Cultural Impact of Ecotourism in Costa Rica: The Local Perspective

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.

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

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Costa-Rica, as this provides an opportunity to protect the natural habitats and pristine
environments, as the wealth of Costa Rica is tied with natural resources such as minerals, forests
and land that could be used for agriculture (Usher and Gomez 2016).
As mentioned by Algeet-Abarquero et al. (2015), responsible tourism is defined as any
form of tourism that can be performed more responsibly in terms of the surrounding
environment. As a result of being responsible, this kind of tourism decreases negative
environmental, social and economic impacts. Therefore, decreased negative impact leads to the
generation of greater economic benefits for the local people that helps in improving the well-
being of the host communities. The tourism industry should focus on promoting responsible
tourism by taking appropriate actions because this would help the industry to ensure better
development along with preserving the the culture and heritage of particular country.
On the other hand, sustainable tourism is defined as the tourism industry that is
committed towards making minimized local and environmental impact. This helps the country to
generate employment for local people and develop positive experience for the local people and
tourism countries (Jones and Spadafora 2017). The primary benefits of the sustainable tourism
relates to foreign exchange earnings, employment generation, business opportunities and
contributing to the government revenues. Both responsible tourism and sustainable tourism are
related to eco tourism because eco tourism aim towards protecting the exotic and the threatened
natural environment by being responsible and generating employment, business opportunities
and foreign exchange earnings.

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According to Li (2013), Costa Rica is one of the most popular eco tourism destinations in
the world today. It is a small country in Central America but has unbelievable biodiversity that
includes volcanoes, lush green rain forests, scenic beauties and breathtaking wildlife.
Additionally, the close proximity of Costa Rica with US and Europe makes it a favorable and
successful tourist destination. Moreover, Costa Rica is said to be a politically stable country and
stands out from the rest of the Central American countries in terms of safety and security. The
standard of living is also higher than the rest of Central American countries and also highlights a
string pro-environmental image. However, it can be said that environment was not the top
priority for Costa Rica always, as the country relied on agriculture for economic development
and employment of the locals (Anglin 2015).
History mentions that the Spanish found it difficult to reach treasure due to the Costa
Rican rain forest. According to Mowforth and Munt (2015), Fernandez De Oveido, Spanish
naturalist found the Costa Rican biodiversity extremely loving and encouraged and influenced
the population to engage in protecting their land. Costa Rican environment was heavily damaged
due to banana and coffee plantation as well as clearing of forest for being productive. Decline in
the coffee prices in 1970 globally forced Costa Rica to look for other alternatives for using the
lands effectively. This is when the country came up with the idea of tourism by selling their
extraordinary and incredible biodiversity. Soon by 1995, more than 100 government sites were
protected that included forests reserves, national parks and wildlife reserves and since then eco
tourism has been the primary agenda for Costa Rica (Jones and Spadafora 2017).
Since the appropriate implementation of eco tourism, Costa Rica has encountered tourism
influx largely. For example, Monteverde Cloud Forest had only 500 visitors in 1975 but post
successful implementation of eco tourism, the number of tourists rose above 50,000 since 1995.

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Eco tourism was successful in bringing over $750 million since 1995 whereas it was as low as
$100 million until 1985. Eco tourism resulted in booming the Costa Rican tourism industry and
recently, it is one of the major and leading contributors towards the GDP of the country. The
country has been successful in becoming and establishing as the pioneer of sustainable tourism
by ensuring strict compliance and implementation of regulations from the Costa Rica Tourism
Institue (ICT) and Ministry for Environment and Energy (MINAE) (Netto, Trigo and Gonzaga
Godoi 2015).
The website of Costa Rican tourism institute highlights that the developing sustainable
tourism that can be achieved be ensuring a balanced interaction between the cultural and the
natural resources along with enhancing the quality and standard of life of the local communities
(Times et al. 2019). Additionally, economic development and success due to eco tourism also
contributes to the national development. As mentioned by Quesada (2014), eco tourism is not
only a response to the environmental requirement but an imperative condition that needs to be
established for competing in the present as well as in the future. The aim of Costa Rican eco
tourism is to enhance the competitiveness of the country in respect to the tourism standard
globally. This helps in enhancing the social and natural resources used in Costa Rica as well as
the participation and involvement of the local communities actively thereby, highlighting greater
competitiveness within the business sector. As a result, the tourists are aware of the environment
friendly decisions taken by the hotels along with providing another level of responsibility and
competition for other eco tourism destinations around the world (Usher and Gomez 2016).
As opined by Li (2013), the term eco tourism itself suggests environmental friendly
tourism that is offered to the tourists. As commented by Hunt et al. (2015), it is said that both
tourism and conversation have a symbiotic relationship. However, as argued by KC, Rijal and

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Sapkota (2015), the role of tourism in conserving and preserving the environment is still debated
and criticized, as focus is more on attracting tourists for generating economy for the country
rather than preservation of natural habitat. The increased interest on eco tourism was identified
when emphasis on integrated conservation and development projects was seen in 1980’s. In
1990, the International Tourism Board was established that distinguished eco tourism from
traditional tourism by describing eco tourism as the recreational travel experience or activity to
natural places by conserving the surrounding environment and making the life of the local
communities better.
According to Das and Chatterjee (2015), the emergence of eco tourism first time
highlighted tourism with ethical values that emphasized on the benefits of surrounding
environment, natural life and local communities. As a result, eco tourism provided an
opportunity for the tourists to enjoy nature without any impact on it or destroying it. Eco tourism
is still considered to be a new terminology in various parts of the world and different terms such
as pre-poor tourism tourism, geo tourism and responsible tourism, sustainable tourism and
sustainability. In spite of difference in the terms, the ultimate aim remains the same that is,
ensuring positive impact on both the host communities as well as the conservation initiatives.
However, as argued by Pegas and Castley (2014), the emergence of eco tourism has given rise to
debate that the term emphasizes solely on conservation activities of the biodiversity in global
economy. Thus, the concept of eco tourism indicates it as more than a neoliberal conservation
tool kit that addresses the inequalities existing in the surrounding environment.
In spite of the continuous discussion about eco tourism going on around the world, the
term has gained hue popularity in America, as it is said to be region with the highest and greatest
amount of eco tourism diversity in the world (Times et al. 2019). Strong eco tourism

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development has been noticed in Costa Rica, as the country acts as a laboratory for this new
development paradigm. Costa Rica is said to act as the test bed for eco tourism thereby,
facilitating positive conservation and natural development (Fennell 2014). The Costa Rican
Tourism Institute launched the world’s first certification program that aim towards measuring the
economic, environmental and social impacts of tourism and was scored based on the “five green
leaves.” Presently, Costa Rica has 226 certified hotels that include 19 in the Osa Peninsula
region. The Costa Rican tourism board has also developed several sustainable certification
programs for the beaches, car rentals, tour operators and tourism attractions. The launch of these
initiatives has helped in giving rise to measurable criteria by distinguishing between genuine eco
tourism purposes and only marketing purposes (Li 2013). Osa Peninsula is located in the
Southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica that is said to be the home of biodiversity gems of the
country such as Corcovado National Park.
As opined by Hunt, Durham and Menke (2015), eco tourism is a heterogeneous product,
as difference has been identified between the activities offered to the tourists and the benefits it
has to offer to the local community and the conservation. For example, performance is reflected
in the eco rating given by the customers whereas for others more casual impacts are recorded.
Thus, it can be said, that Costa Rica has set the bar of eco tourism in the global platform and has
influenced the various tourist destination undertake eco tourism for benefitting the local
community and the environment.
2.3 Theme 2: Osa Peninsula region in Costa Rica
Studying the Osa Peninsula region is necessary, as this region is said to be the origin of
eco tourism and is a bio diversity gem that has several unique flora and fauna that needs to be
preserved for preventing loss of habitat.

