When speaking about her experiences in the Peace Corps, Ann Przybyl briefly touched upon one of the major facets of the Costa Rican economy: ecotourism. The accepted definition of ecotourism is when tourists choose to visit a fragile or highly protected environment, such as a nature reserve or a national park. From personal experience, when I visited Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica for a film project two summers ago, I was astounded by the vast swarms of tourists in bikinis and swim trunks, trampling through the humid forest on their way to the pristine beach that was a part of the park. Tourists would come to the national park, bathe and tour during the day, and then stay in luxurious hotels and dine in five-star restaurants in the nearby town. The town closest to the national park was very developed from an American standpoint, but I was always curious if this type of “development” was truly helping Costa Ricans and if ecotourism was a viable, dependable part of the Costa Rican economy.
On its own, ecotourism has many associated risks and can cause an undue reliance upon foreign countries. However, in developing states, ecotourism is a very attractive tool to develop communities and conserve the natural environment. While it is richer than other Latin American states such as Nicaragua, Costa Rica is still considered to be a middle-income, developing nation ("Latin America's Richest & Poorest"). In such states, the success of ecotourism depends upon whether or not local communities directly benefit, and in most cases, ecotourism does not integrate well into local Costa Rican communities. Another essential factor that determines if an ecotourism enterprise is a success is if the integrity of the ecology is maintained, a point that can be contested in some instances of ecotourism in Costa Rica (Stem). Despite the fact that ecotourism does not greatly benefit local communities, it is a national strategy for development in Costa Rica.
When ecotourism is cited as being beneficial to a community, it refers to increased employment, a better infrastructure, and increased revenue for local businesses. Ecotourism places a value upon that which typically doesn’t have a traditional monetary value, such as the beauty of preserved land or the conservation of wild animals in their natural habitat. Thus, tourism into regions of Costa Rica provides an economic justification for protecting an area of land. Approximately 26% of all land in Costa Rica is being set aside for conservation, ensuring that the country’s rich biodiversity will be preserved (Runyan). Laws were passed that led to a decline in deforestation and hunting, furthering the incentives for ecotourism enterprises to take root in Costa Rica (Stem). Overall, ecotourism has helped the Costa Rican economy to grow, but there are many risks associated with a dependence upon an ecotourism.
Perhaps the biggest risk associated with the concentration of ecotourism in Costa Rica is the lack of diversification in the economy. Profits associated with ecotourism have surpassed the profits from Costa Rica’s traditional banana and coffee industries (Stem). It leaves local economies uniform in a fashion similar to the monoculture of farming. Revenue is unstable, highly dependent upon seasonal fluxes, natural disasters, and economic and political events. After 9/11 and the subsequent fear of terrorist attacks, there was a decrease in tourists flying to locales such as Costa Rica, which weakened their economy (Stem). The dependence upon ecotourism in some areas of Costa Rica to develop certain communities can easily backfire. Tourists generate waste, disturb habitats, and degrade forests, meaning that ecotourism is not truly a non-consumptive good, as originally believed (Stem). Ecotourism does not serve local communities as ideally as first thought. The influx of foreigners has the potential to degrade cultural structures and can create the “commodification of culture” in Costa Rica.
In theory, tourism is supposed to strengthen bonds between countries and to create a deeper understanding and appreciation for the foreign country (Goldstein). However, if tourists are only exposed to beaches, American-owned hotels, and kitschy souvenir shops, they can be left with a false interpretation of what Costa Rican culture truly encompasses. Costa Rica is a popular destination for expatriates, many of whom decide to start businesses relating to tourism. In these instances, it is only the Costa Rican support staff working for lower wages who benefit, unless the owner recycles his profits back into Costa Rican businesses.
Development programs such as the Peace Corps or Habitat para la Humanidad (Habitat for Humanity based in Latin America) help to develop local communities through education and infrastructure, but aid organizations are unable to diminish the threats to communities as a result of an economic dependence upon ecotourism.
