Ecotourism in Costa Rica is one of the key activities of the tourism industry in the country. By the early 1990s, Costa Rica became well
known because of its start of developing ecotourism. The country is among many
developing nations that look to ecotourism as a way of cashing in on the
growing demand for this popular trend of travel. Ecotourism draws many tourists
to visit the extensive national parks and protected areas around the country.
Costa Rica was one of the first in this type of tourism, and the country is
recognized as one of the few with true ecotourism. Costa Rica has been able to gain immense
popularity for its development of a successful yet environmental friendly,
ecotourism industry.
Costa Rica contains
a rich biodiversity and immense ecosystem. Ecotourism in Costa Rica leads the
ranks in this category. With all the advantages Costa Rica has been receiving
because of ecotourism, they are bringing in more and more income. The protected
areas that tourists tend to go to the most bring profit not only to the workers
there, but also to the community as a whole. At first, tourism was at a slow
pace for a while because of the many conflicts and civil wars in different
locations all over the country. Once the civil wars and conflicts dwindled, tourism in Costa Rica became more prevalent and has only increased since then.
Costa Rica’s
location is very important when it comes to ecotourism. Some of the nation’s
success in ecotourism can come from the United States because of how close they
are. Many travelers come directly from the States and bring tourism down. It is
not too far from the States so many of the beach towns are populated by
foreigners. “American travelers make up 20% of the total world’s tourism
market”. Since Costa Rica is so close to the United States, it has been a great
spot for North Americans to visit. The climate of Costa Rica is one of the many
reasons why “49% of foreign visitors come from the United States and another 9%
of visitors come from Canada and Mexico”. This just proves that because of
Costa Rica’s location, tourism is very dominant and will always happen for many
more years to come.
Ecotourism brings a
great amount of money yearly to the country. This allows Costa Rica to be
ranked high on the standards of living list. Costa Rica contains high growth
rates, economic stability, and low crime rates. In the past decade or so,
ecotourism in Costa Rica has increased drastically. This allows a huge
expansion in the job market, allowing many local people to find jobs. When
locals find jobs it generates income and employment. The topic of jobs and
expanding the job market goes great with what was witnessed in Nicaragua during
our time there.
Although Nicaragua
is the second poorest country behind Haiti, it is starting to strive in the
ecotourism field. Many spots of Nicaragua haven’t been touched or used by ecotourism,
but the spots that have, are very well known and important in maintaining a
sustainable environment. Ecotourism
in Nicaragua continues to grow as tourists become more comfortable with
visiting the country. It will also improve along with the country's tourist infrastructure. A
good thing is that Nicaragua's natural areas remain fairly untouched and are
thus ideal for ecotourism in Nicaragua. New species are still being discovered
in pristine areas which gives many tourists an opportunity to spot them when on
eco-tours.
An eco-tour in Nicaragua is well worth it. Not only will people be able
to experience nature firsthand, but they will also come across some very
unusual animal species. As tourist volume tends to be low and you are unlikely
to meet up with other tourist groups as you make your journey through the
country. This often helps to make your stay here just that much more special
and intimate.
It was very rough
to see how the second poorest country lives. To know that these people do not
have enough money to provide for their families on a weekly basis made me sad
and realize how fortunate I am to have what I have back home. On a good note,
the local expansion of eco tourism and the job market expanding both here in
Costa Rica and in Nicaragua when I went was great to see. Local people near the
Mariposa Study Center in La Concepcion, Nicaragua are offered several jobs to
help out with ecotourism.
In
both the Mariposa sights, teachers and cooks were in need. In the Mariposa
Study Center it is very important to have Spanish speakers willing to teach
foreigners Spanish weekly. Another job that was needed there because of the
amount of tourists there was cooks. All the cooks there were very
friendly and kind. They all had smiles on their faces and looked like they
enjoyed what they were doing. Cooks, teachers, and many other jobs are opening
up and needed in Nicaragua. They play an important role to help out with
ecotourism. This is how the topic of ecotourism and job expansion links great
with our trip to Nicaragua.
The Mariposa Study Center offers a
great getaway for travelers. It provides beautiful housing, kitchen, bathrooms,
showers, and beautiful greenery all around. The housing in the Mariposa Study
Center are beautiful cabins. The base of them is made up of many volcanic rocks
all piled together to have great support for the bottom of the cabin. On the
sides they have bamboo poles sticking straight up creating the sides of the cabin.
The poles go on all four sides of the cabin making a strong supportive system
for the side. On the roof it contains sheet metal and laid on top are tree
frawns that cover the whole roof. The whole building is made up of objects that
come directly from Nicaragua. It is very resourceful and they use less material
in order to build the cabins.
The
Study Center also requires tourists that want to come by and stay there to take
Spanish classes and volunteer work. The Spanish classes are all one on ones with
the teacher and provide an excellent learning environment for the student.
There are different levels of Spanish the tourist can take depending on his/her
knowledge of Spanish upon arrival. The volunteer work at Mariposa consists of
many different things. The tourists can either choose between taking classes,
doing volunteer work, or both, during their stay there. They have to choose
something because they cannot just stay there without doing anything. There are
several elementary schools and places where the volunteers go to help out. It
offers them a great real life experience there in Nicaragua.
Author: Jordan Kalebaugh
