,136, France 57,533, the UK 54,592 and Spain 48,831. (ICT (arrivals Jan-Sep 2026), Oct 2026)
  • From January to September 2026 tourist arrivals through Liberia rose 11.9% to 769,716 and through San José 2.1% to 1,357,099. Air arrivals totalled 2,127,506, up 5.4%. (ICT (arrivals Jan-Sep 2026), Oct 2026)

2026 figures are provisional and may be revised in the 2026 yearbook. Growth rates are ICT's. Markets are by nationality. ICT replaces its monthly arrivals file each month, so the linked file may show later months than this page.

When is the best time to visit Costa Rica?

December to April, the dry season on the Pacific side, when most tourists come. September and October are the quietest months. Guanacaste, served by Liberia airport, is much more seasonal than San José.

298k Jan 294k Feb 336k Mar 253k Apr 206k May 233k Jun 262k Jul 200k Aug 122k Sep 146k Oct 247k Nov 347k Dec
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International tourist arrivals to Costa Rica by month, 2025, all entry routes, in thousands.
PeriodValue
Jan298k
Feb294k
Mar336k
Apr253k
May206k
Jun233k
Jul262k
Aug200k
Sep122k
Oct146k
Nov247k
Dec347k
International tourist arrivals to Costa Rica by month, 2025, all entry routes, in thousands. (ICT (2025 tourism yearbook), Apr 2026)
  • December 2025 was the busiest month of the year, with 347,143 arrivals, and September the quietest, with 121,815. (ICT (2025 tourism yearbook), Apr 2026)
  • March 2025 brought 336,476 arrivals, and July had a smaller mid-year peak of 262,048. (ICT (2025 tourism yearbook), Apr 2026)
  • Liberia airport had 114,686 tourist arrivals in December 2025 and 22,176 in September. San José airport had 201,440 and 82,054. (ICT (2025 tourism yearbook), Apr 2026)
  • Protected areas recorded 321,505 visits in January 2024 and 317,116 in March, against 132,111 in September and 130,525 in October. (SINAC (protected area visits 2024), Jun 2025)
  • Non-resident visits to protected areas peaked at 209,436 in March 2024 and 202,128 in February. In September residents made more visits than non-residents, 71,978 against 60,133. (SINAC (protected area visits 2024), Jun 2025)
  • Domestic flights into San José and Liberia peak in December, with 2,542 scheduled flights and 30,179 seats in December 2025, against 20,343 seats in February. (ICT (domestic seats and flights 2025), May 2026)

Arrivals are counted in the month tourists enter the country. Monthly figures are not seasonally adjusted. The border was closed or restricted in 2020 and 2021. Protected-area figures count visits, not people. Domestic flight figures are scheduled capacity, not passengers.

What is the weather like in Costa Rica?

Warm all year, with wet and dry seasons that differ by coast. The North Pacific, which includes Guanacaste, gets almost no rain from December to March. The Caribbean coast is wetter and has no true dry season.

  • May to August 50%
  • September to November 46%
  • December to March (dry season) 4%
Share of annual rainfall in Costa Rica's North Pacific region by season, 1961-1990 reference period. (IMN (North Pacific climate), 1961-1990)
  • In the North Pacific the dry season runs from December to March and brings 4% of the year's rain. 50% falls from May to August and 46% from September to November. (IMN (North Pacific climate), 1961-1990)
  • The Tempisque lowlands, the driest part of the North Pacific, average about 1,700 mm of rain a year, with daytime temperatures of 32°C and night-time temperatures of 22°C. (IMN (North Pacific climate), 1961-1990)
  • The North Pacific averages 136 days with rain a year. (IMN (North Pacific climate), 1961-1990)
  • An El Niño event can cut annual rainfall in the North Pacific by 26% on average. (IMN (North Pacific climate), 1961-1990)
  • Parts of the Central Valley, the region around San José, average 22.0°C and about 2,300 mm of rain a year. In the western valley 53% of the rain falls in the first rainy period and 43% in the second. (IMN (Central Valley climate), 1961-1990)
  • The Caribbean slope averages about 3,300 mm of rain a year, up to 4,500 mm in the northeast. November to February brings 40% of its rain. (IMN (Caribbean climate), 1961-1990)
  • The north Caribbean averages 195 days with rain a year and the south Caribbean 184. (IMN (Caribbean climate), 1961-1990)

