Costa Rica’s protected wildlife areas recorded 2,611,643 visits in 2024, according to the ICT 1990–2024 ASP visits PDF. That annual total was below 2023’s 2,728,582 visits, but it remained well above the totals recorded through most of the 1990s and 2000s. The series combines resident and nonresident visits and describes visits to protected wildlife areas rather than a separately identified count for every individual national park.
Contents
- The long-term visit series
- Milestones from 1990 through 2009
- Growth and disruption from 2010 through 2024
- The 2024 monthly pattern
- Resident and nonresident visits
- How to read these national park statistics
The long-term visit series
The available annual record begins with 511,233 visits in 1990. The count was 492,334 in 1991, the lowest annual figure in the supplied 1990–2024 series. Visits then moved higher overall, reaching 639,753 in 1992 and 745,969 in 1993. The total slipped to 700,434 in 1994 and 614,081 in 1995 before returning to 658,657 in 1996.
From 1997 onward, the series passed several clear thresholds. Visits were 742,761 in 1997, 810,098 in 1998, 866,083 in 1999, and 812,102 in 2000. The total rose again to 861,226 in 2001, 919,632 in 2002, and 994,379 in 2003. It crossed one million visits in 2004, when the recorded total was 1,063,592.
The ICT 1990–2024 ASP visits PDF reports 1,066,821 visits in 2005, followed by 1,201,197 in 2006, 1,306,830 in 2007, and 1,378,130 in 2008. The 2009 total was lower at 1,282,193. These figures show the scale of the protected-area visitation series, while leaving the individual contributions of particular parks unspecified in the supplied record.
| Reference year | Total visits | What the figure shows |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 511,233 | Beginning of the supplied annual series |
| 1995 | 614,081 | Mid-1990s total after a decline from 1993 |
| 2000 | 812,102 | Total at the start of the new millennium |
| 2005 | 1,066,821 | More than one million visits |
| 2010 | 1,264,318 | Total after the 2009 decline |
| 2015 | 1,895,196 | Total before the later two-million-plus years |
| 2020 | 1,176,464 | Sharp disruption-year total |
| 2024 | 2,611,643 | Latest annual total in the supplied series |
Source for every figure in the table: [ICT 1990–2024 ASP visits PDF].
Milestones from 1990 through 2009
The first decade shows a generally upward direction with several reversals. Visits fell from 511,233 in 1990 to 492,334 in 1991, then increased to 639,753 in 1992 and 745,969 in 1993. The next two years were lower: 700,434 in 1994 and 614,081 in 1995. The total recovered to 658,657 in 1996 and 742,761 in 1997.
The late 1990s brought another sustained climb. The recorded total was 810,098 in 1998, 866,083 in 1999, and 812,102 in 2000. The 2000 figure was therefore below 1999, but still higher than each annual total from 1990 through 1997. The series continued upward in 2001 with 861,226 visits, then 919,632 in 2002 and 994,379 in 2003.
The move above one million was recorded in 2004 at 1,063,592 visits. The next year was slightly higher at 1,066,821. The increase became more pronounced in 2006, when the total reached 1,201,197, and continued in 2007 at 1,306,830. Visits reached 1,378,130 in 2008 before declining to 1,282,193 in 2009.
For readers comparing historical figures, the key point is that the series did not rise in a straight line. It includes lower years after higher years, including 1991 after 1990, 1994 and 1995 after 1993, 2000 after 1999, and 2009 after 2008. The source labels these as annual visits to Costa Rica’s protected wildlife areas; they should not be treated as a park-by-park ranking.
Growth and disruption from 2010 through 2024
Visits totaled 1,264,318 in 2010. The annual count then rose to 1,509,272 in 2011, 1,613,129 in 2012, and 1,632,793 in 2013. The next three years were higher again: 1,778,057 in 2014, 1,895,196 in 2015, and 2,141,084 in 2016.
