Costa Rica: Tourist visitation figures improve at the end of the first four months of the year

April marked a turning point in international tourist visits. During the first four quarters of the year, 1,082,007 tourists entered the country by air, and in April there were 10,105 more tourists than in the same period of 2024, and this is a positive variation of 4.6%, according to data from the National Directorate of Migration and Foreign Affairs, processed by el Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT).

This increase of 4.6% in April is distributed in the following way among the country's main international airports: the Juan Santamaría International Airport registered an increase of 3.8% and Guanacaste Airport of 5.9% increase, compared to April 2024.

In terms of outbound markets, the United States remains the main source of tourists with 136,251 visitors in April, 3.3% more than in the same month of 2024. Mexico stands out for its percentage growth with 8,701 travelers, in other words, an increase of 17.8%. From Europe, the priority markets with the most growth in the previous month were the United Kingdom, which added 7,484 tourists (37.5%), Spain 4,352 (36.4%) and Germany 6,433 (11.4%).

For the Minister of Tourism, William Rodríguez, these results confirm the strength of the country's image and the impact of its international promotion strategy.

“Costa Rica is a solid, consolidated, world-renowned destination, present in the minds of travelers and so that it continues to do so, from the ICT we are investing the presumption in promoting the highest in history to continue attracting those travelers who visit us on six occasions and also hinder new segments that allow us to strengthen the tourist industry and there economy linked to the sector”, indicated the Minister.

In the availability of seats in Costa Rica, the first four quarters also reached positive numbers with an increase of 4.5% thanks to the excellent air connection we have with 19 countries, 62 routes, 48 ​​cities, 30 airlines and more than 11 thousand flights in Costa Rica during the first four months of the year. According to scheduled seats, it is expected to close the year with 5.4 million seats, which represents a variation of 7.26% compared to 2024.

The visitor experience continues to generate high levels of satisfaction: the Global Perception Index reached 87.2 points in the first quarter of the year.

Likewise, the tourist industry is extremely encouraging in the first quarter of 2025. The National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC) estimated 173,207 people working in tourist activities.

The surveys that ICT carried out during 2024 at the main airports, show that the main reason for travel continues to be vacations, idle or anywhere, for around 80% of the tourists consulted.

Regarding the tourist's economic behavior, the average expenditure per tourist entering by air varies between US$ 1,600 and $1,800 and the average stay is between 12 and 13 nights.

Source: ICT.