These are the National Meteorological Institute's (IMN) regional climate descriptions for the reference period 1961-1990, the latest regional figures we could find on its site. They describe regions, not single weather stations, and recent years may differ. The Central Valley temperature and rainfall are IMN's figures for parts of the region; the eastern valley gets less rain.

Why do tourists visit Costa Rica?

Mostly for a holiday. Most tourists are on their first visit, and most heard about Costa Rica from friends or family. Visitors who fly out of Liberia are more likely to be on holiday with family than those who leave from San José.

  1. 1 Holiday and leisure 2.10m
  2. 2 Friends and relatives 317k
  3. 3 Business 314k
Estimated tourist arrivals to Costa Rica by main purpose of visit, 2025, in thousands. (ICT (purpose of visit 2019-2025), May 2026)

Purpose of visit is ICT's estimate: the answers from its airport surveys applied to all arrivals. The fall in the holiday share in 2025 is a one-year change that may partly reflect the sample. San José and Liberia are surveyed separately and ICT publishes no combined figure. Some questions, such as how visitors heard about Costa Rica, were put to holiday visitors only.

What do tourists do in Costa Rica?

Go to the beach and see wildlife. Two in three air tourists spend time on the beach, and more than half do ecotourism or adventure activities such as hiking and zip-lining. Most visitors who fly out of San José also visit a national park or reserve.

  1. 1 Beach 67.0%
  2. 2 Wildlife and plants 37.1%
  3. 3 Local food 36.1%
  4. 4 Hiking trails 32.0%
  5. 5 Volcanoes 29.5%
  6. 6 Hot springs 25.3%
  7. 7 Zip-line 25.1%
Share of air tourists doing each activity in Costa Rica, average of 2023 to 2025, in per cent. Tourists could name several. (ICT (visitor activities 2023-2025), Jun 2026)

Activity figures come from ICT's surveys of tourists leaving by air. Visitors can name several activities, so shares add to more than 100%. Activity groups such as ecotourism and adventure are ICT's own groupings of single activities. ICT says activity estimates are not the main aim of the surveys.

How much do tourists spend in Costa Rica?

More each trip than before the pandemic, in dollar terms. Tourists who leave through Liberia spend the most, and Europeans stay longest and spend more than North Americans. Visitors who come over land spend far less.

  1. 1 Liberia airport US$2,124
  2. 2 All air US$1,848
  3. 3 All routes US$1,728
  4. 4 San José airport US$1,708
  5. 5 Land border US$421
Average spend per tourist during their stay in Costa Rica by exit route, 2025, in US dollars. (ICT (visitor spend 2015-2025), Jun 2026)

Spend is the average per person for the whole stay, from ICT's surveys of departing non-residents, in current US dollars with no adjustment for inflation. ICT footnotes changes in survey method between 2020 and 2023, and the figures move a lot from year to year. Survey figures by market are by country of residence. Survey spend measures something different from the central bank's foreign-exchange receipts in the next section, and the two are not compared.

How much does Costa Rica earn from tourism?

More than from coffee or bananas. Receipts have grown fast since 2021, but growth slowed sharply in 2025, and tourism's share of all exports fell in 2025.

