The fact that more than one million tourists visit Costa Rica each year does not happen by chance. Our country, located in Central America, is an isthmus where life seems to have created its roots. Covering only 0.03% of the surface of our planet, Costa Rica has approximately 6% of the world’s biodiversity.
In addition, Costa Rica is characterized by an impressive scenic beauty, consolidated system of protected areas, social and political stability, high educational levels, and efficient infrastructure and services. All these characteristics you can find in a territory of only 51 thousand square kilometers, surrounded by both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, only three to four hours away from each other by land or 45 minutes by air.
The country’s strategic position, in the heart of the western hemisphere, the Government’s positive attitude towards foreign investment, its infrastructure, access to international markets, and labor quality and cost, make Costa Rica an ideal place to establish commercial operations.
Why Costa Rica?
During the past century, Costa Rica has experienced an outstanding period of political stability. In the past years, significant facts and achievements have placed Costa Rica as the leader in the Central American region with a number of noteworthy milestones.
Then-President Oscar Arias authored a regional peace plan that earned him the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize — his popularity had him re-elected in February 2006. Astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz has served in various and important Space Shuttle missions. Claudia Poll won an Olympic gold medal for Costa Rica.
This history of outstanding success has been translated across other platforms including economics. Costa Rica is the only nation in Central America with industries such as Tourism and Technology that surpass agriculture as the main source of revenue. Tourism is one of the main economic activities in Costa Rica; in 2005, 1.6 million tourists generated $1.5 billion.
Major investment players such as Intel, Unysis, Acer, Procter & Gamble have established a solid presence in Costa Rica. The travel / hospitality industry has seen the arrival of major hotel chains from the U.S. (Marriott, Best Western) and Spain (Barcelo, Melia).
New foreign investment is in the growth in Costa Rica and names such as McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Burger King, KFC, Subway, TGIF, Tony Roma’s and others are seen across the country.
The U.S. and Costa Rica have a history of friendly relations. As many as 35,000 U.S. citizens reside in Costa Rica and 500,000 U.S. citizens visit the country annually. Important numbers are also applicable to residents from Canada and Western Europe.
To learn more, we invite you to view the Costa Rica profile by the U.S. Department of State.
