Costa Rica had the very first confirmed COVID-19 case in Central America on March 6. Yet this tiny country has since managed to out distance other countries internationally in the fight to protect its population against this pandemic. Costa Rica has the lowest mortality rate from COVID in all Latin America. Just think how amazing that is. They have received praise for their success against the virus from the World Health Organization, World Economic Forum, the BBC, United Nations, New York Times and many others. The worry now is: what about the aftermath?

Tourism is Costa Rica’s meat and potatoes. It’s their brand. The World Economic Forum says tourism contributes $1.7 billion to the economy annually. It represents  a minimum of 5% of Costa Rica’s GDP. Costa Rica receives 2.6 million tourist visitors per year. 400,000 people in Costa Rica depend on tourism dollars, either directly or indirectly to survive. Most of those people are now unemployed – 290,000 of them and growing, or 13% of the nation’s workforce. The COVID lockdown is forecast to reduce the country’s GDP by almost 4% this year. And even before the pandemic, Costa Rica had been struggling for a couple years with a 6.96% deficit. How will Costa Rica bring the country back after the worst is over?

The ingredients that make Costa Rica so appealing to foreign tourists are all still present, unharmed by the virus and the havoc it has caused globally. The beaches are still fantastic, as are the waterfalls, and national parks, resorts, small pueblos and the bustling capital San Jose. The country boasts 5% of the world’s biodiversity – Costa Rica is still the jewel of Central America. But depending on how long this virus is in residence, and how long we have to wait for a possible vaccine, Costa Rica will have a lot of work ahead of it to rebuild. Many small enterprises, including tourist-based companies, will have been forced to close and lay off staff. Many lack the resources to wait out the storm.

What will happen? COVID-19 has brought the world 1,000 new problems, and Costa Rica must be part of the 1,000 new solutions. Already we have seen the Tico ingenuity in inventing their own ventilators (UCR), developing their own vaccine trial (UCR), their own personal protective gear, their own highly successful treatment protocols, their own library of procedures and protocols for COVID patients (with WHO), and the remarkable cooperation by the Tico population in flattening the curve. There seems to be a genuine feeling of “Junto Podemos” (Together We Can).

It’s anyone’s best guess when the country will again reopen to foreigners. Airlines are keeping us informed of their inbound and outbound flights (Latest flights here). They are making preparations to help passengers maintain their social distance from each other, and are equipped to test travelers’ temperatures before they board. Medical staff are greeting arrivals at the airport to administer COVID tests, and help travelers fill our extensive forms. Efforts are being made to document where the passengers will go upon arrival to help with contact tracing, and everyone must quarantine for two weeks. Non-compliance penalty is jail time. Embassies are updating their travel websites daily to educate people what to expect, but still, how many people will want to travel somewhere new for vacation and self-isolate for two weeks?

According to the National Tourist Development Plan of Costa Rica, “The importance of tourist activity lies not only in the direct employment it generates, but also in a whole series of productive chains and services throughout the country.” The two prominent tourist organizations, ICT and CANATUR, have said they estimate this economic downturn in tourism will last 15 months: 3 months of zero income, and 12 of recovery. April has seen a loss of 366 million US dollars, with 1,000 workers laid off in Guanacaste alone.

Costa Rica has weathered a similar tourist catastrophe in 2008/09 after the global financial crisis. They managed to claw their way back with a clever Vamos a Turistear advertising blitz, dedicated to facilitating tourism. The ICT has already proven their talent in promoting Costa Rica with its clever promotion that went viral featuring singing sloths. Costa Rica is up to the task, and tourist agencies report they have begun to receive inquiries about travel to Costa Rica as soon as the borders reopen. Residency specialists such as Laura Gutierrez from Immigration Help Costa Rica are reporting a massive uptick in clients wanting to file for residency. (For any Residency/Immigration related questions Laura can be reached by clicking here)

Why can’t the government announce now when the country will reopen for tourists? Costa Rica has recently repelled the largest influx of possibly infected people from Nicaragua. The border between the countries is firmly closed at last. Truckers have been prevented from entering the country, and two thirds of the drivers tested positive for coronavirus. The COVID-19 cases have all been imported, from the original two American tourists, to the doctor who returned from Panama and became the country’s first super-spreader, to the woman from Perez Zeledon who caught the virus from a truck driver before trucks were banned. 30% of Costa Rica’s COVID cases are travel related, and the country is bound and determined to prevent any more imported cases.
What is required is patience. Costa Rica has demonstrated remarkable leadership in containing this virus, and educating the population in how to protect itself. The health care system has stepped up with proactive treatment and prevention efforts; only ten people have died of COVID thus far. Authorities have increased police protection, anticipating an increase in crime due to the high unemployment rate. The narco-traffickers have continued their turf wars, but even they have shown ingenuity, smuggling cocaine in anti-virus face masks, and other protective gear. It is important to have faith that this pandemic and economic hardship will pass, and the country will return to its previous “Pura Vida” status.

The Government of Costa Rica has already begun the plan to gradually re-engage economic activities and begin the road back to “normalcy”.

“We need to retake economic activities, but we need to do so with very strict sanitary measures” , explained the Ministry of Health Daniel Salas, “…we need to continue showing the world that we have discipline and committment to continue beating this pandemic”, continued Salas.

“We will reopen economic activities subject to a strict surveillance of sanitary protocols. We will extend the vehicular restriction first. We will open for national tourism, hotels, national parks, commerce, restaurants, theaters and movie theaters. A second phase will involve reopening to international tourism and massive events”, explained the Minister of Planning, Pilar Garrido.

President Carlos Alvarado has stated, “The scientific projections are that if today we removed all the health measures, we could jump from 957 (current cases), to more than 50,000 by mid-July. Our economy and our society would be very affected. We know there is a need to reactivate the country.” We must have confidence in Costa Rica’s leadership that they will learn from missteps of other countries, and not reopen too quickly. We must also have faith that the tourist trade will awaken like a black bear from hibernation, and roar to new heights for the economy.

Junto Podemos

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