Costa Rica recorded 2,919,483 international tourist arrivals in 2024, while its protected areas received 2,611,643 visits. The country’s conservation network included 152 protected wilderness areas, covering 25.46% of its continental territory and 30.34% of its marine territory. Together, these figures show the scale of travel to Costa Rica and the importance of protected landscapes and waters to the country’s outdoor tourism picture.
Contents
- Costa Rica tourism at a glance
- Monthly international arrivals in 2024
- Where international visitors came from
- North American visitor markets
- European, South American, and other markets
- Protected areas and conservation coverage
- Protected-area visitation in 2024
Costa Rica tourism at a glance
The following measures describe different parts of Costa Rica’s tourism system. International tourist arrivals count arrivals to the country. Protected-area visitation counts visits to protected areas, and the same person may therefore be represented differently by the two measures depending on the underlying counting method.
| Measure | 2024 figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| International tourist arrivals | 2,919,483 | ICT Anuario Estadístico de Turismo 2024 |
| Protected wilderness areas | 152 | SINAC Informe SEMEC 2024 |
| Continental territory covered by protected wilderness areas | 25.46% | SINAC Informe SEMEC 2024 |
| Marine territory covered by protected wilderness areas | 30.34% | SINAC Informe SEMEC 2024 |
| Total protected-area visits | 2,611,643 | SINAC Informe SEMEC 2024 |
| Non-resident protected-area visits | 1,649,645 | SINAC Informe SEMEC 2024 |
| Resident protected-area visits | 961,998 | SINAC Informe SEMEC 2024 |
These are reported 2024 figures from the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) and the Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación (SINAC). The ICT total is a countrywide arrival measure, whereas SINAC’s figures describe visits to protected areas. Neither series alone identifies the number of individual people who participated in nature tourism.
Monthly international arrivals in 2024
International arrivals varied substantially by month. The ICT Anuario Estadístico de Turismo 2024 recorded 299,194 arrivals in January and 317,830 in February. March was the highest month in the supplied monthly series, with 350,300 arrivals. April recorded 242,511, followed by 216,702 in May and 244,355 in June.
Arrivals reached 258,942 in July and 200,996 in August. September was the lowest month in the series at 123,371 arrivals. The monthly figure rose to 138,330 in October, then to 220,839 in November and 306,113 in December.
| Month | International tourist arrivals |
|---|---|
| January | 299,194 |
| February | 317,830 |
| March | 350,300 |
| April | 242,511 |
| May | 216,702 |
| June | 244,355 |
| July | 258,942 |
| August | 200,996 |
| September | 123,371 |
| October | 138,330 |
| November | 220,839 |
| December | 306,113 |
The pattern places the largest reported monthly arrival count in March, with December also above 300,000. September and October were the two smallest monthly figures in the supplied ICT series. These data describe arrival timing, not park occupancy, hotel nights, or the timing of individual nature activities.
Where international visitors came from
The ICT Anuario Estadístico de Turismo 2024 reported 1,989,725 arrivals from North America. Europe contributed 485,725 arrivals, while Central America contributed 235,860 and South America contributed 136,466. Asia and the Pacific contributed 55,332 arrivals, the Caribbean contributed 10,628, and Africa contributed 4,297.
The regional figures provide context for Costa Rica’s international visitor base. North America was the largest named regional source in the report. Central America and South America were also represented in the arrival totals, alongside European, Asian and Pacific, Caribbean, and African markets.
The regional counts reported by ICT were:
- North America: 1,989,725 arrivals.
- Europe: 485,725 arrivals.
- Central America: 235,860 arrivals.
- South America: 136,466 arrivals.
- Asia and the Pacific: 55,332 arrivals.
- The Caribbean: 10,628 arrivals.
- Africa: 4,297 arrivals.
These source regions should not be treated as measures of visitor interest in a particular park or activity. They are arrival totals by geographic market in the ICT tourism statistics.