3.98bn 2019 1.32bn 2020 1.72bn 2021 3.91bn 2022 4.75bn 2023 5.43bn 2024 5.54bn 2025
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Tourism foreign-exchange receipts, 2019 to 2025, in US$ billion. 2025 is preliminary; cruise passenger spending is left out.
PeriodValue
20193.98bn
20201.32bn
20211.72bn
20223.91bn
20234.75bn
20245.43bn
20255.54bn
Tourism foreign-exchange receipts, 2019 to 2025, in US$ billion. 2025 is preliminary; cruise passenger spending is left out. (ICT (from Banco Central de Costa Rica data), Feb 2026)

Receipts are the central bank's (BCCR) balance-of-payments measure of foreign exchange brought in by tourism, as published by ICT. They are in current US dollars, the 2025 figures are preliminary and cruise passengers' spending is not included. They measure something different from ICT's survey spend per tourist and are not compared with it.

How much is tourism worth to Costa Rica's economy?

A sizeable share of GDP before the pandemic, on the central bank's tourism satellite account. The account has not been updated since 2021, so there is no official current share. Foreign visitors make most of the tourism spending inside the country.

  1. 1 Accommodation 25.5%
  2. 2 Restaurants 18.8%
  3. 3 Medical services 12.4%
  4. 4 Travel agencies 8.3%
  5. 5 Road transport 7.2%
Share of tourism activity in Costa Rica by industry, 2021, in per cent. The five largest industries in the satellite account. (BCCR (tourism satellite account 2012-2021), Nov 2023)

The tourism satellite account is the central bank's (BCCR) measure of tourism within the national accounts. Its latest year is 2021, a pandemic year, and no estimate has been published for 2022 to 2025, so no share here is a current one. Direct GDP shares and the share with indirect effects are different measures: the indirect effect is worked out from input-output tables only when the base year changes, most recently for 2017. The 2021 domestic share is likely higher than usual because few foreign visitors came. Satellite-account employment is counted differently from the employment survey in the next section and the two are not compared.

How many people work in tourism in Costa Rica?

Most tourism-related jobs are in restaurants and other food and drink businesses, which also serve local customers. Formal jobs in hotels and restaurants are well above their 2019 level, while the employment survey shows a fall in 2025 from a high in 2024.

  1. 1 Food and drink 102k
  2. 2 Accommodation 30k
  3. 3 Transport and agencies 19k
  4. 4 Culture and recreation 16k
People employed in tourism-related activities in Costa Rica by activity, 2025 annual average, in thousands. (ICT (INEC employment survey data), Aug 2026)

Employment figures come from the national statistics office's (INEC) continuous employment survey, compiled by ICT, and carry sampling error. They count everyone working in these activities, including those serving local customers. The direct and indirect total is ICT's estimate, not a separate count. CCSS figures count formal insured workers only, and the 2025 figure is to June. Neither is the same measure as the satellite-account employment above.

How do tourists get to Costa Rica?

By air, through two international airports. San José handles most tourists, but Liberia in Guanacaste has grown much faster and now handles far more than before the pandemic. Airline seats grew in 2025, led by routes from the United States.

330k 2013 378k 2014 426k 2015 573k 2016 526k 2017 553k 2018 599k 2019 229k 2020 388k 2021 662k 2022 770k 2023 881k 2024 905k 2025
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International tourist arrivals through Liberia airport (Daniel Oduber Quirós), 2013 to 2025, in thousands.
PeriodValue
2013330k
2014378k
2015426k
2016573k
2017526k
2018553k
2019599k
2020229k
2021388k
2022662k
2023770k
2024881k
2025905k
International tourist arrivals through Liberia airport (Daniel Oduber Quirós), 2013 to 2025, in thousands. (ICT (2025 tourism yearbook), Apr 2026)
  • 1,783,761 tourists entered through Juan Santamaría airport in San José in 2025, against 1,817,043 in 2019. (ICT (2025 tourism yearbook), Apr 2026)
  • 904,762 tourists entered through Daniel Oduber Quirós airport in Liberia in 2025, up from 599,433 in 2019. (ICT (2025 tourism yearbook), Apr 2026)
  • Airlines scheduled 5,482,398 seats to Costa Rica in 2025, 7.71% more than in 2024. 32 airlines flew 72 routes from 55 cities. (ICT (2025 closing report), Jul 2026)
  • There were 30,698 direct international flights in 2025. Routes from the United States supplied 2,481,669 seats and routes from Europe 394,656. (ICT (seats and flights 2025), May 2026)
  • In July 2026, 26 airlines flew 53 routes from 38 cities in 16 countries to Costa Rica, with 437,217 seats on 2,457 flights. (ICT (national tourism plan monitoring), Aug 2026)
  • ICT's national tourism plan aims for 2.9 million tourist arrivals a year by air by 2027. (ICT (national tourism plan monitoring), Jul 2026)

