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1 million people visited Costa Rica in 2020

Costa Rica welcomed just over 1 million international arrivals in 2020, according to data shared by the Tourism Board (ICT).

The figure represents nearly a 70% drop compared to 2019 and is the lowest figure in recent history. The ICT shares data for every year since 2005.

The worst month for arrivals was July 2020, when Costa Rica received just 1,022 people. At the time, the country had closed its borders to tourists due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Costa Rica fully reopened its airports to tourists on November 1. Consequently, over the last two months of 2020, the country registered a small rebound in arrivals — 112,500 total people.

“Uncertainty and restrictions related to the pandemic caused world tourism to collapse, and our country received a third of the tourists who normally visit Costa Rica,” said Tourism Minister Gustavo Segura.

Below is a table comparing international arrivals to Costa Rica in 2019 vs. 2020:

Month 2019 2020
January 355,321 358,665
February 312,774 341,008
March 335,558 162,994
April 262,016 8,342
May 211,598 3,803
June 248,696 7,210
July 269,376 1,022
August 225,299 2,357
September 160,206 3,817
October 185,599 10,147
November 245,643 37,573
December 326,922 74,974
Total 3,139,008 1,011,912

During the coronavirus pandemic, tourists must meet Costa Rica’s usual immigration requirements and:

Click here to review Costa Rica’s entry requirements.

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