Costa Rica: Outbound Travel by Costa Ricans Grows While International Arrivals Remain Stagnant

Víctor Umaña
4 days ago
5 min read

CET Technical Note 12-2026 analyzes the evolution of international arrivals and outbound travel by Costa Ricans between 2019 and 2025, revealing a markedly asymmetric recovery in these two flows.

The data reveal a markedly asymmetric post-pandemic recovery. While outbound travel by Costa Ricans has moved well above 2019 levels, international arrivals have yet to fully recover their pre-pandemic volume.

In 2025, Costa Rica recorded 2.94 million international arrivals, still 6.2% below the 2019 level. In contrast, outbound trips by Costa Ricans reached a record 1.50 million, 38.2% above the pre-pandemic level.

Two increasingly different trajectories

In 2019, Costa Rica recorded 3.14 million international arrivals and 1.09 million outbound trips by Costa Ricans. By 2025, international arrivals had reached 2.94 million, still 6.2% below the 2019 level, while outbound trips reached a record 1.50 million, 38.2% above 2019.

The difference is also evident in recent growth rates. International arrivals increased 17.1% in 2023, but growth slowed to 6.1% in 2024 and just 0.8% in 2025.

Outbound trips by Costa Ricans grew 36.0% in 2023, 16.2% in 2024, and 8.5% in 2025.

As a result, the ratio between the two flows fell from 2.89 international arrivals for every outbound trip by a Costa Rican in 2019 to 1.96 in 2025.

Where are Costa Ricans traveling?

Panama and the United States remain the two leading declared destinations, together accounting for approximately 46% of outbound trips in 2025.

Panama recorded 355,521 trips, representing 23.7% of the total, while the United States received 333,660, or 22.2%.

One of the most significant changes was Colombia. Outbound trips increased from 49,205 in 2019 to 147,177 in 2025, a 199% rise that made Colombia the fifth-largest declared destination for Costa Ricans.

Spain also recorded strong growth, rising 125% compared with 2019, while Guatemala increased 101%. Mexico grew 18% and Nicaragua 45%.

By contrast, declared trips to El Salvador declined 11% and those to Peru fell 17%.

Juan Santamaría International Airport accounted for 79% of outbound trips by Costa Ricans in 2025, equivalent to approximately 1.19 million air movements.

The destination reported in migration records corresponds to the country declared to immigration officials. In air travel, this may sometimes be a connecting point rather than the traveler’s final destination, which can increase the statistical importance of major hubs such as Panama or Madrid.

The origin of international arrivals has also changed

The composition of international arrivals has undergone a significant transformation.

The United States accounted for 55.3% of all international arrivals in 2025, with 1.63 million arrivals, 22% above the 2019 level.

Canada also surpassed its pre-pandemic level, reaching 274,081 arrivals, an increase of 17%.

Together, these two markets explain a substantial share of Costa Rica’s post-pandemic recovery.

Europe, however, remained approximately 5.8% below its 2019 level. Germany was slightly above its pre-pandemic figure, while France, the United Kingdom, and Spain remained below 2019.

One of the most important structural changes occurred in Central America. Arrivals from the region fell from 698,601 in 2019 to 247,850 in 2025, a decline of approximately 65%.

Nicaragua accounts for most of this reduction. Arrivals fell from 414,983 in 2019 to 97,554 in 2025, a decrease of approximately 76%.

South America also remained below its 2019 level, with an aggregate decline of 20.4%.

Why has Costa Rica not yet recovered its 2019 arrival level?

Between 2019 and 2025, Costa Rica recorded a net decline of 195,017 international arrivals.

However, this aggregate figure reflects very different regional trends.

Nicaragua alone accounted for 317,429 fewer arrivals compared with 2019, while Central America as a whole lost 450,751 arrivals.

Additional declines were recorded in South America, Europe, and the Caribbean.

In the opposite direction, North America contributed 333,029 additional arrivals compared with 2019. The United States added approximately 293,030 arrivals and Canada 39,460.

Costa Rica’s overall international arrival performance therefore reflects two simultaneous trends: strong expansion in the North American market and a major contraction in the Central American market, particularly Nicaragua.

The balance of payments also reflects this transformation

These migration flows are also reflected in the travel account of Costa Rica’s balance of payments.

Travel receipts —expenditure by non-resident visitors in Costa Rica— increased from US$3.9885 billion in 2019 to US$5.5713 billion in 2025, an increase of 39.7%.

This occurred even though total international arrivals remained 6.2% below their 2019 level.

When these figures are compared, average travel receipts per arrival increased from approximately US$1,270 in 2019 to around US$1,890 in 2025. This may reflect higher visitor spending, longer stays, or a combination of both factors.

Travel expenditures —spending by residents traveling abroad— grew considerably faster. They increased from US$1.0357 billion in 2019 to US$2.1265 billion in 2025, a rise of 105.3%.

Average expenditure per outbound trip increased from approximately US$950 to US$1,420 over the same period.

Costa Rica continues to maintain a substantial travel account surplus. However, the surplus declined from US$3.5609 billion in 2024 to US$3.4448 billion in 2025, a 3.3% reduction and the first decline recorded since the pandemic.

In 2025, travel receipts increased by only 2.0%, while travel expenditures rose 11.9%.

A changing relationship between inbound and outbound travel

The data show that Costa Rica continues to generate substantial international travel receipts, supported particularly by the growth of the North American market and higher average receipts per arrival.

At the same time, outbound travel by Costa Ricans continues to expand and now stands well above pre-pandemic levels.

The pattern is also consistent with the appreciation of the Costa Rican colón since 2022, which reduces the relative cost of international travel for residents while increasing Costa Rica’s relative cost for foreign visitors.

The combination of nearly stagnant international arrivals and faster growth in travel expenditures abroad is therefore a trend that warrants continued monitoring, particularly because of its potential implications for the travel account surplus and the net supply of foreign currency generated by travel activity.

About the data

The analysis uses official information from the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT), the General Directorate of Migration and Immigration (DGME), and the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR).

International arrivals correspond to non-resident visitors entering Costa Rica through all entry routes and include different purposes of travel. They should therefore not be interpreted exclusively as leisure tourism.

Outbound figures correspond to migration movements of Costa Rican nationals recorded by the DGME according to border post and declared destination.

Migration statistics classify travelers by nationality, whereas the BCCR travel account uses residency as its classification criterion. For this reason, the two datasets provide complementary evidence on related trends, but their magnitudes are not strictly comparable.

Read Technical Note 12-2026 for the complete analysis, tables, charts, and methodology.