Dissertation: Cultural Impact of Ecotourism in Costa Rica Locals

This dissertation investigates the cultural impact of ecotourism in Costa Rica, examining its benefits and challenges for local communities. It reviews the history of tourism in Costa Rica, focusing on the Osa Peninsula region and the environmental and economic impacts of ecotourism. The research employs a positivism philosophy, deductive approach, descriptive design, and case study strategy, utilizing secondary data and qualitative analysis. The findings reveal that ecotourism has significantly boosted Costa Rica's economy, contributing to 16% of its growth and providing livelihood opportunities while also promoting environmental conservation in one of the world's most biodiverse regions.

Running head: DISSERTATION
Cultural Impact of Ecotourism in Costa Rica: The Local Perspective
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Acknowledgement
Thank you to all of those who have helped listened and encouraged me throughout this study. I
am indebted to my supervisor ……………………. whose guidance, advice and patience have
been immeasurable. My sincere thanks to all members of the…………… [Mention your
university/college name], both staff and students, whose continuous support have made this
thesis possible.
I would like to thank all of the participants in the study: students, teachers and Local Education
Authorities, for the time and help given throughout. Without their participation, this research
would not have been possible. In this context, I am also thankful to them, whose research work
helped me to execute this paper well.
Finally, I thank my family, without whom this thesis would not have been started or completed!
Your encouragement and support have never faltered; thank you.

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Abstract
The aim of the research is to investigate the cultural impact of ecotourism in Costa Rica by
taking into account the benefits and challenges it has offered for the locality. Investigating the
cultural impact of eco tourism aim towards understanding the cultural change it brought to the
country compared to the past. With the passing of each year, the tourism of Costa-Rica has
increased gradually and consistently. In 1988, Costa-Rica had 329,000 tourists that rose to 1.03
million in 1999 and over 2 million tourists recorded in 2008 followed by a historical 2.66 million
foreign tourists in 2015. The tourism sector of Costa-Rica contributed an estimated 12.5% of the
total GDP of the country along with resulting 11.7% direct and indirect employment. Reports
also mention that the tourism industry of Costa Rica resulted in 21.2% of foreign exchange
generated in 2010 (www.canada.com 2019).
The research is significant because this will help in analyzing the cultural impact of eco-tourism
in Costa –Rica, as this will provide an opportunity to address the impact of culture on Costa-
Rica. The literature review section highlights data and information about history of eco tourism
in Costa Rica, conservation, development, assessment system of sustainability and social,
cultural and environmental impact of eco tourism for the country. For this study, positivism
philosophy, deductive approach, descriptive design, case study research strategy, secondary data
collection and qualitative data analysis technique is used.
It can be concluded that facilitating and practicing eco tourism is highly beneficial for Costa
Rica. Undertaking eco tourism has helped Costa Rica increase their economy by 16% that is
huge and provided greater advantage for earning livelihood for them. As known, Costa Rica in

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Central America is one of the best known natural habitats across the globe, conserving the
natural surrounding also indicates protecting the environment.

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................7
1.0 Overview...........................................................................................................................7
1.1 Problem statement.................................................................................................................8
1.2 Research aim..........................................................................................................................8
1.3 Research objectives...............................................................................................................8
1.4 Research questions.................................................................................................................9
1.5 Research rationale..................................................................................................................9
1.6 Structure of the dissertation...................................................................................................9
1.7 Summary..............................................................................................................................10
Chapter 2: Literature review..........................................................................................................11
2.1 Introduction to chapter.........................................................................................................11
2.2 Theme 1: History of tourism in Costa Rica.........................................................................11
2.3 Theme 2: Osa Peninsula region in Costa Rica.....................................................................16
2.4 Theme 3: Impact of eco tourism on environment and economy of Costa Rica..................18
2.5 Chapter conclusion..............................................................................................................22
Chapter 3: Research methodology.................................................................................................23
3.1 Introduction to the chapter...................................................................................................23
3.2 Research philosophy............................................................................................................23