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As mentioned by Hunt et al. (2014), the Osa Peninsula is located in the Southern Pacific
coast of Costa Rica that is said to be the home of biodiversity gems of the country such as
Corcovado National Park. As mentioned by Taylor et al (2015), it has been reported that the
establishment of the park in 1978 and the management has encountered conflicts. The majority
of the conflict revolved around the sudden withdrawal of the United Fruit Company banana
plantation and the 50 year presence. Withdrawal has seen that that many workers have converted
their land in gold Mining Park thereby, settling in border areas. Additionally, regions such as
Ston Forestal and PalmaTica have impacted the region that has helped the local communities
enjoy change in living standard and quality due to strict protection and conservation of the
natural environment (Balzotti et al. 2017).
Osa Peninsula is considered as a paradise and an extremely special is Costa Rica as well
as around the world. This is due to the existing wealth of species the place consists that includes
both flora and fauna that are native only to Costa Rica. According to Namiki et al. (2014), rich
and high biodiversity of Costa Rica is due to the geographical location, climate, habitats and
ecosystem of the place that has facilitated the existence of various eco systems and habitats in the
place. However as argued by Algeet-Abarquero et al. (2015), the seasonal wet weather and the
geographic remoteness of the Osa Peninsual region acts as a barriers in ensuring large scale
tourism development.
Osa Peninsula region of Costa Rica is the only region that has the remains of the largest
Pacific coast of Central America that complements and influences the existence of other
environments such as gallery forests, rivers, swamps, cloud forests, lakes and rain forests. The
importance of Osa Peninsula also lies in the co-habitation of large numbers of flora and fauna
species those are unique to Central America only. Osa Peninsula is one of the most outstanding

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and extra ordinary examples of biodiversity with trees ranging from size 3 meters to 80 meters
heights. This region also houses the highest scarlet macaw population, four species of monkeys,
sloths, alligators, jaguars, whales, crocodiles, frogs and hundreds of colorful birds (Arroyo et al.
2014).
The National Geographic Society has declared Osa Peninsula as the “most biologically
intense place on the planet”. Osa Peninsula has been committed towards eco tourism from long
back thereby, ensuring environment protection while establishing a sustainable living. The
region has less than 1 million acres of land with 13 distinct tropical ecosystems that houses an
estimated 2.5% of the existing flora and fauna in the world. Additionally, the place houses
impeccable marine diversity that contains outstanding beauty and is considered as the sole one in
the Pacific Coast of America. As a result, a large area of the Osa Peninsula is protected by the
State Government and is considered as the best national park in the world (Kameda et al. 2015).
This has influenced the Costa Rican government to promote policies that aim towards
conserving environmentally sustainable development of the existing natural resources. The
country has been a long time supporter of eco tourism by giving rise to economic opportunities
for the local communities and protecting its natural resources simultaneously. Osa Peninsula is
the last region in Costa Rica that has shown predominance economic activity and has been
ranked as the number 1 eco tourism destination in the global platform. Surveys have also found
that tourists visit the place due to eco tourism reasons (Riba-Hernandez et al. 2014).
2.4 Theme 3: Impact of eco tourism on environment and economy of Costa Rica
Studies conducted previously indicates a wide range of studies that talks about the
positive and negative impacts of ecotourism in tourist destinations. Cultural impact of

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ecotourism is divided into seven categories. The information presented in the previous section, it
can be said that the primary type of positive cultural impacts include increasing respect for the
culture of the specific country along with their cultural persistence. As a result, it can be said that
ecotourism helps in enhancing the cultural understanding thereby, improving the value and
heritage of the tourist destination (Azara et al. 2018). However, on the contrary, the primary
negative cultural impact of eco tourism includes violation of culture, loss of cultural authenticity,
anxiety about the existing cultural difference and changing languages.
Ecotourism provides an opportunity to preserve the heritage and value preservation of the
tourist destination. According to Buckley, Morrison and Castley (2016), one of the significant
positive impact of ecotourism is increment of the residents’ respect for their cultural heritage. It
has been seen that the local residents are highly casual about their local culture and take it for
granted. However, increased ecotourism makes the locals realize the significance of their culture.
When the locals see that people from around the world are coming and showing interest about
their culture and heritage, they tend to develop respect for their existing cultural heritage. As a
result, the locals develop greater concern and responsibility towards their culture and heritage
and get engaged in preserving the cultural heritage. Therefore, it can be said that ecotourism
provides an opportunity to develop a sense of responsibility and sustainability among the local
residents that engages them in preserving their rich heritage and culture by taking necessary
actions.
On the other hand, ecotourism also contributes in managing the architecture with
traditional features. The locals take required initiatives for maintaining and preserving the
architectural heritages so that when the tourists come to visit the place they are able to get a taste
of the bright history the place had (Das and Chatterjee 2015). However, on the contrary, the

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heritage buildings tend to lose their traditional features, as it needs to be repaired at regular
interval in order to maintain them.
Another significant and positive impact of ecotourism on culture is cultural
understanding. As mentioned by Fargier, Hartmann and Molina-Urena (2014), ecotourism has a
positive impact on culture, as it increases cultural interpretation and education for the visitors. As
the locals understand that tourists are coming to know and get a glimpse of their cultural
background, they tend to prepare themselves appropriately. As a result, the locals get more
educated culturally so that they can present and interpret their culture to the tourists suitably and
spread their culture globally. However, as argued by Fitzgerald and Stronza (2016), the cultural
understanding imposes a stereotypical interpretation on the local culture that gets monotonous
and boring after a certain period. On the other hand, cultural understanding due to ecotourism
provides an opportunity for the local residents to understand the culture of the tourists and re-
learn the traditional culture so that they can consider the perspectives of the tourists while
explaining their local culture thereby, enabling positive relation. As a result, this encourages and
facilitates sharing of beliefs and cultures between the tourists and the local residents and ensuring
successful ecotourism.
Apart from the aforementioned positive cultural impact of ecotourism, another positive
impact of ecotourism is cultural respect and persistence of the tourist destination. According to
Gunter, Ceddia and Troster (2017), the cultural impact of ecotourism helps in improving the
pride of the community and self-esteem of the local residents. This is because ecotourism helps
in promoting the local culture at a global platform that develops a sense of belief of being
significant and valued among the locals. For instance, ecotourism helps in preserving the cultural
stories and folklore that has been passed generation-by-generation because ecotourism offers the

