Authorities expect gradual tourism recovery in 2021

The Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) says it’s using several models to try to predict how many visitors the country will receive in 2021.

The current forecast ranges between 400,000 and 1.6 million tourists, though the ICT clarified the data is subject to factors outside the country’s control, including travel restrictions and the behavior of the pandemic.

Costa Rica welcomed 3.1 million visitors in 2019, and just over 1 million people in 2020.

Of the 1,011,912 visitors to Costa Rica in 2020, more than 860,000 of them arrived between January and March, before the pandemic shut down most global travel.

Costa Rica received nearly 75,000 people in December 2020, the majority from the United States. But in late January of this year, the U.S. government imposed a negative test requirement from air travelers entering the North American country.

More than 100 labs across Costa Rica offer coronavirus tests for tourists.

Citing a study from the UN World Tourism Organization, the ICT said that the uncertainty regarding ever-changing travel restrictions has been the biggest factor preventing international travel.

Costa Rica has kept its tourist entry requirements unchanged since November. During the coronavirus pandemic, visitors must meet Costa Rica’s usual immigration requirements and:

• Complete an epidemiological digital form or “Health Pass.”
• Purchase travel insurance that covers accommodation in case of quarantine and COVID-19 medical expenses.

Click here to review Costa Rica’s entry requirements.