One theory that aptly describes to explain the widespread implications of the Costa Rican dependence upon ecotourism is the “complex interdependence theory,” first developed by Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye (Beavis). The theory seeks to explain the interdependence of states through increasing transnational economic ties while decreasing their military force. Costa Rica has fulfilled both requirements, depending upon foreign countries to permit tourists to travel to their state, while also deciding to eliminate their national army as a result of the 1948 civil war ("Costa Rica Country Specific Information"). In addition to allowing their citizens to travel into Costa Rica, other states have steadily bought Costa Rica’s agricultural exports, supporting the smaller, more traditional sector of Costa Rica’s economy. Foreign states have strong incentives to trade with Costa Rica and to allow their citizens to engage in traditional tourism and ecotourism.
The question remains as to how Costa Rica should balance ecotourism with other enterprises in order to stimulate its economy and its development. Costa Rica needs to diversify its economy to gain greater economic stability and more independence from foreign countries. Recently, Costa Rica has become involved in software development, but the software companies, such as Intel, are primarily based in foreign countries, creating more interstate dependence (Rodríguez-Clare). It currently has the highest software per capita exports of Latin American nations (Rodríguez-Clare). Should Costa Rica begin to develop its own software companies and risk fierce competition with foreign firms, or should it specialize in manufacturing these pieces of software?
In terms of solving the problem of ecological degradation associated with ecotourism, one possible solution would be to limit the number of tourists permitted into a given national park or preserved region each day. Since tourism isn’t a non-consumptive good, Costa Ricans need to recognize that in order to protect the environment that generates a lot of profits, they need to place limitations on how often it can be “used.” Tourists need to have a better understanding of how their presence can have long-term implications for the environment.
As we discussed in class, foreign volunteers and aid workers are normally sent to the more rural areas of the country. Perhaps instead of solely focusing on education or building infrastructure such as libraries, aid workers should specialize in helping farmers and cattle ranchers in these regions to make their practices more efficient. With increased efficiency, the people in these rural communities could branch out, engage in new trades, and have a local economy that wasn’t so dependent upon one or two trades. However, with increased efficiency, there also comes the possibility that those individuals who no longer have to labor on farms or cattle ranches will instead flock to centers of ecotourism and will continue to depopulate smaller villages.
In order for Costa Rica to change from an underdeveloped country to one that is independent and can survive fluxes in the global system, it needs to become more self-reliant. Diversity in terms of businesses and local opportunities for employment is integral to help smaller communities develop and become more modernized. Foreign aid, at this point, I believe still to be necessary, but perhaps there should be a shifted focus in terms of aid projects. I think that the most important part of changing the dependence upon foreign countries would be in terms of educating their tourists populations. When I was in Costa Rica, the majority of the tourists never ventured far from the beach, whereas the group I was with commonly drove past slums with corrugated tin-roofed buildings that stretched for miles. If tourists are only exposed to the “idyllic” version Costa Rica, they won’t recognize how they’re contributing to a gap in wealth between ecotourism-centric towns and traditional Costa Rican communities. I think that an integral step in the development of Costa Rica is for tourists, who mainly reside in the wealthier global North, to become educated about poverty in the country and then determine where their tourist dollars could be better spent.
Works Cited
Beavis, M. "The IR Theory Knowledge Base." 11 May 2011. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. <http://www.irtheory.com/know.htm>.
Blum, Nicole. "Environmental Education in Costa Rica: Building a Framework for Sustainable Development?" Science Direct. 27 July 2007. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. <http://www.sciencedirect.com.proxyau.wrlc.org/science/article/pii/S073805930700051X>.
"Costa Rica Country Specific Information." Travel.State.Gov. US Department of State, 19 July 2011. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. <http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1093.html>.
Goldstein, Joshua S., and Jon C. Pevehouse. International Relations. New York: Longman, 2010. Print.
"Latin America's Richest & Poorest." Latin Business Chronicle. 27 Apr. 2009. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. <http://www.latinbusinesschronicle.com/app/article.aspx?id=3356>.
Rodríguez-Clare, Andrés. Costa Rica’s Development Strategy Based on Human Capital and Technology: How It Got There, the Impact of Intel, and Lessons for Other Countries. Rep. Human Development Report, 2001. Print.
Runyan, Curtis. "Forever Costa Rica." Nature Magazine. June 2011. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. <http://magazine.nature.org/features/forever-costa-rica-biodiversity.xml>.
Stem, Caroline J., James P. Lassoie, David R. Lee, and David J. Deshler. "How 'Eco' Is Ecotourism? A Comparative Case Study of Ecotourism in Costa Rica." Journal of Sustainable Tourism 11.4 (2003): 322-47. Print.