Tourist arrivals by airport are foreign overnight visitors from migration records. They are not airport passenger totals, which count residents, departures and transits too. Guanacaste Airport's passenger figure is the operator's own. Seat and flight figures are scheduled capacity estimated by the data firm Mabrian and published by ICT; seats also carry residents. We could not verify a 2025 passenger total for San José airport on an official page, so none is given.

How many domestic flights link Costa Rica's beaches and parks?

A small network of light aircraft links San José and Liberia with beach towns and remote parks. The busiest link is to Cóbano on the Nicoya Peninsula, followed by Quepos and Puerto Jiménez.

  1. 1 Cóbano 42.9k
  2. 2 Quepos 38.6k
  3. 3 Puerto Jiménez 34.7k
  4. 4 Nosara 21.1k
  5. 5 Tamarindo 17.3k
  6. 6 Golfito 11.7k
  7. 7 Drake Bay 11.2k
Scheduled domestic seats to San José from local airstrips, 2025, in thousands. (ICT (domestic seats and flights 2025), May 2026)

These are scheduled flights and seats estimated by Mabrian and published by ICT, not passengers carried. They count one direction only, from local airstrips into San José and Liberia, so flights between two local airstrips are not included.

How many cruise passengers visit Costa Rica?

Fewer than at the peak. The 2024-2025 season was slightly below the season before and well below 2009-2010. Most cruise passengers land at Limón on the Caribbean, while most ships call at Pacific ports.

  • Caribbean (Limón) 182k
  • Pacific ports 115k
Cruise passengers by coast, 2024-2025 season, in thousands. (ICT (cruise season 2024-2025), Feb 2026)
  • Cruise passengers in 2024-2025 were 0.5% fewer than the 298,855 of the 2023-2024 season. (ICT (cruise season 2024-2025), Feb 2026)
  • Limón received 182,216 cruise passengers from 92 ships in 2024-2025. The Pacific ports, including Caldera, Puntarenas and Quepos, received 115,197 from 199 ships. (ICT (cruise season 2024-2025), Feb 2026)
  • The 2009-2010 season brought 418,998 cruise passengers. After the pandemic, 2022-2023 brought 352,093 passengers on 407 ships. (ICT (cruise season 2024-2025), Feb 2026)
  • 63% of the ships that called in 2024-2025 were expedition ships with fewer than 1,000 passengers. The season ran from 3 September 2024 to 12 July 2025. (ICT (2025 closing report), Jul 2026)
  • ICT's national tourism plan aims for 400,000 cruise passengers a season by 2027. (ICT (national tourism plan monitoring), Jul 2026)

Cruise passengers are day visitors and are not counted in the tourist arrivals. Figures come from the port authorities and migration offices, compiled by ICT. Seasons run from August to July since 2023-2024 and from September to August before. There were no cruise calls in 2020-2021. The expedition-ship share is a share of ships, not passengers.

Which regions of Costa Rica do tourists stay in?

The Northern Plains and Guanacaste. Each had overnight stays from more than a third of air tourists in 2025. The South Pacific gets the fewest, but more tourists stay there than in 2015.

