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Recently I managed to get in my first trip to the Americas in about five years, and I am astonished by how much national park there was available to visitors and can see why they call Costa Rica the "Switzerland of Central America".

Next to Kenya, Costa Rica is known to be one of the first tropical countries dedicating itself to ecotourism. Instead of focusing on short term profits by selling itself out to multinationals that cut down lumber, mine for gold and engage in similar activities, the Costa Rican government introduced significant laws for the protection of at an early stage. In 1970, laws against the trade of endangered animals were introduced and the first national reserves were established. By now there are over 200 public and private national preserves, covering over 25% of the country's territory. Even though there are still some problems like unsustainable growth of tourist areas and the still-existing threat of international companies hoping to exploit natural resources.

Costa Rica is amid countries afflicted by poverty and wars, but thanks to a strong social welfare system and relatively little corruption it is the Latin American country with the highest rates of growth after Chile. In 1948 Costa Rica abolished the army and left money available to infrastructure and social institutions. Maybe this is the reason that Costa Rica is the only country in Latin America that has not suffered any act of war in the past century.

Those are some of the aspects that make Costa Rica an attractive and safe country to travel to. It is about one ninth the size of Sweden with a population of 4.5 million. The standard of living is relatively high, with a well-developed middle class. Across the border, Nicaragua is the 2nd poorest country in Latin America and you will notice the absence of intact natural areas as well as grinding poverty if you make a short visit. The people of Nicaragua are known as the most hospitable and open-minded in the region but it shows what can be achieved by economic policies that integrate sustainable eco travel in long-term strategies. Not only does it seem that it can provide preservation, labor and infrastructure but it also helps local business and contributes to the development of the education system; there is a rising awareness about the value of Costa Rica's natural treasures among the young and there is an excellent standardized national certification for tourist guides with good knowledge of the ecosystem.

I think that this strategy is clearly more effective than the exploitation of mine workers and cheap uneducated labor for profit. Yet, there is still corruption and nepotism that endangers the situation. As neighbors to theses mining companies I was talking about, there are areas where luxury condominiums and out-of-size hotel complexes destroy small villages and increase costs of living in the area. The bigger the complex built, the higher the probability that it will not be built and maintained by local companies and small trade will most likely die out and be replaced by shopping malls. This is the downside of the development of tourism and increasing living standards (for a limited few).

All in all, Costa Rica is a place where you at least have the choice of supporting local operators and lodgings that are run in harmony with the local social and biological system. These standards are very important to most people in Europe and if we are only aware of where our "tourism kronor" are going, we can make a better choice in being more responsible and supporting eco-friendly tourist choices.

by Jeff (jeff@xpats.nu) 2009-06-16