Vieta, Frances E. Ecotourism Propels Development, but Social Acceptance Depends on Economic Opportunities for Local Communities. Publication. 1st ed. Vol. 13. New York City: Africa Recovery. United Nations. June 1999. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. <http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/subjindx/131envir.htm>.
This is very interesting and I definitely agree with everything that you said. I was wondering about your idea that toursits should be educated about the countries they visit. I agree, but I think that many others wouldn't. People go on vacation to escape the troubles of the world and to relax and have fun. I was wondering what you meant by educating tourist of where they are visiting because I feel like many people would rather stay ignorant. If they realized the poverty in Costa Rica, they may not want to visit which would only further harm the economy. Like I aid, I agree with you but I feel like their needs to be a solution to this problem. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteThis is a well written paper and the issue of balancing tourism, the environment and the economy of Costa Rica is very complex. You mentioned that you think tourism should be more spread out throughout the country in your last paragraph. However you also said that Costa Rica should diversify their economy and not rely on tourism so much. Could you expand on that? Also you bring up an excellent point with software. Personally, I think that they would not be able to compete with foreign companies and should specialize in making parts. What is your opinion on the issue? I think balancing self-reliance and interconnectedness is a difficult issue for many countries due to globalism. However, especially in cities and tourist areas it is becoming increasingly difficult to benefit the local economy because a lot of businesses are American owned, even their grocery chain Mas X Menos recently was bought by Wal-Mart. Do you think tourists can help stimulate the local economy or do you think it would be better to isolate tourism and allow other markets to influence other parts of Costa Rica?
ReplyDeleteAlso I have to disagree with a few of the things you said regarding tourism. For the most part I don't believe that the tourists are causing the majority of the environmental issues in Costa Rica. As you mentioned tourists actually visit a rather small portion of Costa Rica such as Manuel Antonio, San Jose, Limon and Fortuna. They have many national parks, all of which I visited are very clean and well-kept and have strict rules and trails which I believe helps maintain the local environments despite the number of people who visit. However, there were many tourist areas I didn’t visit. Did you have a different experience at Manuel Antonio? I did not go there. Also, despite the amount of nature reserves there is a significant amount of pollution in Costa Rica, such as the rivers running through San Jose. I don't believe this is due to tourism but more due to poor city management and lacking environmental regulations (Although they are improving).
I also have to agree with hlewis that tourists do not want to be educated about poverty. However, many of the tourist functions I went on had added costs which aided environmental sustainability. I can't remember the name but, I think you would find it interesting. There is a zoo (mainly plants) in San Jose which educates tourists and Costa Ricans alike on the different areas, plants and animals which Costa Rica had to offer and the proceeds benefit biodiversity projects and environmental education in primary schools. The entrance fee for non-Costa Ricans if I remember is 7 times as much and is a good example of how tourism dollars can have a positive effect.
I was wondering, in those areas where tourists are concentrated, where does the money go. When you mention tourists going back to resort hotels and five star restaurant, are those buildings locally owned or operated from a foreign country? Are tourists staying at a local hotel, or simply a Hilton? One way to help integrate tourist revenue with Costa Rican communities might be to push a change towards tourist areas with locally operated hotels surrounded by Costa Rican restaurants, with each one being a small business
ReplyDeleteYou said that Costa Rica needs to diversify its economy and I agree. You mentioned breaking into the software industry, but this is difficult, though not impossible, to do. Any market that they try to enter will be difficult because those in the market, whom are more established, do not want new competition and there are barriers to entry in many markets. I was wondering what else besides software you think Costa Rica should try to produce, since plans to enter the software market could possibly fall through?
ReplyDeleteInteresting paper Becca!