  1. 1 Northern Plains 1.02m
  2. 2 Guanacaste 995k
  3. 3 Central Valley 861k
  4. 4 Puntarenas 753k
  5. 5 Caribbean 619k
  6. 6 Central Pacific 619k
  7. 7 South Pacific 323k
Estimated air tourists who spent at least one night in each tourism region of Costa Rica, 2025, in thousands. A tourist can stay in several regions. (ICT (overnight stays by region), Oct 2026)
  • An estimated 1,021,926 air tourists (38%) spent at least one night in the Northern Plains in 2025, and 995,033 (37%) in Guanacaste. (ICT (overnight stays by region), Oct 2026)
  • 860,569 air tourists (32%) stayed at least one night in the Central Valley in 2025, 752,998 (28%) in Puntarenas and 618,534 each (23%) in the Caribbean and the Central Pacific. (ICT (overnight stays by region), Oct 2026)
  • 322,713 air tourists (12%) stayed in the South Pacific in 2025, up from 136,800 (7.4%) in 2015. (ICT (overnight stays by region), Oct 2026)
  • The Caribbean drew 300,836 air tourists (16.2%) in 2015 and 525,423 (21.7%) in 2019. (ICT (overnight stays by region), Oct 2026)
  • Guanacaste drew 766,882 air tourists (41.3%) in 2015 and 976,323 (40.4%) in 2019. (ICT (overnight stays by region), Oct 2026)

These are ICT estimates: the share of air tourists in its airport surveys who stayed at least one night in each region, applied to air arrivals. A tourist can stay in several regions, so shares add to more than 100%, and visitors who came over land are not included. Regions are ICT's tourism planning units, not provinces. The 2025 shares are whole numbers while earlier years have one decimal, and the Central Valley share moved a lot between survey years, possibly after a change in method, so only its latest year is given.

How many hotel rooms does Costa Rica have?

Tens of thousands, most of them in small lodges and cabinas. Guanacaste has the most rooms, ahead of the Central Valley. These figures leave out vacation rentals, which ICT cannot count in full.

  1. 1 Guanacaste 14.96k
  2. 2 Central Valley 13.32k
  3. 3 Central Pacific 6.54k
  4. 4 Puntarenas 5.89k
  5. 5 Northern Plains 5.68k
  6. 6 South Pacific 5.47k
  7. 7 Caribbean 5.09k
Estimated hotel and lodging rooms by ICT tourism region, 2025, in thousands. Vacation rentals are not included. (ICT (lodging supply 2003-2025), Jun 2026)
  • Room supply rose 1.5% in 2025, from 56,106 rooms in 2024. (ICT (lodging supply 2003-2025), Jun 2026)
  • 654 establishments with 26,631 rooms were registered with ICT in 2025. The other 2,441, with 30,319 rooms, were not. (ICT (lodging supply 2003-2025), Jun 2026)
  • ICT-registered establishments average 40.7 rooms, against 12.6 for the rest and 18.4 for all establishments. (ICT (lodging supply 2003-2025), Jun 2026)
  • In 2003 Costa Rica had 35,003 rooms in 2,217 establishments. (ICT (lodging supply 2003-2025), Jun 2026)
  • Guanacaste had 14,959 rooms in 632 establishments in 2025, 26.3% of the national total, up from 14,626 in 2024. (ICT (lodging supply 2003-2025), Jun 2026)
  • The Central Valley had 13,318 rooms in 504 establishments, the largest average size of any region at 26.4 rooms. (ICT (lodging supply 2003-2025), Jun 2026)
  • ICT estimates there were 9,671 vacation-rental listings on offer at the close of 2025, from one week of Airbnb data. (ICT (2025 closing report), Jul 2026)
  • Hotels with 4 and 5 stars advertised average nightly rates above US$300 in 2025, while hotels with 3 stars or fewer stayed under US$150. (ICT (2025 closing report), Jul 2026)

Room figures are ICT's estimate of all hotels and lodgings: registered establishments plus an estimate of unregistered ones, based on a 2017 field survey updated with records and booking-site checks. They exclude vacation rentals such as houses, apartments and cabins. ICT says it has no way to count all vacation rentals, so the listing figure is a one-week snapshot from a commercial data feed and probably an undercount. Hotel rates are average prices published online for a standard double room, not prices paid. No official hotel occupancy rate is published.