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3.3 Research strategy.................................................................................................................24
3.4 Research design...................................................................................................................25
3.5 Design of methods...............................................................................................................26
3.6 Data analysis........................................................................................................................27
3.7 Ethical considerations..........................................................................................................28
3.9 Limitations...........................................................................................................................29
3.10 Chapter conclusion............................................................................................................30
Chapter 4: Justifying the selected sources.....................................................................................31
Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Research Findings and Discussion.............................................................35
5.1 Introduction to the chapter...................................................................................................35
5.2 Theme from data 1: Linked with first research objective and question..............................35
5.3 Theme from data 2: Linked with second research objective and question..........................38
5.4 Theme from data 3: Linked with third research objective and question.............................41
5.5 Chapter conclusions.............................................................................................................47
Chapter 6: Conclusion and recommendations...............................................................................48
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................48
Recommendations......................................................................................................................49
References......................................................................................................................................50

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Table of Figures
Figure 1: Economic dependence of Costa Rica on Banana and Coffee........................................35
Figure 2: Remaking Osa Peninsula Region...................................................................................38
Figure 3: Positive and negative impact of eco tourism..................................................................41
Figure 4: Tourist evolution in Costa Rica......................................................................................43
Figure 5: Direct contribution of Travel and Tourism of eco tourism in Costa Rica.....................44

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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.0 Overview
Tourism in Costa-Rica is one of the fastest growing economic sectors of the country and by
1995 the country became the largest foreign exchange earner. Since 1999, tourism earns more
foreign exchange compared to export of vegetables and fruits (Swarbrooke 1999). With the
passing of each year, the tourism of Costa-Rica has increased gradually and consistently. In
1988, Costa-Rica had 329,000 tourists that rose to 1.03 million in 1999 and over 2 million
tourists recorded in 2008 followed by a historical 2.66 million foreign tourists in 2015. The
tourism sector of Costa-Rica contributed an estimated 12.5% of the total GDP of the country
along with resulting 11.7% direct and indirect employment. Reports also mention that the
tourism industry of Costa Rica resulted in 21.2% of foreign exchange generated in 2010
(www.canada.com 2019).
The report from the Costa-Rica tourism board mentions that 47% of the foreign tourists were
engaged in eco-tourism activities that included trekking, flora and fauna watching, birds
watching and visiting rural communities (Weaver 2001). The country has been included by the
Ethical Traveler magazine in 2011 as well as 2012 in the list of the Developing World’s 10 Best
Ethical Destinations (Ethical Traveler, 2012). Costa Rica is the most visited nation in the Central
America with an estimated 2.3 million foreign visitors in 2012 with a market share of 26.4%.
Costa Rica has gained a reputation worldwide among the tourists for its stunning biodiversity
such as Corcovado National Park. In Costa Rica, Panama was the second most visited place with
1.6 million tourists in 2012 (Wearing and Neil 2009). Due to the recession in 2008, decline in the
number of international tourists was noticed in August 2008. However, things started getting

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normal by 2012 and the country received record-breaking international tourist inflation in 2012
(the Guardian 2019).
1.1 Problem statement
Costa-Rica is a tiny nation across Central America theme park that draws million of
tourists each year due to its abundant wildlife, forests and coasts. Tourism has been one of the
major sources of economy for the country that has compromised with the land, as the country has
been spending huge for converting un-developed land into profitable space for tourism (Hunt et
al. 2015). In addition to, reports have been registered mentioning that the habits and habitats of
the flora and fauna of Costa-Rica are disturbed due to the progress of tourism in the country. In
order to make the country favorable for tourism indigenous residents and the local people are
displaced from their residents thereby, forcing the locals to leave and settle somewhere else.
1.2 Research aim
The aim of the research is to investigate the cultural impact of ecotourism in Costa Rica
by taking into account the benefits and challenges it has offered for the locality. Investigating the
cultural impact of eco tourism aim towards understanding the cultural change it brought to the
country compared to the past.
1.3 Research objectives
The objectives of the research are:
 Identify the affect of cultural change in Costa Rica.
 To explore in how far the knowledge about the principles of ecotourism effects on the
country’s culture?
 Explain the importance of ecotourism in Costa Rica and how it is helping the locals

