Costa Rica’s Caribbean and Southern Tourism Development Faces Significant Delays

Costa Rica’s strategic initiative to redirect tourism investment toward the Caribbean coast and Southern Zone is encountering substantial delays, with visible changes expected to take years. Marcos Borges, the newly appointed executive president of the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), has inherited two master plans outlining these developments under President Laura Fernández’s administration. Key projects include upgrading the Tortuguero aerodrome and constructing the South Pacific International Airport at Sierpe de Osa. However, construction for the Limón airport expansion is not projected to begin until 2027 due to ongoing bathymetric studies and unresolved routing decisions for Route 36. Similarly, earthworks for the Sierpe airport are delayed until 2028 because of land expropriation issues and environmental concerns regarding nearby wetlands. A critical bottleneck remains municipal zoning approvals, as local regulatory plans governing land use are still under revision in several areas. Furthermore, industry leaders express concern over Borges’ limited political leverage, noting his appointment without ministerial rank may hinder negotiations with other government ministries. These structural and logistical hurdles suggest that private-sector investment and infrastructure improvements will proceed much slower than initially anticipated, impacting lodge operators and coastal communities relying on tourism growth.