The 2017 total was 2,059,402, below 2016, while 2018 reached 2,142,580. Visits rose to 2,263,231 in 2019. The 2020 total was 1,176,464, followed by 1,705,228 in 2021. The series then reached 2,346,029 in 2022 and 2,728,582 in 2023, the highest annual total supplied. The 2024 total was 2,611,643.
| Year | Total visits | Position in the supplied sequence |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,264,318 | Start of the 2010–2024 comparison |
| 2011 | 1,509,272 | Higher than 2010 |
| 2012 | 1,613,129 | Higher than 2011 |
| 2013 | 1,632,793 | Slightly higher than 2012 |
| 2014 | 1,778,057 | Higher than 2013 |
| 2015 | 1,895,196 | Higher than 2014 |
| 2016 | 2,141,084 | First supplied year above two million before 2018 |
| 2017 | 2,059,402 | Lower than 2016 |
| 2018 | 2,142,580 | Higher than 2017 |
| 2019 | 2,263,231 | Higher than 2018 |
| 2020 | 1,176,464 | Lower than 2019 |
| 2021 | 1,705,228 | Higher than 2020 |
| 2022 | 2,346,029 | Higher than 2021 |
| 2023 | 2,728,582 | Highest annual total supplied |
| 2024 | 2,611,643 | Lower than 2023 |
Source: [ICT 1990–2024 ASP visits PDF]. The supplied source does not identify a cause for each annual change, so the figures are best used as a descriptive time series rather than as evidence for a particular explanation.
The 2024 monthly pattern
The monthly 2024 figures show a wide range within the year. January recorded 215,333 visits, February 165,408, and March 214,779. April had 120,577 visits, followed by 99,071 in May and 112,093 in June. July recorded 157,059, while August had 122,173.
The lowest supplied monthly total was October’s 66,984 visits, narrowly below September’s 73,374. November recorded 100,015, and December rose to 185,927. January was therefore the largest supplied month, while October was the smallest. The annual source total for 2024 was 2,611,643 visits.
Read as a sequence, the year begins with two high monthly totals, reaches another high point in March, moves through lower totals from April to June, rises in July, and then falls to the September–October low before recovering in November and December. This description is limited to the reported monthly counts; the supplied source does not provide weather, holiday, capacity, or individual-park explanations for the pattern.
The monthly figures are useful when planning how to interpret an annual total. A single annual number hides the difference between 215,333 visits in January and 66,984 in October. It also hides the late-year rise to 185,927 in December. For comparisons, keep the measurement period explicit: these are monthly 2024 visits, not a forecast for another year and not a count of unique visitors.
Resident and nonresident visits
The 2024 annual total can also be read by residence category. Resident visits fell 13.04% from 1,106,276 in 2023 to 961,998 in 2024. Nonresident visits rose 1.69% from 1,622,306 to 1,649,645 over the same period. Total visits fell 4.29%, from 2,728,582 in 2023 to 2,611,643 in 2024.
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | Reported change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resident visits | 1,106,276 | 961,998 | Down 13.04% |
| Nonresident visits | 1,622,306 | 1,649,645 | Up 1.69% |
| Total visits | 2,728,582 | 2,611,643 | Down 4.29% |
Source: [ICT 1990–2024 ASP visits PDF]. The residence categories are presented as visits in the source, so they should not automatically be interpreted as distinct people or as the number of trips taken by each person.
The category changes move in different directions. Resident visits were lower by 144,278 between the two reported years, while nonresident visits were higher by 27,339. The source reports the percentage changes above; the category counts provide the corresponding year-specific context. The overall total was lower because the decline in resident visits outweighed the increase in nonresident visits.
How to read these national park statistics
These statistics describe a national protected-area visitation system across a 35-year annual span, from 1990 through 2024. They are not a complete inventory of park size, biodiversity, trail length, entrance fees, or visitor satisfaction. None of those measures is included in the supplied ICT series, so they are outside the scope of this article.
The geography also matters. The source wording supplied for the annual series is total visits to Costa Rica’s protected wildlife areas. That is broader than a claim about one named national park. A reader comparing destinations should therefore use these numbers as a country-level protected-area visitation reference unless a separate source provides park-specific figures.
The time labels matter just as much. Annual totals belong to their stated calendar years, and the monthly breakdown belongs to January through December 2024. The resident and nonresident comparison is specifically 2023 versus 2024. Keeping those periods attached to the counts prevents a 2024 monthly value from being mistaken for an annual value or a 2023 category total from being treated as current.
Finally, the latest figure is not automatically a record. In this supplied series, 2023’s 2,728,582 visits exceeded 2024’s 2,611,643. Earlier years also contain reversals, including 2017 below 2016 and 2009 below 2008. For a careful reading of Costa Rica national park statistics, compare like with like: annual totals with annual totals, monthly totals with monthly totals, and residence categories within the same measurement period.