Costa Rica celebrated a banner yr for tourism in 2023, cementing its fame as a premier international vacation spot in response to new information from the nation’s Normal Directorate of Migration. The nation welcomed a historic 2,471,150 guests by air from January to December 2023, a exceptional 16.7% improve over 2022 arrivals. This inflow represents resilient development of two.2% in comparison with pre-pandemic ranges in 2019, surpassing Costa Rica’s earlier air arrival file.
“These constructive and historic figures exceed our pre-pandemic benchmarks,” stated Minister of Tourism William Rodriguez in an announcement. “In 2019, we had 2,418,300 air guests, and in 2023 we welcomed over 53,000 further vacationers. This achievement displays our strategic promotion efforts in key markets, restoring flight connectivity, and public-private collaboration to craft distinctive customer experiences.”
Arrivals hit new highs in December 2023 with 281,095 guests by air, an 18% year-over-year surge. The 2 major airports noticed important enlargement over final December, with Juan Santamaría Worldwide Airport processing 181,002 vacationers (up 18%) and Daniel Oduber Quirós Worldwide Airport servicing 100,051 visitors (a 28.5% improve). Air arrivals additionally elevated 10% above December 2019 ranges systemwide.
North American markets powered a lot of the enlargement in response to the statistical evaluation. The area despatched over 1.75 million guests in 2023, a formidable 18.6% year-over-year climb. The USA led with 1,431,644 arrivals adopted by Canada with 242,970 guests. Mexico contributed 81,964 visitors.
European nations additionally factored prominently within the development equation. The continent delivered 431,980 vacationers from January by December, a 5.1% enchancment. Arrivals from France, Germany and the Netherlands rose considerably by 13.4%, 13.1% and 9.8% respectively.
Minister Rodriguez credited the joint efforts between private and non-private sector stakeholders to revive passenger volumes by coordinated tourism advertising and marketing, rebuilt flight connectivity and modern hospitality ideas. “With new all-time highs in each our major airport hubs and important abroad markets, these information cement and validate Costa Rica’s standing as a world-leading tourism vacation spot post-pandemic,” he remarked.
Trade leaders echoed Rodriguez’ optimistic outlook. Juan Santamaría Worldwide Airport CEO Ricardo Hernández forecasted expanded development potential due to lately added routes from main American airways. “With new direct companies from cities like Cleveland, St. Louis, Austin, and others commencing simply this yr, we foresee sturdy continuation in arrivals from our core North American markets,” he stated.