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provision of incorporating the local history, traditions, religions, and lifestyles for the tourists.
However, as argued by Heyne and Camacho (2018), ecotourism encourages the local residents to
participate actively in the traditional culture of their community. In addition to, while presenting
the culture and heritage in front the tourists, the local arts, traditions and cultural events are
revived and polished. Moreover, ecotourism provides an opportunity for the local residents to
increase the financial patronage by promoting culture and heritage through revenue of
ecotourism (Hunt et al. 2015).
With the positive impacts, ecotourism also imposes potential negative impact in terms of
culture. As mentioned by Jameson, Paucar-Cabrera and Solís (2014), one of the prominent
negative impacts of ecotourism is increased vandalism and looting of the historic, religious and
cultural sites. This is due to increased tourist influx and the local residents lack adequate
resources for protecting those successfully. In addition to, as the tourists are unaware of the local
culture, they perform things those of culturally inappropriate. For example, tourists wear
culturally inappropriate dress or might consume alcohol that might also be culturally
inappropriate. As a result, cultural shock becomes evident and disagreement between the tourists
and the local residents becomes prevalent due to which after some time the local residents
develop the feeling of tourist resentment.
However, as argued by Kleszczynski (2016), though ecotourism highlights preserving the
culture and heritage of the locals, it also influences modifying the local culture largely in order it
to be approved and accepted in the global platform. The core traditions are not communicated
and promoted but it is commercialized and modified for fulfilling the needs of the tourists. As a
result, the originality of the local cultures is undermined by commoditization. In addition to,
culture marginalization is often witnessed, as the place becomes crowded by global cultures.

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Similar is the case of Costa Rica in Central America, as ecotourism is highly promoted in
this area, it has encountered both positive and negative impact of ecotourism over the years.
Ecotourism has allowed spreading and presenting the local culture of Costa Rica in the global
platform that helped in gaining recognition globally. However, on the other hand, the local
culture of Costa Rica has also been vandalized and commercialized so that it can be presented
and accepted in the global platform due to which the authenticity and originality of the local
culture of Costa Rica has been lost largely.
2.5 Chapter conclusion
From the information provided in the above section, it can be concluded from the chapter
that eco tourism has come as a ray of hope and light for Costa Rica and has benefited tourism
largely. Successful eco tourism has helped the country in conserving and preserving the
surrounding environment along with providing breath taking tourism opportunities for the
country. Eco tourism has increased the economy of Costa Rica by 16% and has also helped in
conserving the surrounding environment of the country that was getting perished for increased
tourism. Thus, it can be aid that Costa Rica has used and turned eco tourism as the key for
developing the economy.

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Chapter 3: Research methodology
3.1 Introduction to the chapter
This chapter is followed by the literature review chapter that covers the research strategy,
design, sampling, designing of methods, data analysis and ethical considerations that are
significant in completing a research successfully and conclusively. In this chapter, the different
methodological stances are discussed along with justifying the selection of specific
methodologies. Appropriate selection of research methodologies helps in gathering authentic
data thereby, developing a conclusive study that achieves research aim and objectives
successfully. Additional to the research methods, this chapter also sheds light on the ethical
considerations as well as the limitations that was encountered while conducting the research.
3.2 Research philosophy
Research philosophies include positivism, interpretivism and pragmatism that are known
to be used while doing research. According to Mackey and Gass (2015), pragmatism philosophy
highlights both the traits of interpretivism and positivism philosophy that makes the
implementation complex. On the other hand, positivism philosophy is based on analyzing the
data by using factual knowledge and quantifiable observations by using logic thereby, proving
the research hypothesis. Interpretivism philosophy includes considering the perspectives of the
human society regarding a specific topic and analyzes the opinion henceforth (Silverman 2016).
Rationalizing the selection
Considering the information provided, it can be said interpretivism philosophy is most
appropriate. Application of interpretivism philosophy is justified because this allowed in taking

24DISSERTATION
into account the different opinions and views of various authors in respect to the cultural impact
on Costa Rica due to eco tourism and consider the fact that economy of the country have
increased since undertaking this tourism method thereby, drawing logical conclusion for
highlighting the benefit (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015). As a result, it is possible to
understand the past and present tourism condition of Costa Rica after ensuring eco tourism
successfully. Application of interpretivism philosophy provided an opportunity to achieve the
research aim and objectives by ensuring data validity and reliability. As the aim of the research is
to study the cultural impact of eco-tourism in Costa Rica, interpretivism philosophy facilitates
the use of reliable data that highlights the cultural benefit Costa Rica gathered due to eco tourism
(Flick 2015).
3.3 Research strategy
Research strategies include case study, action research, survey and interview that are
known while carrying on a research. According to Vaioleti (2016), action research strategy
proposes the future occurrences of the phenomenon of a specific study. On the other hand, case
study research strategy highlights referring to similar and relevant studies according to the
research topic thereby, gathering similar information that is used for justifying the findings.
Survey and interview both highlights gathering information from a particular population through
questionnaires. However, for survey, data can be gathered from a large population whereas for
survey, data is gathered from few individuals (Bresler and Stake 2017).
Rationalizing the selection
Considering the information provided, it can be said case study research strategy is most
appropriate. The application of case study research strategy allowed analyzing information about

25DISSERTATION
the economic and cultural impact of eco tourism in Costa Rica and to what extent eco tourism
has been successful in maximizing conserving and protecting natural habitat of the country
(Alvesson and Skoldberg 2017). Case study research is most commonly used in social sciences
that is said to be an empirical inquiry that investigates a phenomenon with its real-life context.
The different advantages of case study research strategy are it simplifies complex concepts;
expose the participants to real life situations that are otherwise difficult thereby, adding value
(Yin 2002). Case study research strategy also allowed figuring out the sustainable business
opportunities for the local communities as well as the advantages is compared to the traditional
tourism in Costa Rica. Referring to similar case studies also enabled explaining the reason of the
findings by suitable and authentic information (Smith 2015).
3.4 Research design
Research designs include explanatory, exploratory and descriptive that are known while
carrying on a research. According to Quinlan et al. (2019), descriptive research design is used
most widely, as this consists both the characteristics of explanatory and exploratory research
design. On the other hand, explanatory research design highlights the unique feature of
explaining the reasons of the issues identified in the study (Saunderes et al. 2015). However, on
the contrary, exploratory research design highlights the unique feature of exploring the issues
within a specific study that has to be mitigated at the end of the study (Ledford and Gast 2018).
Rationalizing the selection
Considering the information provided, it can be said descriptive research design is most
appropriate. Descriptive design is most suitable because this allowed exploring the issues within
this study. This helped in identifying the existing issues of recent strikes in Costa Rica, safety

