The economic scenario in the United States looks to improve this year and Costa Rica is smiling thanks to it. There are upward revisions in the US projections of entities such as Goldman Sachs, which expect an economic growth of 6.8% of GDP against the 6.6% previously estimated, or of the Bank of America, which points to 6.5% against the 6% who originally thought.
Even signs of improvement already exist, adding 916 thousand net jobs in March, with recovery in all industries. Additionally, personal income rose 10% in January after a 0.6% increase in December.
What would this represent for Costa Rica?
A domino effect of growth, since the improvement in this market increases the possibility that they will import more Tico products and also invest and visit the country, sectors where they have a strong impact on the Costa Rican economy.
At the end of 2020, the value of exports to that country was $ 4,909 million, being the main destination, representing 42% of sales abroad, according to preliminary figures from the Chamber of Exporters.
60% of all investment
For example, if we talk about the services sector, the United States covers 60% of the capital origin of companies that export from Costa Rica through information and communication technology (ICT) networks, followed by Europe with 22%.
Equally important to the local economy are the flows of direct foreign investment of US origin, where as of 2019 they reached $ 1,823 million. Tourism would also benefit from the economic recovery in the United States, raising the goal to 1.6 million tourists for this year, according to forecasts by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT). It should be noted that, in 2019, before the Covid-19 Pandemic, the arrival of tourists from that origin was 1.3 million, according to ICT data.
