Tourists arriving in Costa Rica by air are spending less time but more money while they are here, a shift that points to a changing travel market for one of our most important industries. In 2025, air-arrival visitors stayed an average of 10.3 nights in Costa Rica, the shortest average stay since the current series began in 2006. That was down from 12.2 nights in 2024, a drop of nearly two nights in a single year.
But the shorter trips did not translate into lower spending. The average visitor who arrived by air spent $1,848 during their stay, up from $1,601.80 the year before. That increase of $246.20 pushed 2025 to the second-highest average spending level recorded in the last two decades.
The only year with a higher figure was 2023, when average spending reached $1,892.80. Even so, the 2025 numbers show a clear pattern: Costa Rica is receiving visitors who are staying for fewer nights, but spending more per trip.
This data is important for hotels, tour operators, restaurants, transport companies and beach towns that depend heavily on international tourism. Longer stays often support a wider range of local businesses, especially outside the main tourist corridors. Higher spending, meanwhile, can benefit operators selling premium lodging, private transportation, guided experiences, wellness retreats, gastronomy and higher-end adventure travel.
The change also reflects a more expensive Costa Rica. The weaker dollar against the colón has raised the effective cost of many services for visitors paying in U.S. dollars. A hotel room, tour or restaurant bill priced in colones can feel more expensive to foreign travelers when the exchange rate moves against them.
That exchange-rate pressure has been one of the tourism industry’s main complaints in recent years. Businesses that earn in dollars but pay many costs in colones have also felt the squeeze, especially in payroll, utilities and local services. The result is a complicated picture. Costa Rica is still drawing visitors willing to spend heavily, but those visitors may be compressing their trips. Instead of two-week vacations, some travelers appear to be choosing shorter stays built around higher-value experiences.
The country-by-country data shows how different the market has become. German visitors stayed an average of 19.2 nights, among the longest stays of any major market. Travelers from the United States, Costa Rica’s largest source of tourists, averaged 9.3 nights. That gap matters.
European visitors often stay longer because of the distance, vacation patterns and the tendency to combine multiple regions in one trip. U.S. travelers, by contrast, can reach Costa Rica more easily and may treat the country as a shorter vacation destination, especially from cities with direct flights.
The U.S. market remains essential because of its size, but shorter stays from that market affect the national average. If a large share of visitors comes for one week or less, Costa Rica needs either more visitors or higher spending per traveler to keep tourism income growing.
For now, the spending side is holding up. The numbers suggest Costa Rica is attracting a traveler with stronger purchasing power, one more likely to pay for comfort, convenience and curated experiences rather than stretch a trip over more nights.
That fits the broader tourism strategy as Costa Rica has increasingly positioned itself as a higher-value destination rather than a cheap mass-tourism option. The pitch is built around nature, wildlife, wellness, sustainability, boutique lodging and access to beaches, volcanoes and rainforests within a relatively small territory.
But the shorter stays also carry a warning. A more expensive Costa Rica may lift average spending in the short term while making it harder for middle-income travelers to stay longer. That could affect small hotels, family-run restaurants, rental car companies and inland destinations that depend on travelers moving through the country over more days.
The next test will be whether Costa Rica can turn higher spending into broader benefits across the tourism economy. If the extra money concentrates in a few high-end areas, the national figures may look strong while smaller communities feel less of the gain. For beach towns, mountain regions and rural tourism operators, the key question is not only how much visitors spend, but where they spend it and how long they stay.