How many people visit Costa Rica's national parks?

Millions of visits a year, most of them by foreign tourists. Visits set a record in 2023 and dipped in 2024 as Costa Ricans made fewer visits. National parks take most of the visits to protected areas.

475k 2017 525k 2018 513k 2019 225k 2020 330k 2021 366k 2022 478k 2023 489k 2024
View data table
Visits to Manuel Antonio National Park, 2017 to 2024, in thousands.
PeriodValue
2017475k
2018525k
2019513k
2020225k
2021330k
2022366k
2023478k
2024489k
Visits to Manuel Antonio National Park, 2017 to 2024, in thousands. (SINAC (protected area visits 2024), Jun 2025)

Figures are visits, not people, from the national parks and conservation service (SINAC), published by ICT. They include free and exempt entries. 2024 is the latest year in the official series; a 2025 total reported in the press is not used until SINAC publishes it. Private reserves, such as the Monteverde cloud forest reserves, are not part of SINAC's counts. The family survey figures are from a separate ICT survey of households.

Which national parks and reserves are most visited?

Manuel Antonio, then Poás and Tortuguero. Most visitors to the big coastal and volcano parks are foreign, but Irazú draws mainly Costa Ricans. Remote Corcovado and Cocos Island get far fewer visits.

  1. 1 Manuel Antonio 489k
  2. 2 Poás Volcano 282k
  3. 3 Tortuguero 229k
  4. 4 Irazú Volcano 212k
  5. 5 Marino Ballena 205k
  6. 6 Tenorio Volcano 202k
  7. 7 Gandoca-Manzanillo 180k
  8. 8 Cahuita 165k
  9. 9 Arenal Volcano 141k
  10. 10 Corcovado 103k
Visits to ten of Costa Rica's busiest protected areas, 2024, in thousands. (SINAC (protected area visits 2024), Jun 2025)

Visits are counted at SINAC entrances, published by ICT, and include residents and non-residents. Poás is subject to closures for volcanic activity, so its visits move sharply from year to year. Some areas show no visits because they have no way of counting them, not because nobody goes. Gandoca-Manzanillo is a mixed state and private refuge. Private attractions near the parks, such as those around La Fortuna, are not counted.

How much of Costa Rica is protected?

A larger share of its sea than of its land. National parks are the best-known category, but wildlife refuges and protected zones are more numerous.

  1. 1 Wildlife refuges 49
  2. 2 Protected zones 34
  3. 3 National parks 30
  4. 4 Wetlands 12
  5. 5 Biological reserves 9
  6. 6 Forest reserves 8
Number of protected areas in Costa Rica by main category, 2025. (SINAC (protected areas 2025), Sep 2025)
  • 30.35% of Costa Rica's marine area, about 165,022 km², is protected. (SINAC (protected areas 2025), Sep 2025)
  • Costa Rica has 150 protected areas, among them 30 national parks, 49 national wildlife refuges, 34 protected zones, 12 wetlands, 9 biological reserves and 8 forest reserves. (SINAC (protected areas 2025), Sep 2025)
  • National parks cover 6,378.8 km² of land, 12.47% of the national territory, and 56,593.6 km² of sea. (SINAC (protected areas 2025), Sep 2025)

Figures are SINAC's 2025 list of protected areas. Shares are of a land and island area of 51,173.29 km² and an approximate marine area of 543,800 km². Private reserves outside SINAC's system are not included. Older press figures use earlier versions of the list.

