Approximately 12,000 trips per month from Costa Rica to Colombia are on hold due to the decree issued by the Ministry of Health, which requires the yellow fever vaccination for visitors to the South American nation.
Data from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) indicates that an average of 12,000 Costa Rican departures are recorded per month to Colombia.This is based on analyzing data from the first five months of 2024 and 2025. Some of those months report up to 11,800 departures, while others report 9,000.
However, it is clear that the destination is growing in popularity among Costa Ricans. For example, in 2019 (before the pandemic), 49,202 departures to Colombia were recorded.
After the effects of the decline in 2020 and 2021, departures to that destination recovered and even surpassed the figure in 2022, reaching 65,665. A year later, in 2023, the number reached 121,223, and 2024 closed with a record 158,410 departures.
In the first five months of 2025, 62,337 national departures to Colombia were recorded, a figure very similar to the first five months of 2024.The data also show that this country is the busiest destination in South America. For example, of the 72,625 departures to South America in the first five months of this year, 62,292 traveled to Colombia.
Ministry of Health Begins Vaccination Campaigns
Faced with the increase in yellow fever cases in Colombia, the Ministry of Health established by decree that vaccination against this disease is mandatory for travel to one’s destination.
However, there are no vaccines available in the private sector, and the Ministry of Health launched a campaign, but it faces high demand and thousands of people waiting in line.
Initially, the vaccination campaign was aimed at those traveling in July, but it has since been expanded to those traveling in August.”I couldn’t fill out the form, and I urgently need the vaccine since my flight leaves on August 8th. I need it before July 28th to be able to take that flight. How is it possible that they ran out in less than five minutes?” commented user Maikel González on the Ministry of Health’s Facebook profile.
Karen Alvarado stated: “There are no more vaccines in any pharmacy, and the Ministry’s website is a joke. Appointments are sold out in a minute. What solution do you have for those of us who have to travel next month?”
One of the criticisms leveled at the Ministry of Health is that vaccinations must be administered 10 days before the flight. However, in the case of July, the first vaccination day was during the first few days of the month, leaving some days uncovered.
“It is unacceptable that they establish a requirement when the vaccine is out of stock nationwide and all pharmacies indicate that they will not be arriving until October.
“Minister (Mary Munive), stop playing the smart guy and offering a solution for the country. Their behavior is unacceptable (sic), establishing a requirement for an out-of-stock vaccine,” commented another social media user, María Fernández.
The official’s response
When asked whether more appointments will be made available for the following months, Munive stated, “We are only just seeing August.”Wingo and Volaris airlines recently announced the opening of new routes between Costa Rica and various destinations in Colombia, such as Medellín and Bogotá. This was due to increased demand from Costa Ricans.
This outlet requested a position from the ICT regarding a possible drop in travel to Colombia.It was also asked for a message addressed to tourists who already have tickets or who were planning to travel to Colombia in the coming months. However, the institution preferred to remain on the sidelines and stated that this was a matter exclusively for the Ministry of Health.
