Costa Rica Tourism Statistics 2026: Arrivals, Spending, Trends

Official ICT counts of international tourist arrivals (all routes, then by air):

• 2019: 3,139,008 total · 2,418,300 by air — the all-routes record.
• 2020: 1,011,912 total (−67.8%) — pandemic closure.
• 2022: 2,349,537 total · 2,117,960 by air.
• 2023: 2,751,134 total (+17.1%) · 2,471,150 by air.
• 2024: 2,919,483 total (+6.1%) · 2,661,488 by air (+7.7%).
• 2025: 2,943,991 total (+0.8%) · 2,689,278 by air (+1.0%).

The "still below 2019" headline is mostly a land-border story. Air arrivals in 2025 were about 11% above 2019. Land and river arrivals fell from 709,134 in 2019 to 246,184 in 2025, and visitors from Nicaragua — mostly overland — dropped from 414,983 to 97,554.

Not on the full-year numbers — but it has been choppy. In 2025, seven of twelve months had fewer air arrivals than the same month in 2024. A strong finish (November +12.2%, December +13.6%) pulled the year to +1.0%, short of ICT's own 1.7% target.

2026 started fast: air arrivals rose 12.9% in the first quarter, then only 1.4% from April to July. In August 2026, air arrivals fell 5.9% to 171,602, and both main airports declined year-on-year for the first time this year. Year-to-date through August, air arrivals were still up 5.8% at 2,025,032.

So: more visitors than ever arrive by plane, but growth is uneven month to month. Plan a rental on the year, not on one strong dry season.

• United States: 1,627,807 arrivals in 2025 — about 55% of all international tourists.
• Canada: 274,081 — about 9%.
• Europe: 471,642 — about 16%, down 2.9% on 2024. Germany (83,500), France (71,323), the UK (70,354), and Spain (57,869) lead.

North America is the market. When US travel demand, flight schedules, or the dollar move, Costa Rica feels it within months.

Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (LIR) in Liberia received 904,762 international tourists in 2025 — about one in three air arrivals to Costa Rica. San José (SJO) took 1,783,761.

Liberia is a North American airport: 96% of its 2025 tourist arrivals came from the US, Canada, or Mexico. Two out of three Canadians who flew to Costa Rica landed there, versus about 44% of Americans and roughly 5% of Europeans.

It also carried 2026 growth. From January to July 2026, Liberia arrivals rose 13.3% to 698,079, while San José grew 3.6%. Liberia supplied about two-thirds of the country's net air growth. Canada led: Canadian arrivals at Liberia were up 32% from January to April. August broke the streak — Liberia fell 5.3% to 46,836, its first decline after seven months of growth.

ICT's airport exit survey puts average spending at US$1,848 per air tourist in 2025, for an average stay of 10.3 nights — roughly $180 per person per night.

Stays are getting shorter. The average was 12.6 nights in 2019 and 12.2 in 2024, while spending per visitor rose from $1,438 (2019) and $1,602 (2024).

Tourism brought in US$5.54 billion in foreign currency in 2025 (preliminary, Central Bank of Costa Rica), up about 2% on 2024 and about 39% above 2019's $3.98 billion.

Per the Central Bank figures reported by the OECD, tourism accounted for 6.3% of GDP directly in 2024, and 8.2% counting indirect effects. It employed about 183,000 people directly (7.7% of employment) and made up about a third of service exports.

ICT's 2026 marketing budget is US$48.3 million, up more than $3 million on 2025 (OECD).

• Your guest is North American. Liberia's arrivals are 96% US, Canada, and Mexico. Price and market like it — US dollars, US holiday calendar, Canadian winter.
• Shorter trips mean more turnovers. At 10.3 nights per visit, down from 12.6 in 2019, expect more check-ins, more cleanings, and more pressure on minimum-stay settings than a 2019 pro forma assumed.
• Arrivals are not your bookings. National growth lifts the market, but the number of Airbnbs on the coast grew too. What matters is how successful nearby rentals earn — see the STR yield index.
• Watch green season. August 2026 was down. Model the soft months honestly — green-season strategy and the Airbnb calculator.

• ICT — Anuario de turismo 2025 (annual arrivals 2002–2025, by route, airport, and country).
• ICT — Llegadas internacionales 2026 (monthly 2026 arrivals).
• ICT — Gasto medio y estadía media, vía aérea 2006–2025 (spending and length of stay).
• BCCR via ICT — Divisas por turismo 2025 (foreign-currency revenue, preliminary).
• OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2026 — Costa Rica (GDP, employment, exports).
• CET — Arrivals to Costa Rica, August 2026 and The Costa Rica News — January–July 2026 by airport (both citing ICT data).

We update this page when ICT publishes new monthly figures.