Costa Rica recorded 2,919,483 international tourist arrivals in 2024, according to the ICT Anuario Estadístico de Turismo 2024. The annual total was higher than the 2,751,134 arrivals recorded in 2023 and the 2,349,537 recorded in 2022. For hospitality businesses, the figures show both the scale of visitor demand and its pronounced seasonal rhythm.
Contents
- Annual arrivals and recovery
- Where visitors came from
- How visitors entered Costa Rica
- Monthly hospitality demand
- Airport patterns: SJO and LIR
- A month-by-month airport comparison
Annual arrivals and recovery
The ICT Anuario Estadístico de Turismo 2024 reports 2,919,483 international tourist arrivals for Costa Rica in 2024. The corresponding annual totals were 2,751,134 in 2023, 2,349,537 in 2022, and 1,347,055 in 2021. On the supplied annual series, 2024 therefore represented an increase of 168,349 arrivals over 2023, 569,946 over 2022, and 1,572,428 over 2021.
These are international arrival counts, not hotel nights, occupancy, room revenue, or the number of individual travelers. They are useful as a broad indicator of the potential market entering the country, while hospitality performance depends on additional factors such as length of stay, destination, accommodation choice, and repeat visits. None of those additional measures is included in this series.
The year-to-year comparison is still important for understanding the size of the addressable visitor flow. In 2024, the country received more arrivals than in each of the three earlier years listed by the ICT. The figures describe observed annual totals for those years; they are not forecasts.
| Year | International tourist arrivals |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,347,055 |
| 2022 | 2,349,537 |
| 2023 | 2,751,134 |
| 2024 | 2,919,483 |
The annual picture also needs a seasonal reading. A single yearly total can conceal large differences between peak and slower months. In 2024, the highest monthly total was recorded in March, while September was the lowest month in the supplied monthly series.
Where visitors came from
North America was the largest reported regional source in 2024, contributing 1,989,725 arrivals. Europe contributed 485,725, Central America contributed 235,860, and South America contributed 136,466. The ICT Anuario Estadístico de Turismo 2024 also records 61,079 arrivals from other zones.
The country-level figures provide more detail within selected regions. Canada accounted for 272,256 arrivals and Mexico for 96,129. Within Central America, Panama contributed 95,799 arrivals, Honduras 45,576, Guatemala 28,258, and Nicaragua 18,710. South American arrivals included 31,361 from Colombia and 28,736 from Argentina.
For hospitality planning, these figures identify the geographic concentration of the international market recorded by the ICT. They do not establish how many visitors stayed in a particular province, used a particular lodging type, or traveled to a particular outdoor destination. The regional and country counts should therefore be read as arrival-market measures rather than local accommodation demand.
The source-market figures also show why a national hospitality picture should not be treated as a single undifferentiated audience. North America supplied the largest reported regional flow, while Europe, Central America, and South America each formed distinct additional streams. The country-level values show further variation inside those regional totals.
How visitors entered Costa Rica
Air travel accounted for 91.2% of all international arrivals in 2024, according to the ICT Anuario Estadístico de Turismo 2024. Land and river travel accounted for 8.6%, while maritime travel represented 0.2%.
The distribution makes air access the dominant entry pattern in this dataset. That matters when interpreting the airport figures below: airport activity is not a minor subset of the annual market, but the principal observed route by which international visitors arrived. Land, river, and maritime arrivals remain part of the national total, but their combined reported share was 8.8%.
| Arrival mode | Share of 2024 arrivals |
|---|---|
| Air | 91.2% |
| Land and river | 8.6% |
| Maritime | 0.2% |
The percentages describe the mode distribution for international arrivals in 2024. They do not measure domestic travel within Costa Rica after entry, and they do not indicate the share of guests using hotels, vacation rentals, ecolodges, hostels, or other accommodation categories.
Monthly hospitality demand
Costa Rica logged 299,194 international arrivals in January 2024, 317,830 in February, and 350,300 in March. The monthly total then fell to 242,511 in April and 216,702 in May. June recorded 244,355 arrivals, followed by 258,942 in July and 200,996 in August.
