The global economic market trend analysis firm STATISTA estimates that between 2025 and 2032, surf tourism will grow at an average annual rate of 6%. In 2022, the global surf tourism market was valued at $9.5 billion, and forecasts predict that by 2032, it will grow to $17.1 billion. “This is consistent with the growth …
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Costa Rica ranks 52nd in the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), published by Transparency International. The country moved up three positions compared to last year’s ranking and obtained a score of 58/100. The CPI is the most widely used global corruption ranking in the world. It measures how corrupt each country’s public sector is perceived …
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Newcomers to Costa Rica have it much easier today. When my then wife and I made the decision to come here in 1989, there was no internet, no Facebook or message boards where all of the questions we had could be thrown out to be answered by those who had already made the move. I …
Read more “Thinking of Moving to Costa Rica? The Good, Bad & ‘Experts’ You’ll Meet”
Costa Rica’s world-famous landscapes are taking center stage once again in Netflix’s latest reality series, “Celebrity Bear Hunt,” which premiered on February 5, 2025. The show, hosted by Holly Willoughby, challenges 12 celebrities to survive in the Costa Rican jungle while evading capture by legendary survival expert Bear Grylls. The competition, filmed in 2024, splits …
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A humanitarian crisis is unfolding at the Costa Rica-Panama border as migrants, many of whom sold everything to journey north, find themselves stranded due to new U.S. immigration policies. The once-bustling streets of Paso Canoas are now eerily quiet. Migrants, fearing detention, hide in hotel rooms instead of wandering the streets. This stark change comes …
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At least 52 people died on Monday when a bus carrying more than 70 passengers plunged into a ravine at the northern entrance to Guatemala City, according to the latest toll from authorities, a tragedy for which the government declared “national mourning.” The bus fell, for reasons under investigation, from a road next to the …
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The National Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR) has expressed growing concerns about the challenges facing Costa Rica’s tourism sector, with the strengthening of the colón emerging as a significant factor. Despite positive tourism numbers in 2024, CANATUR’s executive director, Shirley Calvo, describes the situation as increasingly complex. One of the primary concerns is the exchange rate, …
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The Nicaraguan government on Sunday labeled the Vatican as “depraved” and “pedophilic” while lashing out against statements made by Bishop Rolando Álvarez, whom they expelled to Rome a year ago after being imprisoned for months. “From the millions of voices and souls, brutally silenced by the inquisition, all peoples sacrificed and bled by this depraved, …
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I got to know Horizontes, more specifically Estación Experimental Forestal Horizontes, by accident. I had a contract to place camera traps on a few private farms in Guanacaste. Two of those farms happened to only be accessible by riding a rented horse named Superman on a six hour round trip directly through the tropical dry …
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In an exciting scientific breakthrough, a team of researchers from the University of Costa Rica (UCR) recorded the presence of the Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes), a species of oceanic bird considered near-threatened according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This is the first time this bird has been seen in the country. …
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