How many people visit Costa Rica's museums and heritage sites?

Far fewer than visit the national parks. The National Museum in San José draws most of its visitors from Costa Rica, and its visits fell in 2025.

  • The National Museum of Costa Rica received 118,671 visitors in 2025: 106,980 at its San José headquarters and 11,691 at the Finca 6 visitor centre and the four stone-sphere sites listed by UNESCO. (Museo Nacional (annual report 2025), Feb 2026)
  • 36,889 of the visits to the museum's San José site in 2025 were by foreigners. July was the busiest month, with 13,260. (Museo Nacional (annual report 2025), Feb 2026)
  • The museum received 131,683 visitors in 2024, 120,931 of them at the San José site and 10,752 at Finca 6 and the stone-sphere sites. (Museo Nacional (2024 report), 2024)
  • Guayabo National Monument, an archaeological site, had 20,219 visits in 2024. (SINAC (protected area visits 2024), Jun 2025)

Museum figures are the National Museum's own counts of visits, not unique people. Guayabo is counted by SINAC as a protected area.

How do Costa Ricans travel at home?

In short breaks, most often in December. Families take several holidays a year of a few nights each, and the beach is the favourite day out.

Figures come from a survey of 2,008 heads of household carried out by CID Gallup for ICT in June and July 2024, with a margin of error of 1.9 points. Spending is given as a range in colones. The survey is not a count of domestic trips, and no official count is published.

How many Costa Ricans travel abroad?

More every year since 2021. Most fly, and the United States and Panama are the main destinations. Panama is also a common connecting hub.

  1. 1 United States 334k
  2. 2 Panama 247k
  3. 3 Mexico 155k
  4. 4 Colombia 147k
Departures of Costa Ricans by air by declared destination country, 2025, in thousands. (ICT (2025 tourism yearbook), Apr 2026)
  • Costa Ricans made 1,501,940 trips abroad in 2025, 8.5% more than in 2024 (1,384,169) and up from 539,760 in 2021. (ICT (2025 tourism yearbook), Apr 2026)
  • Costa Ricans flying out in 2025 were headed for the United States (333,660), Panama (247,408), Mexico (155,304) and Colombia (147,150). (ICT (2025 tourism yearbook), Apr 2026)
  • From January to September 2026 Costa Ricans made 1,081,987 trips abroad, 858,293 of them by air. (ICT (arrivals Jan-Sep 2026), Oct 2026)
  • Residents returning through San José in 2025 had spent 10.9 nights abroad and US$1,823.0 per person, on ICT's survey of residents at the airport. 66.3% travelled for personal reasons and 33.7% on business. (ICT (resident traveller survey, San José 2025), Jun 2026)

Departures count trips by Costa Rican nationals, not people, and leave out crews. The destination is the country declared to migration officers, which ICT says is often the first stop on a direct flight, not the final destination. Nights and spending abroad come from ICT's survey of residents at San José airport, about 1,000 interviews a year; other ICT reports give different figures, so only the survey is used.

What do visitors say about Costa Rica online?

Mostly good things, and more so than before the pandemic, on ICT's indexes built from online reviews. Visitors rate the country higher than its hotels.

79.6 2019 82.5 2020 86.9 2021 85.4 2022 87.1 2023 85.6 2024 89.4 2025
View data table
ICT global satisfaction index from online reviews and mentions, 2019 to 2025, out of 100.
PeriodValue
201979.6
202082.5
202186.9
202285.4
202387.1
202485.6
202589.4
ICT global satisfaction index from online reviews and mentions, 2019 to 2025, out of 100. (ICT (online perception indexes 2019-2025), Jan 2026)
  • ICT's global satisfaction index, built from online reviews and mentions, reached 89.4 out of 100 in 2025, up from 85.6 in 2024 and 79.6 in 2019. (ICT (online perception indexes 2019-2025), Jan 2026)
  • ICT's climate perception index, which tracks what visitors say online about the weather, was 90.7 in 2025, from 89.1 in the second quarter to 91.0 in the fourth. (ICT (online perception indexes 2019-2025), Jan 2026)
  • ICT's hotel satisfaction index, from online hotel reviews, was 70.8 points in 2025. (ICT (2025 closing report), Jul 2026)

These indexes are built by the data firm Mabrian for ICT from online reviews and mentions on sites such as Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor. They are not surveys of visitors. The global index combines the hotel, product, safety and climate indexes.