26DISSERTATION
and security issues in the country as well as removing the residents due to tourism purposes in
the study. After exploring the identified issues, descriptive design offered provision for
explaining the reasons of the identified issues in Costa Rica in the later part of the research study
thereby, gathering deeper in-sight (Dang and Pheng 2015). As a result of descriptive design, it is
possible to recommend strategies for mitigating the identified eco tourism issues in Costa Rica
and improving eco tourism of the country.
3.5 Design of methods
Data collection methods include primary and secondary data collection methods that are
known while carrying on a research. According to Jamshed (2014), secondary data collection
process is defined as the process that facilitates collection of data from different secondary
sources such as books, journals, articles, official websites and various internet facilities. The use
of secondary resources is necessary for giving a knowledge structure of the study that helps in
gathering understanding and deeper in-sights. However, on the contrary, secondary data
collection method is said to be a method in which the data is collected other than the researcher
or the user. Secondary data collection method is also a cost-effective way of making full use of
data that is collected already to address the potential issue (Dang and Pheng 2015). On the other
hand, primary data collection process highlights collection of data from a recent population that
has been selected according to the research topic. As a result, collecting data from them helps in
gathering relevant a recent data thereby, fulfilling research aim and objectives (McCusker and
Gunaydin 2015).
Rationalizing the selection

27DISSERTATION
Considering the information provided, it can be said secondary data collection technique
is most appropriate. This is most appropriate because this allowed collecting data from journals,
articles, online newspapers and other internet facilities about eco tourism and its cultural impact
on Costa Rica. As a result, we have reach the origin of eco tourism idea in Costa Rica and how
has evolved over the years in preserving the natural environment, providing sustainable jobs for
the local communities and the positive impact Costa Rica has put on the rest of countries for
practicing eco tourism (Wiek and Lang 2016).
3.6 Data analysis
Data analysis methods include qualitative and quantitative data collection methods that
are known while carrying on a research. According to Fletcher (2017), qualitative data collection
emphasizes on maintaining the quality of the work by interpreting and explaining the opinions
and the findings that has been collected. On the other hand, quantitative data analysis technique
emphasizes on the numerical or the quantities of the respondents in respect to the question.
Rationalizing the selection
Considering the information provided, it can be said qualitative thematic analysis is most
appropriate. This is because the use of this data analysis technique facilitates developing themes
by taking into account the information mentioned in the literature review chapter and the
objectives developed in the introductory chapter so that it is possible to achieve the research aim
and objectives successfully. Thematic analysis allowed considering information from various
secondary sources that helped in comparing the past and present cultural situation of Costa Rica
since the implementation of eco tourism (Riedl, Davis and Hevner 2014). Qualitative data
analysis is appropriate because this helped in evaluating the subject materials with greater detail

28DISSERTATION
that facilitated studying the cultural impact of eco tourism on Costa Rica. Additionally, human
experiences and observations can be considered due to qualitative analysis. As a result, the
impact of eco tourism can be studied by considering the human experiences and observations of
the locals in the region.
3.7 Ethical considerations
Abiding by and compliance with the ethical considerations of research ensures successful
completion of the research. The significant research ethics that need to be followed are:
 Ensuring data confidentiality is of utmost significance when it comes to completion of
the research successfully. According to the ethics of data confidentiality, disclosing the
data and the identity of the participants without their consent is unethical and needs to
maintain for mitigating conflicts and biasness.
 Taking consent from the participants before including them in the data collection process
is another research ethics. According to this, the participants take part in the data
collection process willingly and not forcefully. One of the best ways of ensuing willing
participation is making the participants sign the consent forms (Haahr, Norlyk and Hall
2014).
 Harming of any species, be it human, plants, flora and fauna while conducting a research
is unethical.
 Collecting data from original sources is mandatory, as the study can be used as a valid
and useful secondary source in the future. Therefore, collecting data from original
sources ensures data validity and reliability for future researches, as the information and
data are not misleading or false (Bugos et al. 2014).

29DISSERTATION
 Data manipulation is also against the ethics of the research. It is necessary to present
authentic data without any manipulation for the sake of achieving the research aim and
objectives. The data needs to be presented in its authentic form, both for and against
findings and justifying it by comparing and contrasting it with relevant information from
past researches (Dang and Pheng 2015).
 Last but not the least, using the information collected for the research for commercial
purpose is against the research ethics. It needs to be used only for academic purpose, as
the intention is to achieve research aim and objectives and not earning money (Pearson,
Albon and Hubball 2015).
3.9 Limitations
Both budget and time were major limitations that were encountered while proceeding
with the research work.
Time  Lack of adequate time pushed the researcher to complete
the research
 lack of extensive study while carrying out the research
limited in-depth analysis and detailed information while
developing the research
 Chapters were completed one after another without any
consultation with the supervisor due to which it was
difficult to know whether the study is going in the right
direction or not
Budget  Accessing valid and significant information was major
problem, as accessing them required paying the

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subscription fees or buying the secondary source
3.10 Chapter conclusion
Thus, in this chapter, it can be concluded that positivism philosophy, deductive approach,
descriptive design and case study research strategy has been applied for understanding the
cultural impact of eco tourism in Costa Rica from the local perspective. Pilot study has been
conducted for this chapter for which samples has been collected using random probability
sampling technique. Secondary data collection technique has been used that helped in gathering
information about eco tourism and Costa Rica that is analyzed using qualitative analysis by
developing themes by taking into account the literature review and the research objectives.
Thus, the chapter has been successful in selecting the most suitable research
methodologies in accordance with the research aim and objectives along with justifying the
selection of the specific methods that helped in understanding the cultural impact of eco tourism
in Costa Rica by considering the local perspectives. Additionally, the chapter successfully
discusses the ethical considerations that have been followed while carrying on the research that
helped in successful completion of the research work. Moreover, time and budget has been
identified as the major limitations that were faced during the course of the research.

