SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica — Costa Rica’s air tourism sector achieved a milestone by closing out its latest monthly figures with a historic record in international arrivals. According to data released by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT), the country welcomed 1,390,842 international tourists via air, marking a robust 9.4% increase compared to the same period last year.
However, behind the record-breaking headline lies an emerging shift in travel patterns that has industry analysts paying close attention: the powerhouse United States market is showing signs of a slowdown at Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) in Alajuela, while the country’s secondary hub undergoes an aggressive expansion.
SJO Terminal Cools Off as U.S. Inbound Directs Soften
The capital’s main gateway, Juan Santamaría International Airport, registered 126,053 tourist arrivals during the month—a year-over-year decline of 1.4%.
This deceleration was heavily driven by a notable 7.3% drop in tourists arriving from the United States. Because the U.S. is traditionally Costa Rica’s primary source of tourism, this contraction dragged the overall performance of the North American market down by 4.7% at the Alajuela terminal.
Fortunately, the decline was heavily mitigated by a surge in European travelers. Europe consolidated its role as SJO’s main engine of growth, boasting a collective 16.3% increase. The strongest surges came from:
- Germany: +30.2%
- Italy: +29.2%
- Poland: +20.8%
- The Netherlands: +18.8%
- United Kingdom: +13.1%
Canada also acted as a vital counterweight for the terminal, posting a healthy 16.2% growth rate in arrivals.
Guanacaste’s Hub Establishes Itself as the Core Growth Engine
The operational reality looks completely different at Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (LIR) in Liberia, Guanacaste. The beach-adjacent terminal is single-handedly fueling the country’s air expansion.
During the single-month tracking window, the Liberia airport processed 69,430 incoming tourists, representing a 12.1% spike. Looking at the cumulative year-to-date performance over the first five months of the year, Liberia has amassed 525,751 arrivals—a massive 14.6% increase compared to the previous year’s window.
Interestingly, Liberia’s boom is almost entirely sustained by the exact market currently dipping in San José. North American travelers comprise 97% of all passenger traffic at the Guanacaste terminal. While Canadian arrivals led cumulative growth with an explosive 33.4% leap, the U.S. market expanded by 10.7% in Liberia, effectively capturing the American demographic shifting away from the capital city hub.
