Costa Rica Tourism Receipts in 2026 Record Dollars Fewer Colones
Technical Note 16-2026 | Víctor Umaña, Executive Director | October 2026
Costa Rica’s tourism receipts reached US$1.322 billion in the second quarter of 2026, the highest second-quarter figure in the series analyzed by the Centro de Estudios del Turismo (CET). Yet the same receipts, converted into colones, tell a different story: an estimated 7.7% decline compared with the second quarter of 2025.
CET’s latest technical note examines this contrast using the Central Bank of Costa Rica’s Balance of Payments Travel account, international tourist arrivals reported by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT), and exchange rate estimates. The findings help explain why rising tourism receipts in dollars do not necessarily translate into stronger revenues in the currency businesses use to pay wages and local suppliers.
Download Technical Note 16-2026 for the complete analysis, comparative tables and five charts.
Tourism receipts rise while revenues in colones fall
Between April and June 2026, inbound tourism receipts increased 2.5% year on year and stood 44.6% above the same period in 2019. International arrivals, however, remained 3.1% below their second-quarter 2019 level.
The exchange rate is central to understanding these results. Using an estimated quarterly average of approximately ₡455 per US dollar, CET calculates that second-quarter receipts amounted to around ₡601 billion, below the equivalent recorded a year earlier.
For tourism businesses, this distinction matters: dollar receipts measure foreign exchange earnings, while their value in colones helps explain the resources available to cover domestic operating costs.
Explore the full note to see how receipts in dollars and colones have diverged over time.
Costa Rican spending abroad slows
Costa Rican expenditure on travel abroad fell 3.6% year on year in the second quarter of 2026. Combined with higher inbound receipts, this lifted the Travel account surplus to US$864 million.
The quarterly decline requires careful interpretation. The timing of Holy Week shifted some holiday travel between the first and second quarters. Over January–June as a whole, outbound travel expenditure continued to grow.
The technical note examines this calendar effect and explains why a quarterly decrease should not automatically be interpreted as a contraction in outbound tourism.
What the first half reveals
Costa Rica recorded US$3.356 billion in tourism receipts during January–June 2026, an 8.6% increase over the same period in 2025. Receipts grew slightly faster than international arrivals, indicating a further increase in receipts per visitor.
However, the sharp rise in receipts per tourist observed in earlier years has begun to level off. The note explores this pattern, its relationship with the exchange rate, and the factors that warrant caution when considering full-year results.
Receipts per tourist stabilize after earlier gains
Receipts per tourist reached US$1,889 in the second quarter of 2026, calculated by dividing Travel account receipts by international arrivals during the same period. This was just 1.2% above 2025, although approximately 49% higher than in 2019. Section V examines how the sharp increase in spending per visitor in earlier years has begun to stabilize. The analysis is consistent with CET’s hypothesis that higher dollar receipts reflect both a shift toward higher-spending visitor segments and the exchange rate effect on services priced in colones. Download the complete note to explore this interpretation and the historical comparison in Figure 5.
Key findings beyond the headline record
The note’s key findings bring together five developments: lower receipts when converted into colones, record second-quarter receipts in dollars, a quarterly decline in outbound travel expenditure, stabilizing receipts per tourist, and the strongest first-half receipts and surplus in the series analyzed. Together, these results show why tourism performance requires more than a single headline figure. Foreign exchange earnings, visitor arrivals and revenues in local currency describe different aspects of the activity, each with practical implications for businesses and economic analysis.
Download the complete technical note
Go beyond the headline figures. Technical Note 16-2026 provides historical comparisons, quarterly and first-half results, receipts per tourist, and methodological explanations of the data and exchange rate conversions.
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Download the full document: Costa Rica Travel Balance in the Second Quarter of 2026.
Source: CET analysis of BCCR Balance of Payments data and ICT international arrivals data based on DGME records. BCCR figures for 2023–2026 are preliminary and subject to revision. Exchange rate conversions are illustrative CET estimates.
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