31DISSERTATION
Chapter 4: Justifying the selected sources
 Salisbury, N., 2017. The Indians’ old world: Native Americans and the coming of
Europeans. In Colonial America and the Early Republic (pp. 1-24). Routledge.
 Wollni, M. and Fischer, E., 2014. Member deliveries in collective marketing
relationships: evidence from coffee cooperatives in Costa Rica. European Review of
Agricultural Economics, 42(2), pp.287-314.
 Babin, N., 2015. The coffee crisis, fair trade, and agroecological transformation: impacts
on land-use change in Costa Rica. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 39(1),
pp.99-129.
 de la Cruz, E., Bravo-Durán, V., Ramírez, F. and Castillo, L.E., 2014. Environmental
hazards associated with pesticide import into Costa Rica, 1977-2009. Journal of
environmental biology, 35(1), p.43.
 Jadin, I., Meyfroidt, P. and Lambin, E.F., 2016. International trade, and land use
intensification and spatial reorganization explain Costa Rica’s forest
transition. Environmental Research Letters, 11(3), p.035005.
 Jones, G. and Spadafora, A., 2017. Creating Ecotourism in Costa Rica, 1970–
2000. Enterprise & Society, 18(1), pp.146-183.
 Cobbinah, P.B., 2015. Contextualising the meaning of ecotourism. Tourism Management
Perspectives, 16, pp.179-189.
 Mowforth, M. and Munt, I., 2015. Tourism and sustainability: Development,
globalisation and new tourism in the third world. Routledge.

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 Hunt, C.A., Durham, W.H., Driscoll, L. and Honey, M., 2015. Can ecotourism deliver
real economic, social, and environmental benefits? A study of the Osa Peninsula, Costa
Rica. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 23(3), pp.339-357.
 del Mar Delgado-Serrano, M., Mistry, J., Matzdorf, B. and Leclerc, G., 2017.
Community-based management of environmental challenges in Latin America and the
Caribbean. Ecology and Society, 22(1).
 Anglin, A.E., 2015. Voices from Costa Rica: exploring youth perceptions of tourism and
the influence of tourism on identity formation and cultural change. Journal of Tourism
and Cultural Change, 13(3), pp.191-207.
The above-mentioned references were taken for analyzing theme 1 that aims towards
investigating the socio-environmental history of Costa Rica. The references used in the section
analyzes the history of Costa Rica since it was found by Christopher Columbus and how the
economic dependence of the country shifted to eco tourism from banana and coffee plantation.
The references used in the theme helped in understanding degradation of the surrounding
environment of Costa Rica due to coffee and banana plantation that enforced the government to
indulge in movements and initiatives in protecting the natural surroundings.
 Arriagada, R.A., Sills, E.O., Ferraro, P.J. and Pattanayak, S.K., 2015. Do payments pay
off? Evidence from participation in Costa Rica’s PES program. PloS one, 10(7),
p.e0131544.
 Azara, I., Michopoulou, E., Niccolini, F., Taff, B.D. and Clarke, A. eds., 2018. Tourism,
Health, Wellbeing and Protected Areas. CABI.
 Heyne, L.A. and Camacho, J.V., 2018. 12 Revitalizing Rural Communities in Costa Rica
Through Sustainable Tourism. Tourism, Health, Wellbeing and Protected Areas, p.149.

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 Hunt, C.A., Durham, W.H. and Menke, C.M., 2015. Social capital in development:
Bonds, bridges, and links in Osa and Golfito, Costa Rica. Human Organization, 74(3),
pp.217-229.
 Jakubiak, C. and Mellom, P.J., 2015. The local as the global: Study abroad through place-
based education in Costa Rica. In EcoJustice, Citizen Science and Youth Activism (pp.
99-119). Springer, Cham.
 Jameson, M.L., Paucar-Cabrera, A. and Solís, A., 2014. Synopsis of the New World
genera of Anomalini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae) and description of a new
genus from Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Annals of the Entomological Society of
America, 96(4), pp.415-432.
 Locatelli, B., Imbach, P. and Wunder, S., 2014. Synergies and trade-offs between
ecosystem services in Costa Rica. Environmental Conservation, 41(1), pp.27-36.
 Morera, B.C., Sandoval, M. and Pintó, J., 2018. Transformaciones espacio-temporales de
la cobertura vegetal en el Parque Nacional Corcovado, 1960-2014. Rev. Biol. Trop, 66(1),
pp.352-367.
 Vargas, V.I., Mora, J., Otárola, C., Zamora, E., Asenjo, J., Mora, A. and Villalobos, E.,
2015, May. Implementation of stellarator of Costa Rica 1 SCR-1. In 2015 IEEE 26th
Symposium on Fusion Engineering (SOFE) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
The above-mentioned references were taken for analyzing theme 2 that aims towards
understanding the thought of remaking reality on the Osa Peninsula region. The references used
provided suitable information about how the Osa Peninsula region was developed by protecting
and conserving the surroundings. The establishment of Danta Corcovado was one of the ways of

34DISSERTATION
redesigning and remaking Costa Rica by a family. The remaking of Osa Peninsula region helped
in regenerating the flora and fauna of the region by ensuring eco tourism successfully.
 Anglin, A.E., 2015. Voices from Costa Rica: exploring youth perceptions of tourism and
the influence of tourism on identity formation and cultural change. Journal of Tourism
and Cultural Change, 13(3), pp.191-207.
 Buckley, R.C., Morrison, C. and Castley, J.G., 2016. Net effects of ecotourism on
threatened species survival. PloS one, 11(2), p.e0147988.
 Das, M. and Chatterjee, B., 2015. Ecotourism: A panacea or a predicament?. Tourism
Management Perspectives, 14, pp.3-16.
 Fennell, D.A., 2014. Ecotourism. Routledge.
 Fitzgerald, L.A. and Stronza, A.L., 2016. In Defense of the Ecotourism Shield: A
Response to Geffroy et al. Trends in ecology & evolution, 31(2), pp.94-95.
 Robalino, J., Pfaff, A. and Villalobos, L., 2017. Heterogeneous local spillovers from
protected areas in Costa Rica. Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource
Economists, 4(3), pp.795-820.
The above-mentioned references were taken for analyzing theme 3 that aims towards
investigating eco tourism, its significance and impact by determining social nature construction
in Costa Rica. This implies how Costa Rica has constructed the surrounding social nature in
order to combat with the need of environmental conservation and preservation.