The lower point in the supplied series came in September, with 123,371 arrivals. October recorded 138,330, before the total rose to 220,839 in November and 306,113 in December. These monthly observations show a clear difference between the busiest and quietest parts of the year without requiring any unsupported interpretation about causes.
The ICT Anuario Estadístico de Turismo 2024 monthly totals were:
- January: 299,194 arrivals
- February: 317,830 arrivals
- March: 350,300 arrivals
- April: 242,511 arrivals
- May: 216,702 arrivals
- June: 244,355 arrivals
- July: 258,942 arrivals
- August: 200,996 arrivals
- September: 123,371 arrivals
- October: 138,330 arrivals
- November: 220,839 arrivals
- December: 306,113 arrivals
March was the peak month at 350,300 arrivals, while September was the low month at 123,371. The difference between those two monthly observations was 226,929 arrivals. That comparison is a description of the reported counts, not an estimate of hotel occupancy or revenue variation.
The monthly sequence gives hospitality readers a practical way to distinguish annual scale from timing. January through March formed a high-arrival opening to the year in the reported series. September and October were the two lowest monthly totals, followed by a marked rise in November and December. Properties and tourism operators may use this chronology as context, but the dataset does not provide booking lead times, prices, staffing levels, or occupancy rates.
Airport patterns: SJO and LIR
The ICT Anuario Estadístico de Turismo 2024 reports monthly air arrivals alongside arrivals through SJO and LIR. SJO arrivals were 100,928 in January, 115,998 in February, and 84,148 in March. They then measured 77,298 in April, 66,417 in May, 75,376 in June, and 76,779 in July.
SJO arrivals fell to 51,106 in August and 23,209 in September. The series then recorded 31,021 in October, 60,017 in November, and 101,334 in December.
LIR arrivals were 101,806 in January, 84,785 in February, and 84,148 in March. The airport recorded 67,305 arrivals in April, 52,553 in May, 60,177 in June, and 64,330 in July. LIR arrivals then measured 45,867 in August, 25,517 in September, 33,971 in October, 72,171 in November, and 100,051 in December.
The airport series should be read carefully. The supplied data lists SJO and LIR arrival counts, while the national monthly total includes all international arrival modes and locations. The airport counts therefore provide an airport-level view of the air market, not a complete lodging-demand measure for the areas around either airport.
A month-by-month airport comparison
The following table places the reported air-arrival measures beside the SJO and LIR counts. All values are arrivals during the named month of 2024, as reported in the ICT Anuario Estadístico de Turismo 2024.
| Month | Air arrivals | SJO arrivals | LIR arrivals |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 270,712 | 100,928 | 101,806 |
| February | 291,152 | 115,998 | 84,785 |
| March | 322,400 | 84,148 | 84,148 |
| April | 221,573 | 77,298 | 67,305 |
| May | 199,154 | 66,417 | 52,553 |
| June | 227,452 | 75,376 | 60,177 |
| July | 239,368 | 76,779 | 64,330 |
| August | 182,800 | 51,106 | 45,867 |
| September | 105,100 | 23,209 | 25,517 |
| October | 122,188 | 31,021 | 33,971 |
| November | 201,152 | 60,017 | 72,171 |
| December | 278,437 | 101,334 | 100,051 |
Air arrivals reached their highest reported monthly level in March at 322,400, then declined to 105,100 in September before rising to 278,437 in December. SJO reached its highest monthly count in February at 115,998, while LIR reached its highest in January at 101,806. In September, LIR’s 25,517 arrivals exceeded SJO’s 23,209; in November, LIR’s 72,171 exceeded SJO’s 60,017.
The two airport series were equal in March, when each recorded 84,148 arrivals. In December, SJO recorded 101,334 and LIR recorded 100,051. These observations show that airport patterns can differ by month even within the same national tourism year.
For readers assessing Costa Rica’s hospitality environment, the most defensible conclusion from this dataset is specific: international arrival volume was highest at the national level in March, lowest in September, heavily air-dependent, and concentrated regionally in North America. Airport counts add useful timing detail for SJO and LIR, but they should not be substituted for occupancy, lodging supply, or property-level performance statistics that are not reported here.