Many say that if something is not going to be done with love and commitment, it is better not to do it and this is so real. Currently, we can say that sustainable tourism in Costa Rica is here to stay and year after year it gains momentum.
But what is sustainable tourism made of? Mainly of conscious workers, focused on preserving the natural resources of the country. Sustainable tourism is, in turn, ecological and carries with it a culture full of sensitivity; it helps to generate income and employment, that everything that is done has a low impact on the environment and gives value to the local culture.
And it is that Costa Rica has been taken into account on several occasions for being an example in sustainable tourism, the National Geographic Travel magazine of the United Kingdom, has named the country as the best destination in the world for sustainable tourism.
It is worth noting that the Central American country is an example for its decarbonization route and environmentalist tradition, which leads to the recovery of the economy in the different regions.
A model of sustainable tourism oriented towards social inclusion
If we talk about social inclusion, we must highlight the good work that people committed to sustainable tourism in Costa Rica have done, as well as the care for biodiversity and cultural heritage, all of this was part of the awards received by the country such as the WTM Responsible Tourism Awards Latin America.
Costa Rica stands out for being a destination that invites visitors to reconnect with the essential values of life in a safe and responsible way, motivating more ecotourism.
Not going too far, recently, the importance of the sustainability model in the Costa Rican tourism industry was brought to the annual “South by SouthWest (SxSW)” festival in Austin, Texas, United States.
This was an opportunity for the attendees to learn more about Costa Rica and its remarkable position in the world, due to its sustainable tourism model that is committed to the conservation of the environment and the social progress of the communities.
It is important to mention that the Central American country has 94% of lodgings with 20 or fewer rooms and a trained professional sector with extensive experience.
Claudia Silva: By doing sustainable tourism, there is an economy that increases and an awareness of the tourist when traveling
At The Costa Rica News, we wanted to speak directly with people who work for sustainable tourism in the country, because only they know what inspires them every day to continue contributing and the efforts that have to be made.
Claudia Silva, is a woman working in the tourism industry at various countries and now from Costa Rica, she is Mexican and has 26 years of experience in the hotel management area, in which she has a Master´s degree, from the Hotel School in Geneva, Switzerland and from the University Centro de Estudios Superior de San Ángel, in Mexico. Today, she works as general manager of the Original Lodge hotel and provides her contributions to the Río Celeste Chamber of Tourism.
Claudia gave us an answer to our question of why be inspired by sustainable tourism in Costa Rica, since she is Mexican by birth. For her, it is a fortune to be traveling through Central America assisting boutique hotels, always in remote places with the community component that is important in her training.
“First of all, I love boutique hospitality because it can be sustainable, I am inspired by Costa Rica because it is a country that has many natural resources, and you have to take enjoy without damaging them, it is as if one goes hand in hand with the other and you can have a sustainable economy, create sources of employment in remote places where the situation may not be easy, yes, always training employees so that they can provide excellence in service”, she says.
What is offered through sustainable tourism?
In the opinion of Claudia Silva, in a place where we are, we must make the client aware, many of them come from very large cities, from metropolis such as New York, London and Paris, society lives in a hurry and does not stop to see their environment, then a benefit of sustainable tourism is to raise awareness hand in hand with the guest and make them see that by coming to remote places they can take a break in their lives and contemplate nature.
“By contemplating nature, one understands what is happening around us and what it would be like to have to balance life and as a background, appreciating our environment, one also has an understanding of trying not to damage nature, through the various sustainability tours that we carry out, we talk with the clients and take them, explain to them why they need to understand the importance, for example, of bee pollination, that is vital and many people do not see it and do not know it, the same with birds, agriculture, medicinal plants and in that customers awaken those senses that with the hustle and bustle of today we do not pay attention, this is definitely a benefit that goes directly to the customer and in turn to the local economy”, Silva states.
“When expressing the word sustainable, it means that we can sustain ourselves in the region where we are, which is in the Province of Alajuela, first by providing sources of employment, impacting approximately 120 people, 67 employees and the rest suppliers. locals, people who in one way or another offer a good service, focused on regeneration, flora and fauna, reforestation, not abusing, not doing what should not be done, trying to do the least damage and leaving the place or places better than how we found them”, she adds.
“By doing sustainable tourism there is an economy that rises and an awareness of tourists when traveling, today many of them travel with a purpose to want to grow, understand and learn about ecosystems; in the case of Costa Rica, people arrive with the purpose of helping the community, to contribute to some social project, they seek greater authenticity in their lives and coexistence with the local, which is part of sustainability”.
Everything requires an effort, so to sustainable tourism
Claudia Silva told us that many efforts are being made in sustainable tourism, but with pleasure, “sometimes people go for the easy side, having a 50-room cement hotel in a city can be less expensive and more convenient in the income factor, however, by making this effort in sustainable tourism, first of all, a lot of energy is used by everyone, being in a place where it is remote, where we have people from the community, becomes an investment with high energy and of time to train people, remembering that we are the ones who come here and we must ensure that our employees have satisfaction in their work and that they learn to perform their work in a good way. Among the efforts are the costs, sometimes we prefer to buy from the craftsman, farmer with the gesture of help, cooperate with them, taking into account patience because everything takes work, effort and time”.
How does tourism look so far compared to the year 2021?
In Claudia’s opinion, tourism in general is going very well so far in 2022, “tourism has taken a huge turn due to the promotion that Costa Rica has been given in Europe and the United States, definitely this beautiful country is ideal, since after the pandemic the only thing that human beings want is to have life, freedom and be surrounded by nature. Now more than sustainability, the term that is most expressed is regenerative, that is leaving a better place than you found it “.
Sustainable tourism, we have come to the conclusion that commitments, training, love and above all awareness, that is why in Costa Rica, it is here to stay and expand…
