Costa Rica tourism spike
Costa Rica has seen tourism surge in early 2026 with more than 600,000 visitors in the opening months, driven by beaches, cloud forests and volcano-based adventure activities. Travel guides are pitching the country as a top pick for immersive, story-rich outdoor trips this spring. (travelandtourworld.com)
January 2026 recorded 294,087 air arrivals, a 10.3% increase over January 2025, according to the Costa Rican Tourism Institute’s monthly release reported by The Tico Times. (ticotimes.net ) February 2026 saw 308,873 air arrivals, a 14.1% year‑over‑year rise, bringing the two‑month air‑arrival total to 602,960. (thecostaricanews.com ) ICT/industry tallies show stopover visitors for Jan–Feb 2026 rose to 653,959 (a 10.4% jump versus 2025), of which 602,960 (92.2%) arrived by air. (tourismanalytics.com ) The United States accounted for roughly half of February stopovers (171,365) and U.S. stopovers for Jan–Feb rose to 337,027 (+9.6%); Canada jumped 26.2% to 103,876 stopovers in the same period. (tourismanalytics.com ) Airport data show strong regional pressure: Liberia (Guanacaste) set a single‑day passenger record of more than 13,800 and reported a 13% increase in arrivals, while Juan Santamaría (San José) posted an 8% rise in January. (ticosland.com ticotimes.net ) Air connectivity has expanded ahead of the surge—Porter launched Toronto and Ottawa service in December 2025 and moved Toronto–Guanacaste to year‑round in 2026, American added a Chicago–San José route in late 2025, and Breeze announced Tampa–San José service for October 2026—boosting seat capacity from North America. (explorecostarica.org peopleofcostarica.com aviationweek.com ) Full‑year context: Costa Rica recorded 2,689,278 air arrivals in 2025 (a 1% rise over 2024), making the strong opening months of 2026 a notable acceleration against last year’s modest growth. (ticotimes.net )
