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Costa Rica

Ecotourism as a deliberate national development strategy, with mixed results.

How this page works

Six sections are filled in: the parts that are stable and factual. Four are yours — evidence, perspectives, evaluation and the current connection. Those four are where the marks are, and they are deliberately empty. A case study only counts once you have completed them.

↧ Download the Costa Rica template Word · ready to fill in · the six given sections already completed
Before you write about this one

The reforestation record is real and impressive. Test whether every operator using the word deserves it.

§ 01

The ten-part record

01 · Location Filled in for you

Republic of Costa Rica
9.7°N 84.0°W · scale: National

See this case in context on the case study map.

02 · Geographic context Filled in for you

A Central American country that protects a large share of its territory and has built a national tourism brand around biodiversity and conservation. The label is applied unevenly across operators.

03 · Processes Filled in for you

What is changing here, and the mechanisms driving it.

  • Protected area designation supporting tourism value
  • Payment for ecosystem services funding reforestation
  • Tourism revenue as a national development driver
  • Uneven application of the ecotourism label
04 · Evidence You build this

Find these, and write the year beside every figure. A statistic without a date is not evidence.

  • Percentage of national territory protected
  • Forest cover now versus its low point
  • Tourism as a share of GDP and employment
  • Proportion of operators holding sustainability certification
Your figures go here
05 · Stakeholders Filled in for you

Who is affected, and separately, who holds the decision-making power.

  • Rural communities near protected areas
  • Tour operators, certified and otherwise
  • The national government and tourism board
  • Conservation scientists assessing outcomes

Named above as a starting list. For each one, add what they actually want, and note where two of them want incompatible things.

06 · Perspectives You build this

Find two sources that disagree about this case — not two summaries of the same view. Record who each is, what they claim, and what interest they have. A perspective without a holder is not a perspective.

Your notes go here
07 · Concepts Filled in for you

Which of the six apply here, and what each one reveals.

  • Possibility. Conservation and income aligned — where the incentives hold.
  • Power. Certification decides who may use the label.
  • Scale. National branding, very variable local practice.
08 · Evaluation You build this

How significant is this? How effective was any response? What are the limitations of your evidence? What else could explain the pattern? Reach a judgement and defend it.

Your notes go here
09 · Current connection You build this

One dated development from the last twelve months. Does it strengthen, weaken or complicate the case as recorded above? Update this every time you revisit the case.

Your notes go here
10 · Exam use Filled in for you

Sustainable tourism, and whether the label survives scrutiny.

Now go and build the other four

Reading this page is not the same as having a case study. Take the template, find the evidence, and fill in sections 4, 6, 8 and 9 in your own words.

↧ Download the template Or take the blank version for a case of your own
§ 02

Where to look

Start here. Prefer the organisation that produced the data over anyone summarising it.

Links checked 27 August 2026 · external links open in a new tab

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