According to the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) the number of Americans who claim to be considering Costa Rica as a tourist destination has been increasing.
While in 2001 the total estimate of travelers who had expressed their interest in visiting the country for leisure and pleasure was 10.2 million, that number doubled to reach 20.2 million people in 2015.
ICT defines visitors with a great intention of coming to Costa Rica as „best prospects“. In this way, while the number of best prospects grows, the arrival of visitors from the US has also done so. That is to say, the intentions have materialized.
International arrivals from the United States have grown by 56% to the point of receiving almost 1.3 million people in 2016, maintaining the US as the main emitter of foreign visitors to Costa Rica.
In 2015, of the total number of Americans who said they were interested in visiting the country only 5.3% (1,077,044 travelers) materialized that desire.
„The gap means opportunity to grow“, explained Mauricio Ventura, Minister of Tourism in Costa Rica, „these studies allow us to monitor just that interest, so if we see that that intention diminishes then the alerts are ignited and actions will be taken“.
According to ICT, the best American prospect is a traveler who is averaging 46 years and has an average annual family income of 109,000 dollars.
At the same time, these are travelers who seek cultural enrichment and who are attracted by nature, scenic beauty, wildlife and outdoor adventure activities.