Recently I was looking for a destination for an outdoor holiday.
Attracted by the image of remote beaches, lush green forests and colorful birds I had in mind, after some extensive research I finally decided to visit Costa Rica.
Similarly, millions of visitors are attracted to this country every year. In fact, according to the tourism authority, more than 2.7 Mln visitors travelled to Costa Rica in 2023.
To put this number into context, 2.5 Mln tourists visited Peru during the same period -a country twenty-five times bigger than Costa Rica and home to a world-famous attraction like Machu Picchu.
While there are many factors contributing to a country’s success in attracting tourism, Costa Rica’s brand is surely one of those that plays an important role.
So I was curious to understand:
What makes Costa Rica's brand stand out? And how does it match with my actual experience as a first-time visitor?
The Brand
#1: Relevant & consistent brand values
Some of Costa Rica’s “Essential Costa Rica” brand values like Authenticity, Compactness, and Sustainability captured really well my experience in this country as a tourist, and were consistent across my entire customer journey.
Sustainability in particular -which is a strong driver for tourism worldwide - seems to play a major role, reinforced by the presence of protected natural areas (28% of the country is part of a national park or natural preserve) and locally-sourced products.
#2: Social Media friendly
Social media remains the main source for travel inspiration for GenZ and Millennials.
A search for #Costarica and related hashtags on Instagram and TikTok, returns 25+millions posts. Just to put this into perspective, there are 16 million posts related to #Maldives, while #Bali -possibly the biggest influencer hotspot nowadays- boasts 96 million posts.
Not only is Costa Rica extremely instagrammable (its waterfalls, miles-long empty beaches and colorful birds are iconic on social media), but it also reminds visitors to “Fly away. Tell the Tale. Be the legend” at San José airport.
And more than once I came across User Generated Content strategically used on their social media channels.
#3: Pura Vida!
How many destinations in the world can claim their very own signature expression?
“Pura Vida” (literally “pure life”) is used in almost every social interaction with locals.
If you’ve visited this country, chances are that you’ve heard this expression dozens of times (90% of the free wifi passwords in Costa Rica are “Puravida123”, or variations thereof).
This expression gained such a popularity that it has become a buzzword associated to Costa Rica outside of the country, too.
#4: Omnipresent Branded Merchandising
The breadth and depth of Costa Rica-branded merchandise -from local shops in small towns to the duty free at San José international airport- really impressed me: Chocolate, coffee, sloth plushes, local handicraft -all branded “Costa Rica” or, of course, “Pura Vida”.
The traveler journey
And what about the traveler journey? Surely a strong brand is important, but it also needs to be consistent with the actual traveler experience.
In this article I already wrote extensively about my trip to Costa Rica, sharing my itinerary and impressions.
But if I had to summarize the main themes defining my traveler journey (from the moment I started researching about the country, until the end of my trip), these would be:
Proximity to nature - Perhaps the key differentiating factor of Costa Rica, nature was consistently present across my entire traveler journey. Eco-lodges in the jungle, activities and experiences are all designed to bring the tourist closer to nature.
Great accessibility - From planning and booking transportation in advance, to moving around the country by car, plane or bus, Costa Rica left me with the impression of a destination that is easy to navigate as a tourist. However, there’s a flip side to great accessibility: In fact, some of the most popular areas felt at risk of being overcrowded when I’ve visited during high season.
Exclusivity - By contrast to the great accessibility of the country overall, some experiences in Costa Rica felt more difficult to access, either because of (perceived) limited availability, or the relatively high prices - or both.
Bringing it all together
Costa Rica was a wonderful destination to visit. What I really appreciated of this country was some of the best nature and wildlife I ever saw, great accessibility and some strong values that resonated with me and with my way of travelling.
By leveraging its natural treasures and some really strong values, this destination managed to build a strong brand, which in return increases the perceived value of products and services it offers to tourists visiting the country.
But, as tourism keeps growing, attractive destinations like Costa Rica will have to find new ways to strike the balance between preserving authenticity while welcoming large numbers of visitors.
And as travelers increasingly look for inspiration on social media, balancing user-generated content (UGC) with official information from the destination will become crucial to ensure visitors’ experience is consistent with their expectations.
About me
As a passionate traveler and tourism professional I’ve experienced hundreds of journeys, from common to exceptional: From hiking the Andes to flying Business Class, from camping in Serengeti to staying in luxury resorts in Maldives.
In my career I’ve driven brand collaborations, scaled up communities and websites and helped tourism companies tell their story and sell their products worldwide.
On Beating Jetlag I'm wearing the traveler's and tourism insider’s hat to talk about unique traveler journeys and other "juicy" topics in travel & hospitality.