Is Costa Rica safe for visitors?

This page has no official crime figures for visitors. ICT publishes a perception index built from what visitors write online about safety. It is not a crime statistic, and it has changed little since 2018.

91.3 2018 91.9 2019 91.6 2020 93.7 2021 91.8 2022 89.6 2023 91.5 2024 91.1 2025
View data table
ICT safety perception index from online mentions, 2018 to 2025, out of 100. An index of what visitors write, not a measure of crime.
PeriodValue
201891.3
201991.9
202091.6
202193.7
202291.8
202389.6
202491.5
202591.1
ICT safety perception index from online mentions, 2018 to 2025, out of 100. An index of what visitors write, not a measure of crime. (ICT (online safety perception index), Jan 2026)

The index comes from Mabrian's language analysis of online mentions about safety by visitors worldwide, published by ICT. It measures how visitors talk about safety, not how much crime there is. Police figures on crimes against tourists could not be checked against an official table and are left out.

Glossary

ICT
The Instituto Costarricense de Turismo, Costa Rica's tourism board, which publishes arrivals, airport surveys, lodging supply and most other figures on this page.
DGME
The Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, the migration authority whose passport records ICT uses to count arrivals.
Tourist arrival
A foreign visitor who stays at least one night, counted at the border. Costa Ricans, foreign residents and cruise passengers are not included.
BCCR
The Banco Central de Costa Rica, the central bank, which measures tourism receipts and compiles the tourism satellite account.
Tourism satellite account
The central bank's measure of tourism's size within the national accounts. The latest year is 2021.
INEC
The Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos, the national statistics office, which runs the continuous employment survey.
CCSS
The Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, the social security fund, whose records count formal insured workers.
SJO
Juan Santamaría International Airport, serving San José.
LIR
Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport in Liberia, Guanacaste, run as Guanacaste Airport.
SINAC
The Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación, which manages national parks and other protected areas and counts their visits.
Protected area
A wild area in SINAC's system, such as a national park, wildlife refuge, protected zone or biological reserve.
Tourism region
One of ICT's tourism planning units, such as Guanacaste or the Northern Plains, used for lodging and overnight-stay figures. They are not provinces.
IMN
The Instituto Meteorológico Nacional, Costa Rica's weather service, which publishes the regional climate figures.
Mabrian
A commercial travel data firm whose seat estimates and online-review indexes ICT publishes.

Methodology and sources

Figures come from ICT (the tourism yearbook, monthly and half-year arrivals reports, airport surveys of departing visitors and returning residents, lodging supply, cruise figures and the national tourism plan), the central bank (tourism receipts and the tourism satellite account, both published by ICT), INEC and CCSS employment data compiled by ICT, SINAC, the National Meteorological Institute, the National Museum and Guanacaste Airport, whose figure is labelled as its own. Each figure links to the document that carries it, with the date, and ICT figures are labelled by report or survey. Tourist arrivals are overnight visitors from migration records and leave out cruise passengers. Spending is given on two bases, ICT's survey of departing tourists and the central bank's receipts, in separate sections, and they are not compared. The tourism satellite account ends in 2021, so its GDP shares always carry their year. Figures that could only be found in the press, such as SINAC's 2025 park total, and figures the sources do not agree on are left out, and so are shares, ratios and sums we would have had to calculate. Climate figures are IMN's regional averages for 1961-1990. The page is reviewed monthly and the date is shown at the top.