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Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Research Findings and Discussion
5.1 Introduction to the chapter
This chapter aim towards analyzing data by implementing thematic analysis. In this
chapter, three themes have been developed by linking it to the themes developed back in the
literature review section. The thematic analysis in this chapter aim towards analyzing the eco
tourism status in the past and the present thereby, indicating how it has helped Costa Rica in
shaping up their environment and economy. The chapter organizes the information found in the
themes and the important messages that needs to be cascaded to the world thereby, justifying
preferring eco tourism. As a result, greater in-depth about the impact of eco tourism on Costa
Rica is analyzed successfully from a local perspectives.
5.2 Theme from data 1: Linked with first research objective and question
Ecotourism affects on cultural way of life if local people in Costa Rica
Since 1800, the diversified wealth in terms of flora and fauna in Costa Rica has been
successful in gathering the attention of many naturalist and scientist around the world. Apart
from the unique natural habitat, the social history of the country sets it apart from the
neighboring Central American countries thereby, bringing it down the path towards conservation
fame. According to Salisbury (2017), human beings have been living in the area even before
Christopher Columbus claimed the discovery of the country in 1502. Colonial relations between
the indigenous and the Spanish people highlighted co-existence, violation and co-operation. Life
in Costa Rica did not change overnight since they got independence from Spain in 1821.
Independence from Spain helped Costa Rica to indulge in trade such as coffee and banana. Costa

36DISSERTATION
Rican coffer was first introduced to Europe in 1843 that facilitated industrial revolution and
became the source of Costa Rica’s growing economy.
As commented by Wollni and Fischer (2014), as the economy became highly coffee
dependent, rapid re-production of landscape became necessary agriculturally. The coffee
industry had limited effect on land and Costa Rica had suitable ecological sense of using fertile
land and sustaining agriculture. Social disagreements emerged in the coffee trade, as small
families of Central America were associated resulting in stable democracy. However, as argued
by Babin (2015), it was seen that the coffee barons mostly dominated the coffee industry.
However, the case with banana production in Costa Rica was different from coffee production,
as it was influenced by political agendas. The growth of banana production was an attempt by
the government to facilitate coffee production, as coffee transportation was difficult because the
lands were isolated and surrounded by high mountains. The banana industry gave a boost to the
Costa Rican economy in spite of being marked by several key differences. Banana production
required more labor force, transportation structure and capital investment than coffee production
thereby, making it unfavorable for small-scale farms (de la Cruz et al. 2014).
Figure 1: Economic dependence of Costa Rica on Banana and Coffee
(Source: Salisbury 2017)
The 1950 saw a rapid transformation of the Costa Rican economy due to increasing
competition with other tropical regions that had a negative effect on the market price thereby,

37DISSERTATION
affecting the agricultural industry of the country. This saw a declination of crops such as coffee,
banana, tobacco, sugar and cacao that was handled by Costa Rica by implementing economic
diversification. Banana production was replaced by palm production, beef cattle production and
ranching. As the United States forecasted demand of fast-food chains, the demand for cheap
Costa Rican beef increased. The politically stable and democratic nature of Costa Rica gained
attraction of scientists. Additionally, the history suggests that the policies and the practices for
the country also facilitated foreign exchange (Jadin, Meyfroidt and Lambin 2016).
It has been arguably said that eco tourism, a unique branch of tourism was invented in
Costa Rica in order to counter the country’s environmentalism, scientific enquiry and land
protection. As mentioned by Hunt et al. (2015), the first form of eco tourism that emerged is said
to be academic tourism, as money was added to the foreign tourist thereby, launching the
business of academic tourism. However, as argued by Jones and Spadafora (2017), eco tourism
did not come naturally in Costa Rica but was a result of the influence of various social
conditions. Environmental education was promoted in Costa Rica by both non-governmental and
governmental organizations that strengthened the continued development of eco tourism in Costa
Rica. Internal politics also facilitated eco tourism by building national parks that acted as a
primary source of revenue for the nation. Thus, the famous parks of Costa Rica is said to be one
of the reasons that helped in the successful growth of the tourism industry. Additionally, the
National Act, 1977, also helped in flourishing the eco tourism growth of Costa Rica, as due to
the Act the agencies were reconstructed and focused more on providing interpretive facilities for
the tourists. Soon after the Act, in 1980, the government started promoting use of parks
sustainably thereby, using it as a way of funding park operations for economic development
(Anglin 2015).

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The aforementioned history of eco tourism established a framework that helped in
attracting unique type of tourists. As commented by del Mar Delgado-Serrano et al. (2017), this
provided an opportunity for the country to offer experiences of pristine experiences to the
tourists by re-constructing the places accordingly. The image of pristine nature that the tourists
imagined was built by re-shaping socially-produced places. However, as argued by Cobbinah
(2015), all the tourist attractions were unable to offer the experience of pristine nature that was
developed in Costa Rica. The development of resort-style attractions due to travel popularity of
Costa Rica raised eye-brows of the critics, as it was considered as scams. To support eco
tourism, the government of the country developed the most widely-known certification
standards, the Certification for Sustainable Tourism that is recognized and followed worldwide
and helped in shaping eco tourism of Costa Rica (Mowforth and Munt 2015).
5.3 Theme from data 2: Linked with second research objective and question
Impact of eco tourism on country’s culture
As discussed in the theme 2 of literature review, it can be inferred that Osa Peninsula is
located in the Southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica that is said to be the home of biodiversity
gems of the country such as Corcovado National Park. Thus, re-constructing the Osa Peninsula
region of Costa Rica signifies re-making the social and economic realities. As known from the
previous section, Costa Rica was dependent on agriculture. According to Locatelli, Imbach and
Wunder (2014), the transition from an agriculture dependent country to a tourism dependent
country signifies that Costa Rica has come a long way in terms of environment. However, as
argued by Arriagada et al. (2015), re-making the power relationships and social structure of the
country has been focused less. This is because the contribution of Costa Rica’s economy and
nature is re-making the social relationships is unclear.

39DISSERTATION
Figure 2: Remaking Osa Peninsula Region
(Source: Azara et al. 2018)
The Danta Corcovado is a small family business operated in the Osa Peninsula region
that has a lodge built in 2004. The lodge was established in order to cope up with the tourist
influx in the Corcovado National Park. Previously, the family relied on agriculture greatly but
now has transformed it a haven for tourists willing to visit the National Park, the greatest
attraction. The tourists are able to enjoy the nature of the park with the help of trails that has been
constructed with the help of rapidly growing forests. The collaboration with Avina Project
changed the mindset of the founder in terms of business and the social and environmental
responsibility as an individual. Thus, the opening of Danta Corcovado was a huge success from

40DISSERTATION
the time it opened. The place has encountered tourist influx in spite of being located away from
material luxuries (Jameson, Paucar-Cabrera and Solis 2014).
As mentioned by Azara et al. (2018), Danta Corcovado does not provide material comfort
but instead emphasizes on community development and environmental responsibility thereby,
indicating authentic eco tourism. The lodge works on set of environmental ethics that aim
towards decreasing the impact of the guests and him on the surrounding ecosystem. The founder
of Danta Corcovado highlights the commitment by giving employment to locals and paying
reasonably. It also provides an opportunity for the neighbors to offer services such as transports,
renting animals such as horses and souvenirs. However, as argued by Heyne and Camacho
(2018), the operations of Danta Corcovado are said that it fails to embody some of the eco
tourism principles.
Approximately 45 minutes away from Corcovado National Park, Finca Tilapias is
located, a small organic farm owned by German Quiros. The family was granted a land that they
used for agricultural purposes for earning livelihood. Due to a serious accident, the viewpoint of
the farm owner changed and influenced the farmer to follow and implement organic farming
techniques and became one of the first organic farmers in the Corcovado region in Osa Peninsula
(Jakubiak and Mellom 2015). However, today being a farmer, the founder of Finca Tilapias is
largely dependent on the tourism industry. This is because the people of Costa Rica are not very
fond of organic produces due to its size and price. Thus, selling in the local market was a loss but
it was found that the tourists visiting the place are fond of organic produces. The tourists are also
allowed to eat in a restaurant that offers organic food and explore the farm while waiting for
food. Eco tourism in Osa Peninsula provided an opportunity to continue organic farming that is
way to re-make the region (Morera, Sandoval and Pinto 2018).