North American visitor markets
The United States was the largest individual country market in the supplied 2024 ICT data, with 1,621,340 arrivals. Canada contributed 272,256 arrivals and Mexico contributed 96,129. Together, these country figures sit within the North America regional total reported by ICT.
Central American countries also contributed arrivals. Nicaragua accounted for 95,799, Panama for 46,797, Guatemala for 45,576, and El Salvador for 28,258. Honduras contributed 18,710 arrivals, while Belize contributed 720.
| Country or region | 2024 arrivals |
|---|---|
| North America | 1,989,725 |
| United States | 1,621,340 |
| Canada | 272,256 |
| Mexico | 96,129 |
| Central America | 235,860 |
| Nicaragua | 95,799 |
| Panama | 46,797 |
| Guatemala | 45,576 |
| El Salvador | 28,258 |
| Honduras | 18,710 |
| Belize | 720 |
The ICT source labels these as 2024 arrivals. They do not indicate how many visitors went hiking, viewed wildlife, visited a national park, or stayed in a specific Costa Rican destination.
European, South American, and other markets
European arrivals included 86,571 from Germany, 76,685 from France, 74,674 from the United Kingdom, and 59,201 from Spain. The Netherlands contributed 36,638 arrivals, Switzerland 26,541, and Italy 21,832. Israel contributed 10,041 arrivals.
South American arrivals included 31,361 from Colombia and 28,736 from Argentina. Brazil contributed 21,484, Chile 19,340, and Peru 15,852. Ecuador contributed 6,716, while Bolivia contributed 1,792.
The ICT Anuario Estadístico de Turismo 2024 also reported 12,909 arrivals from China, 14,575 from India, 4,303 from Japan, and 10,266 from Australia. The Caribbean total included 5,496 arrivals from the Dominican Republic. Africa’s regional total was 4,297 arrivals.
These country-level figures help describe the breadth of Costa Rica’s visitor markets, but they should remain separate from protected-area visitation statistics. A country of origin is an arrival characteristic; it is not a direct measure of nature-tourism participation.
Protected areas and conservation coverage
SINAC’s Informe SEMEC 2024 reported that Costa Rica maintained 152 protected wilderness areas in 2024. Those protected wilderness areas covered 25.46% of the country’s continental territory and 30.34% of its marine territory.
The two coverage percentages refer to different geographic bases. The continental figure describes the share of continental territory covered, while the marine figure describes the share of marine territory covered. They should not be combined into one national percentage or interpreted as the share of all territory without keeping those geographic definitions explicit.
For readers interested in Costa Rica Outdoors, the figures establish the scale of the conservation setting in which outdoor travel takes place: 152 protected wilderness areas, with separate reported coverage for land and marine territory. The source does not, in the supplied facts, break those areas down by park, ecosystem, trail, species, or activity.
Protected-area visitation in 2024
Protected-area visitation reached 2,611,643 total visits in 2024, according to SINAC Informe SEMEC 2024. Non-resident visits reached 1,649,645, and resident visits totaled 961,998. SINAC reported that non-resident visits accounted for 63.2% of total protected-area visitation.
The supplied monthly SINAC figures cover January through April. January recorded 321,505 protected-area visits. February recorded 274,114, March recorded 317,116, and April recorded 213,032.
| Month | Protected-area visits |
|---|---|
| January 2024 | 321,505 |
| February 2024 | 274,114 |
| March 2024 | 317,116 |
| April 2024 | 213,032 |
The monthly visitation figures are not a complete twelve-month monthly series in the supplied SINAC report extract, so they should not be used to characterize every month of 2024. They do show the reported visitation levels for the first four months: January was the highest of those four months, followed by March, February, and April.
The resident and non-resident totals also describe visits, not necessarily unique visitors. A person can make more than one visit, and the protected-area series should therefore be read as an attendance measure. It is also distinct from ICT’s international-arrival series: international arrivals include travel throughout Costa Rica, while protected-area visits concern the conservation areas counted by SINAC.