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1.4 Research questions
The questions of the research are:
 How has ecotourism affected the cultural way of life of local people in Costa Rica?
 What impact would ecotourism have on the country’s culture?
 Why ecotourism is important to the Costa Rica and to locals?
1.5 Research rationale
The significance of ecotourism for Costa Rica lies in the rise of tourist numbers, which in
turn shape the way tourism impacts on the host region in general and with regard to cultural
effects more specifically. The research is significant because this will help in analyzing the
cultural impact of eco-tourism in Costa –Rica, as this will provide an opportunity to address the
impact of culture on Costa-Rica. The research is important, as this will enable the researcher to
analyze the impact of eco-tourism on the local culture and people of Costa-Rica and its
significant impact on the social and economic standard of the country. Identifying the cultural
impact will help in determining the impact of eco-tourism possess on the country’s culture by
comparing Costa-Rica’s previous and present tourism data. As a result, it will be easier to
compare and contrast eco-tourism with or without considering the local cultural perspectives.
This research is also important, as this study aim towards determining the significance of eco-
tourism for Costa-Rica and its people by socially and economically (Jones and Spadafora 2017).
1.6 Structure of the dissertation
Six major chapters form the overall structure of the dissertation. The first chapter is
termed as the introduction chapter that sheds light on the background of the research thereby,
developing the research aim, objectives and questions along with highlighting the identified

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problem and the significance of conducting the research. This chapter is followed by the
literature review chapter that deals with the key concepts of the identified variables along with
analyzing the factors affecting them critically and referring to relevant theories and models. A
literature review, in addition, presents the current status of knowledge on the topics and maps the
field to show what is known and unknown of the subject. The third chapter is the research
methodology chapter that defines the various methodological tools and rationalizes the
application of the specific tools. Next to the research methodology chapter is the data analysis
chapter in which the collected data is analyzed by using the selected research methodologies in
the previous chapter. Next to this is the discussion chapter that discusses and interprets the
findings of the previous chapter by referring to the information found in the literature review
chapter thereby, deducing suitable conclusions from the overall study. The last chapter also
provides recommendations based on the identified gap in the study along with mentioning the
future scope of the study.
1.7 Summary
Thus, in this chapter, it can be summarized that ecotourism is affected by the exiting
culture of Costa Rica. From the information provided in this chapter, it can be said that Costa
Rica’s landscape has fascinated the travelers around the world that has increased in the past
years. Ecotourism is a broader aspect of alternative tourism that sprouted the response to the
negative environmental impacts of mass tourism. Thus, the term eco-tourism signifies visiting
environmental areas protected by governmental and non-governmental sites thereby, analyzing
the impact of local culture on eco-tourism of Costa-Rica and analyzing the significance of eco-
tourism for the country and the local people.

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Chapter 2: Literature review
2.1 Introduction to chapter
The literature review section is divided into four main sections that help in forming the
argument of the research. This section addresses the existing gap in the literature thereby,
ensuring research originality and credibility. This chapter highlights data and information about
history of eco tourism in Costa Rica, conservation, development, assessment system of
sustainability and social, cultural and environmental impact of eco tourism for the country. The
extensive research and the information presented provide an opportunity to gather in-depth
knowledge and understanding about eco tourism and its valuable impact on the country and the
surrounding.
2.2 Theme 1: History of tourism in Costa Rica
Eco tourism is defined by a variety of travel practices but comes down to the general idea
of conserving and protecting the environment. According to Pegas and Castley (2014), eco
tourism is defined as the tourism directed towards exotic often threatened natural environments
with the intention of supporting conservations efforts along with observing wildlife. However, as
argued by Arroyo et al., (2014), eco tourism is also defined as the responsible travel to natural
areas that conserves the environment with the aim of enhancing the well-being to the local
people. Therefore, in simpler terms, ecotourism is defined as the travel that influences the
ecology and the economy of the tourist destination successfully.
Ecotourism is a part of the environmental conservation along with understanding the needs of the
local people so that their quality of the life can be enhanced. Additionally, ecotourism facilitates
learning about historical aspects of a place and conserving them. Ecotourism is important for