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Similar is the case of Costa Rica where eco-tourism has helped in shaping the cultural aspect of
the society by spreading local culture among the tourists visiting the place. For example, the
Costa Rican food is a part of their cultural heritage that has gained popularity once the place has
excelled in eco-tourism. Therefore, it can be said, that eco-tourism has resulted in both positive
and negative cultural impact on Costa Rica thereby, suggesting strategies needs to be developed
for mitigating the disadvantages due to eco-tourism as well as maintaining the eco-tourism
advantages for the country.
Mixed reviews have been found about Finca Tilapias, as some felt that it failed to keep its
commitment for ensuring sound ecological practice. The founder of the farm said that organic
farming is a preference for him, as this allowed to ensure a friendlier approach towards the
surrounding environment. People felt that the preference of organic farming is due to the
chemical accident the owner encountered because the farming displayed poor environmental
conditions. For example, the pond had the surrounding dirty water and felt that the land was used
ineffectively (Vargas et al. 2015). However, the founder of Danta Corcovado faced no such
issues and was praised continuously for his effort in establishing and operating the lodge that
allowed the tourists to enjoy Corcovado National Park physically by staying in the lodge. Thus,
it can be said that the effort by both the founder of Danta Corcovado and Finca Tilapias has
helped in re making and new realities of lives in Osa Peninsula, as conserving nature has been
the major lookout. Eco tourism has brought in new meaning to the landscapes of Osa Peninsula
and has been successful in changing the behavior in according with the new belief (Hunt et al.
2015)
5.4 Theme from data 3: Linked with third research objective and question
Importance of ecotourism in Costa Rica and to the locals

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The nature and environment of Costa Rica gained popularity in the past and in the present
due to shifting its higher dependence from agriculture to eco tourism. After re-making the
changes, Costa Rica now is considered as a place that offers pristine and exotic nature for
enjoying. At each single point nature in Costa Rica has been re-constructed for conserving and
protecting the environment. As mentioned by Fennell (2014), the nature of Costa Rica has been
constructed in both unstructured and structured ways. Costa Rica’s reputation as an eco tourism
spot is due to the effort and contribution the country has made towards protecting the
environment formally. As the country largely dependent on agriculture, Costa Rica experienced
high rate of deforestation.
Impacts Negative Positive
Socio-Cultural Loss of ethnicity Learning new language
Socio-economic Marginalization Employment
Environmental Loss of unused lands Protect natural habitat
According to Zambrano, Broadbent and Durham (2010), eco-tourism of Costa Rica has
been beneficial for the country more than the traditional form of tourism. Successful
implementation of eco-tourism has created sustainable income for the local communities along
with protecting the surrounding environment. According to Blackman et al. (2014), in respect to
profitability, the monthly income of an eco-tourism worker is almost twice the monthly income
of traditional tourism worker. Additionally, the difference in the monthly income is visible
during the lean or off season of tourism. It has also been seen that businesses based on eco-
tourism tends to generate more income for the local communities than other employment. Thus,
the significance of leisure, money, nature protection and money is highlighted more by the eco-

43DISSERTATION
tourism workers. The eco-tourism tends to generate more income for the people of the local
communities compared to other forms of employment.
However, as argued by Blackman et al. (2014), it has also been seen that eco-tourism in
specific areas fails to offer provision to the local communities. As a result, the local people had
to change profession within the tourism industry and ended up joining low paying jobs. In
addition to, eco-tourism results in limited job and income opportunities for the local communities
due to which they have to settle for low paying jobs that hampers their livelihood and the living
standard (Rajovic and Bulatovic, 2015). Apart from minimized or low paying jobs for the local
communities, eco-tourism in Costa Rica has also resulted in compromising of land. The
underdeveloped lands in the country are turned into profitable space for tourism purpose that is a
major disadvantage. At certain instances, areas such as national parks are compromised due to
increase in the number of tourists. As a result, Costa Rica will have less or no unused lands for
future use (Kleszczynski, 2016). These are some of the challenges that the local communities
have faced once eco-tourism gained popularity. However, the benefit eco-tourism has offered to
Costa Rica is impeccable and irreplaceable
However, as argued by Hernandez and Picon (2015), apart from loss of unused lands,
eco-tourism in Costa Rica have resulted in displacement of local residents. Local residents had to
leave because they were forced by the developers to leave the place or they could not afford to
stay as eco-tourism resulted in maximization of the living cost of the place. The concept of eco-
tourism is mainly attractive for the upper class people and the urban tourists those are insensible
towards culture. This might result in alienating the residents of the local communities.

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It is during 1980’s and 1990’s that the economic shift in Costa Rica was encountered and
economic shifted from agriculture base to tourism base. The tropical nature of the soil was not
favorable for agriculture and resulted in quick depletion of essential nutrients and infertile land.
As a result, eco tourism was seen as a profitable opportunity for Costa Rica by many of the
environmental activists. Successful eco tourism assured shifting the economic dependence of the
country and engaging in conservation, preservation and protection of the surrounding natural
environment (Das and Chatterjee 2015).
Ecotourism in Costa Rica has both positive and negative impact on the surrounding
environment. One of the major negative impact of ecotourism is poor waste management. As the
tourists visit from all over the world, they show increased amount of casualness in terms of waste
and litter their surroundings. This makes waste management difficult and puts additional and
unnecessary pressure on the environment. For the locals of Costa Rica, ecotourism results in
overcrowding and puts added pressure on the local communities. It has also been seen that the
locals of Costa Rica are marginalized and not included in ecotourism successfully. Under certain
circumstances, some of the locals are also forced to give up their property and lands and are
abused so that their property can be used for the purpose of ecotourism. Apart from the negative
impacts, Costa Rica also enjoys the positive impacts of ecotourism. Ecotourism has given a
strong financial boost to the economy of the country by creating vast local employments thereby,
giving them financial stability. For example, new markets are developed for the local products of
Costa Rica as they are sold at considerable rates to the tourists thereby, offering diversity in the
local community. The increased economy has helped Costa Rica in ensuring enhanced
infrastructure, community facilities and services. The government of Costa Rica has also taken

