It's a cloudy and warm day at the Arenal Volcano National Park. While walking through the forest, English can be frequently heard.
Rutha “Rooty” Patel and a group of friends from the U.S. are on the trail to the top.
“I wanted to hike an active volcano for my birthday, so instead of Hawaii, I picked Costa Rica, since it's a little bit more budget friendly,” she says.
Up ahead another group of US tourists pause to take photos.
Emmett Mixon takes a picture on top of a tree branch. When he comes down, he says that he’s in awe of the environment.
“I mean, honestly, what surprised me was how spotless this wilderness is,” he says.
The national park is one of the country’s most visited destinations. In 2024, the park saw 100,000 visitors from around the world, according to the Costa Rican Tourism Board.
Both groups have wanted to visit Costa Rica for a long time — and they’re not the only ones.
From January to April of this year, 700,000 tourists from the U.S have visited the country. That’s nearly 50,000 more compared to the same time last year.
This increase is due to what the country offers to US tourists, says Geinier Alvarado Guzmán, a regenerative tourism strategist.
“A los estadounidenses les encanta Costa Rica por eso, no tienen que tener visa. Costa Rica en sí es un lugar bien seguro… el Tico es siempre muy cálido y muy genuino del pura vida.”
“Americans love Costa Rica for that reason – they don’t need a visa. Costa Rica in itself is a very secure place… Costa Ricans are very warm and embody the ‘pura vida’,” Alvarado Guzman says.
Guzmán — who’s been involved in both the private and legislative sides of tourism for decades — says there’s something different about this generation.
“Esta nueva generación de jóvenes hay un segmento grandísimo de ellos… que están muy preocupados, no solamente de que sea sostenible, sino que sea regenerativo.”
“This new generations of young people, there’s a huge section of them that are really worried, not only that [tourism] be sustainable, but that it be regenerative,” he says.
Costa Rica is already known for its ecotourism, but the idea of regenerative practices has only been circulating for the past few years.
“El turismo regenerativo es turismo donde el turista que llega no solamente no tiene un impacto negativo, sino que más bien hace un impacto positivo.”
“Regenerative tourism is tourism where a tourist doesn’t have a negative impact, but rather makes a positive impact,” he says.
While tourism is obvious in areas like La Fortuna, less than 50 miles east is a place many wouldn’t think of when visiting the country.
La Selva Research Station sits in the middle of the country's lowland rain forest. It’s owned and operated by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), a non-profit consortium made up of various universities and institutions from Costa Rica and the United States.
Although it’s been here for more than half a century, it’s only been in the past 20 years that it’s opened its doors as a tourist destination. Stays here can range from a few days to weeks.
But if you’re looking for a spa experience here, you’ll be disappointed. But if you want to learn about conservation and nature, then you’ve found the place.
Kenneth Alfaro González, coordinator for academic groups, says that although tourism at La Selva has increased, it hasn’t changed OTS’ focus on research and conservation.
“La organización siempre sigue teniendo su enfoque en investigación y educación.”
“The organization always and still has its focus on research and education,” he says.
La Selva had been mainly funded through different U.S. organizations — including the National Science Foundation. But it’s been affected due to cuts by the current administration.
“Y el turismo, pues ha resultado una fuente importante, tal vez no para sustituir completamente esos otros fondos, pero sí han ayudado.”
“And tourism has become an important source, maybe not fully replacing other funds, but it has helped,” he says.
Katherine Grall sits in the cafeteria at La Selva. She’s a frequent visitor to the station.
Grall believes the station offers more compared to a traditional tourist experience.
“It gives me everything that I want, and of all our experiences, of all the places we've gone to, I feel very at home here. I feel safe,” Grall says.
And for those that want to visit Costa Rica, Guzmán wants people to know that the country is open for anyone to come in and enjoy.
“Aquí tenemos turismo casi que para todo el mundo, pero sí nos encanta enfocarnos en el turismo que es ecológico, el turismo que es con conciencia.”
“[In Costa Rica] we have tourism for nearly for the whole world, but we do love to focus on tourism that is eco-friendly, tourism with a conscience,” he says.
This story is in partnership with the Hitchcock Project for Visualizing Science and the Reynolds School of Journalism.