ReplyDeleteToward the end of your paper you talk about foreign aid workers helping farmers and in a sense specializing more than building infrastructure or improving education, and the risks that come with this increased efficiency (flocking to cities). Do you think there is a way to balance this at all? To help people like farmers but also give them an incentive to stay? Then again, does asking aid workers to help individuals and local industries cross a type of line and create more dependence on aid? How should all of this ideally work?
hlewis: When I mentioned the education of tourists who visit Costa Rica’s attractions, I was thinking more along the lines of making it more obvious to visitors the implications of their actions. For example, parks could include signs that clearly illustrate the effects of littering in a national park (such as tainted water or poisoned animals) or the effects of erosion by having visitors stray from paths or from too many visitors traveling throughout the park. In cultural centers and on museum and park websites, I think a greater emphasis could be made on how tourists should interact with the park and not on solely the perks of being in the park.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that most tourists to Costa Rica would not want to fully understand the country’s poverty -- this would probably only lead to a sense of guilt while traveling on vacation, which is definitely not what vacationers want to experience on their time off. A possible step toward a solution would be to have some sort of campaign directed toward tourists that shows how where they spend their money is essentially like a “vote” for businesses they support. Costa Rican owned enterprises need to be supported by tourists in order to expand and give quality jobs to local inhabitants. It’s just an idea, but I do think there needs to be a substantial change in how foreigners perceive Costa Rica in order to be more savvy when spending their tourist dollars.
Jas: Currently, tourism contributes to more than half of Costa Rica’s GDP, which is obviously risky. Any shocks to the tourism business in Costa Rica can threaten to create a substantial dent in the country’s GDP. As to creating software and other electronics, I think Costa Rica would struggle to compete against foreign firms that have a greater wealth of resources at their disposal. The nascent technology companies in Costa Rica would need a lot of investment in order to adequately compete with other foreign companies.
ReplyDeleteI think that since tourism is such an important part of Costa Rica’s GDP, it has the power to change other industries within the country and to cause long-term benefits in other sectors. The question, of course, is how to effectively regulate tourism in order to enact such changes in other parts of the Costa Rican economy. I agree with your point that globalization makes is even more difficult to keep money within any given country, especially when American firms invest in other countries.
While tourists are not causing the majority of environmental issues in Costa Rica, I do think that they are one of the biggest contributors to environmental degradation within national parks. The rangers at Manuel Antonio showed us how the vast amount of foot traffic throughout the park was causing erosion and was beginning to interfere with the wildlife. They mentioned limiting the number of tourists permitted within the park, but since tourism is such a big part of the local economy, this was not a well-supported idea by many local Costa Ricans.
RadiantBlogger161: For the most part, the profits that foreign-owned hotels make are not spent in local communities or in the Costa Rican economy. While I was there, some hotels had made a conscious effort in the past few years to incorporate Costa Rican-made goods and art into their hotel, but these were minimal, one-time purchases that didn’t provide a substantial improvement in employment for the local Costa Ricans. It’s not necessarily Hiltons or Marriotts that receive lodging and dining tourist dollars the most -- in many cases, expats living in Costa Rica become successful businessmen and women and they don’t always use the profits from their hotel businesses to enrich the local economy. Locally owned businesses are not a rarity -- it is only that they don’t have the grandeur that foreign-owned hotels and restaurants have that draw in tourists.
ReplyDeleteJenny Sue: To be honest, I would not know what other goods Costa Rica should try to produce. Here’s a website that illustrates what kinds of exports Costa Rica has http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2019.htm. One possible solution to diversify would be to strengthen some of the export businesses that Costa Rica already has, such as medical supplies. This would have the potential to thrive in the next few years if Costa Rica sold such products to the United States, due to the fact that the demand for medical supplies would increase in the upcoming years as Baby Boomers continue to age. Medical supplies are also less prone to shocks in the economy compared to the volatility of agricultural markets that rely heavily upon weather patterns.
ReplyDeleteCaroline: I think that the way to balance this all would be to provide better incentives for Costa Ricans to stay in their hometowns and not flock to cities, as you mentioned. A combination of well paying local jobs, good schools for children, a diversified local economy, and better infrastructure in local areas would possibly keep more Costa Ricans in more rural or suburban areas compared to the cities. I do agree with your point that asking aid workers to help individuals to help local industries does have the potential to create more dependence. However, if self-sufficiency and working independently to achieve goals with minimal assistance from outside sources was emphasized, this would probably be more beneficial to local communities than if aid organizations built libraries on their own or donated farm equipment for example. I think micro-financing would be a great solution to not having too much interference from outside aid groups, as local individuals must work on their own toward a goal and they have incentives to pay back the loan.
ReplyDeleteHello Everybody,
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