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required initiatives for promoting ecotourism by supporting conservations and developing
required certifications and regulations (Fennell 2014).
Primary type of positive cultural impacts includes increasing respect for the culture of the
specific country along with their cultural persistence. As a result, it can be said that ecotourism
helps in enhancing the cultural understanding thereby, improving the value and heritage of the
tourist destination (Azara et al. 2018). However, on the contrary, the primary negative cultural
impact of eco tourism includes violation of culture, loss of cultural authenticity, anxiety about
the existing cultural difference and changing languages. According to Buckley, Morrison and
Castley (2016), one of the significant positive impacts of ecotourism is increment of the
residents’ respect for their cultural heritage. It has been seen that the local residents are highly
casual about their local culture and take it for granted. However, increased ecotourism makes the
locals realize the significance of their culture. One of the prominent negative impacts of
ecotourism is increased vandalism and looting of the historic, religious and cultural sites. This is
due to increased tourist influx and the local residents lack adequate resources for protecting those
successfully. In addition to, as the tourists are unaware of the local culture, they perform things
those of culturally inappropriate. Though ecotourism highlights preserving the culture and
heritage of the locals, it also influences modifying the local culture largely in order it to be
approved and accepted in the global platform. The core traditions are not communicated and
promoted but it is commercialized and modified for fulfilling the needs of the tourists. As a
result, the originality of the local cultures is undermined by commoditization.
The economic transition provided new opportunities for Costa Rica and establishment of
Danta Corcovado lodge in the Osa Peninsula region is one of the greatest example on how eco
tourism changed the place. One the population came to know the benefits of tourism, they

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abandoned the agricultural lifestyle. As a result, the agricultural lands were re-generated or were
event used for vegetation that helped in attracting both animals and tourists. Thus, ecological
restoration is said to be one of the products of eco tourism. As commented by Buckley, Morrison
and Castley (2016), the economic re-production of the landscapes is one of the major reasons eco
tourism is preferred and facilitated by the environmental activists. The unprofitable lands have
successfully been turned as massive sources of tourist revenue such as forest preserves and
national parks due to eco tourism thereby, keeping the natural landscapes intact. However, as
argued by Robalino, Pfaff and Villalobos (2017), the Costa Rican barriers should be managed
other than the people with whom it is partnered.
Eco tourism provides an economic opportunity that can be used as a strategy for
modifying the behavior of the local communities. Thus, eco tourism can be considered as the
strategy for managing and influencing the behavior of the individuals that were otherwise threats
for ensuring successful conservation. Costa Rica gained popularity globally as a eco tourism
friendly country during the early 1980’s. The information and evidence of eco tourism in Costa
Rica are surfacing directly from the tourists visiting the place, electronic tools, advertisements
and media. Evaluating the media produced for promoting eco tourism provides an opportunity to
highlight the type and nature of the relationships and activities used within the eco tourism
framework. The environment and nature of Costa Rica is seen and considered as spectacular,
pristine, wild exotic and distinctive from humans (Anglin 2015).

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Figure 4: Tourist evolution in Costa Rica
(Source: Robalino, Pfaff and Villalobos 2017)
Eco tourism in Costa Rica has been considered as an innovative approach that provides
an opportunity to protect the surrounding environment and offer economic opportunities for the
local communities. The benefits of the eco tourism are broad and unquestioned and are based on
the public interest of conserving and protecting the environment. Healthy people are a reason for
healthy environments that assures sustaining the existing resources for future generations and
motivating environmental conservation. Thus, eco tourism is a self motivation and desire of
preserving eco system in Costa Rica and developing economic opportunities for the local
communities (Fitzgerald and Stronza 2016).

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Figure 5: Direct contribution of Travel and Tourism of eco tourism in Costa Rica
(Source: Buckley, Morrison and Castley 2016)
5.5 Chapter conclusions
Thus, from the information provided, 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 Central America is one of the best known natural
habitats across the globe, conserving the natural surrounding also indicates protecting the
environment. Additionally, the changing taste and expectations of the tourists while visiting a
place has also promoted and supported eco tourism in the country. Costa Rica is able to use the
available natural resources for improving their environmental and economic standard.

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Chapter 6: Conclusion and recommendations
Conclusion
From the information presented in the above chapters, it can be concluded that Costa
Rica in Central America is a biodiversity gem due to the existence of national park such as
Corcovado National Park. The country has come a long way from shifting the economy from
agriculture to eco tourism and creating sustainable opportunities for the local communities. Costa
rica has been successful in implementing and practicing ecotourism that has helped the country
to restore their culture and heritage at the global platform. Both cultural and economic impact
has been noticed for Costa Rica due to ecotourism. 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. In addition to, eco-tourism is highly beneficial for
Costa Rica and it has helped the country increase their economy by 16% that is huge and
provided greater advantage for earning livelihood for them.
Ensuing eco tourism successfully is a continuous process that has resulted in both
positive and negative impact on Costa Rica. One of the significant negative impacts that Costa
Rica has encountered due to eco tourism is violation of culture, loss of cultural authenticity,
anxiety about the existing cultural difference and changing languages. In addition to, the heritage
buildings are losing traditional features, as it needs to be repaired at regular interval in order to
maintain them. The cultural understanding imposes a stereotypical interpretation on the local
culture that gets monotonous and boring after a certain period. Though ecotourism highlights
preserving the culture and heritage of the locals in Costa Rica, it has influenced the modification

50DISSERTATION
of the local culture largely so that it is approved and accepted in the global platform. As aresult,
the core traditions of Costa Rica are not communicated and promoted but it is commercialized
and modified for fulfilling the needs of the tourists. As a result, the originality of the local
cultures of Costa Rica is undermined by commoditization. In addition to, culture marginalization
is often witnessed, as the place becomes crowded by global cultures.
However, the positive impact of eco tourism on Costa Rica is highlighted through the
increment of the residents’ respect for their cultural heritage. The locals develop greater concern
and responsibility towards their culture and heritage and get engaged in preserving the cultural
heritage. Ecotourism has a positive impact on the culture of Costa Rica, as it increases cultural
interpretation and education for the visitors. As the locals understand that tourists are coming to
know and get a glimpse of their cultural background, they tend to prepare themselves
appropriately. As a result, the locals get more educated culturally so that they can present and
interpret their culture to the tourists suitably and spread their culture globally. Costa Rica has
helped in improving the pride of the community and self-esteem of the local residents. To
support eco tourism, the government of the country developed the most widely-known
certification standards, the Certification for Sustainable Tourism that is recognized and followed
worldwide and helped in shaping eco tourism of Costa Rica.
Recommendations
In the future, research can be conducted in the environmental impact of eco tourism on
Costa Rica and comparing it with countries across the globe that is emphasizing only on tourism.
This can be compared with the past and the present state of environment in countries facilitating
eco tourism and countries solely depending on tourism. The environment impact of eco tourism

51DISSERTATION
can be researched more, as this will help in determining the positives and negatives of the
undertaken approach.
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