Costa Ricans spent a record $2.127 billion on trips abroad in 2025, the first-time outbound travel spending has crossed the $2 billion mark. The figure, published by the Central Bank of Costa Rica at the end of March, covers travel abroad led mainly by tourism, though it also includes business trips.
The spending record came alongside a new high in departures. Costa Rica’s migration terminals registered 1,501,940 resident departures in 2025, up by 117,771 from 2024. Central Bank-linked figures also show 2025 was the fourth straight year that outbound travel spending set a new record, extending the post-pandemic rise in overseas travel by Costa Ricans.
A stronger colón played a major role. The Central Bank reported that the weighted average exchange rate in Monex posted a cumulative drop of 2.2% by the end of 2025, making dollar-priced travel costs more affordable for people who earn and save in colones. Industry analysis in Costa Rica has pointed to that currency shift as a direct boost for outbound travel, since airfare, hotels, and spending at foreign destinations became cheaper in relative terms.
The latest numbers also suggest that outbound demand has not faded after the pandemic rebound. Spending on foreign travel had already been climbing for five consecutive years, and the 2025 total pushed that trend to a new peak. That points to a travel market that is still expanding, especially among middle- and upper-income consumers who now see more overseas destinations as financially reachable than they did a few years ago.
Air connectivity also helped. The travel sector found that a broader route network and the greater presence of low-cost carriers made international trips easier to book and more accessible to repeat and first-time travelers alike. Travel patterns still followed the usual seasonal rhythm, with the largest spike in December, when departures topped 200,000, while the United States led first-stop destinations with more than 330,000 exits, followed by Panama with more than 245,000.
For Costa Rica, the record has a second edge. The Central Bank’s 2025 annual report said spending on trips abroad rose 12% last year, even as inbound tourism grew by a far smaller 2.0%.
At the same time, a growing price gap between vacations inside Costa Rica and trips to some foreign destinations, with some travelers deciding they get better value by leaving the country. That mix helps explain why outbound tourism is booming even as Costa Rica’s own tourism industry faces pressure over prices and competitiveness.
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