International tourism, receipts for travel items in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: International tourism, receipts for travel items was 1.36 billion current US$ in 2020. ▲ Rising
International tourism, receipts for travel items in Costa Rica, 1995–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism. Measured in current US$.
Analysis
The most recent figure for international tourism, receipts for travel items in Costa Rica is 1.36 billion current US$, measured in 2020.
That represents a change of down 66.2% on the previous year and down 39.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, receipts for travel items in Costa Rica peaked at 4.01 billion current US$ in 2019 and was at its lowest, 681.00 million current US$, in 1995.
Costa Rica ranks 59th of 191 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
International tourism, receipts for travel items in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | current US$ | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 681.00 million current US$ | — |
| 1996 | 710.00 million current US$ | +4.3% |
| 1997 | 742.00 million current US$ | +4.5% |
| 1998 | 914.00 million current US$ | +23.2% |
| 1999 | 1.10 billion current US$ | +20.1% |
| 2000 | 1.45 billion current US$ | +32.4% |
| 2001 | 1.31 billion current US$ | -9.6% |
| 2002 | 1.30 billion current US$ | -1.2% |
| 2003 | 1.44 billion current US$ | +11.1% |
| 2004 | 1.63 billion current US$ | +12.9% |
| 2005 | 1.87 billion current US$ | +14.8% |
| 2006 | 1.91 billion current US$ | +2.1% |
| 2007 | 2.26 billion current US$ | +18.4% |
| 2008 | 2.56 billion current US$ | +13.4% |
| 2009 | 2.03 billion current US$ | -20.7% |
| 2010 | 2.25 billion current US$ | +10.6% |
| 2011 | 2.42 billion current US$ | +7.9% |
| 2012 | 2.53 billion current US$ | +4.4% |
| 2013 | 2.93 billion current US$ | +15.8% |
| 2014 | 3.00 billion current US$ | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 3.27 billion current US$ | +9.0% |
| 2016 | 3.65 billion current US$ | +11.7% |
| 2017 | 3.66 billion current US$ | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 3.77 billion current US$ | +3.1% |
| 2019 | 4.01 billion current US$ | +6.3% |
| 2020 | 1.36 billion current US$ | -66.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 829.00 million current US$ | 681.00 million current US$ | 1.10 billion current US$ | 5 |
| 2000s | 1.78 billion current US$ | 1.30 billion current US$ | 2.56 billion current US$ | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.15 billion current US$ | 2.25 billion current US$ | 4.01 billion current US$ | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.36 billion current US$ | 1.36 billion current US$ | 1.36 billion current US$ | 1 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 56 Jordan 1.41 billion current US$ compare
- 57 Maldives 1.40 billion current US$ compare
- 58 Slovenia 1.37 billion current US$ compare
- 60 Jamaica 1.35 billion current US$ compare
- 61 Slovakia 1.25 billion current US$ compare
- 62 Finland 1.25 billion current US$ compare
- 62 Serbia 1.25 billion current US$ compare
More private sector data for Costa Rica
- Merchandise trade 52.4% (2025)
- Food imports 13.2% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 73.9% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 27.48 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 32.3% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 64.9% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 26.43 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 5,129 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2568 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 21.87 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, receipts for travel items in Costa Rica?
- International tourism, receipts for travel items in Costa Rica was 1.36 billion current US$ in 2020, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, receipts for travel items recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 4.01 billion current US$ in 2019.
- What is the lowest international tourism, receipts for travel items recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 681.00 million current US$ in 1995.
- How does Costa Rica rank for international tourism, receipts for travel items?
- Costa Rica ranks 59th out of 191 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, receipts for travel items rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 39.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism, published as part of International tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
International tourism receipts for travel items are expenditures by international inbound visitors in the reporting economy. The goods and services are purchased by, or on behalf of, the traveler or provided, without a quid pro quo, for the traveler to use or give away. These receipts should include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except in cases where these are so important as to justify a separate classification. Excluded is the international carriage of travelers, which is covered in passenger travel items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.