I think that tourism tends to be glamorous and the picture-perfect version of Costa Rica that everyone wants to see. Historically, farming tends to be viewed as a lower-level job. Even though for Costa Ricans who own farms and have Nicaraguan immigrants working in the fields, it is not viewed socially as a high-paying job. Although Costa Rica has pretty consistent weather, there is always a risk for the harvest to be poor due to climate and weather among other reasons. For example, today at the pineapple farm Daniel told us that pineapple is a monocrop plant and therefore if the plant is diseased, there is a huge risk of a majority of the crop being infected, which can wipe out the harvest for the season.

While we have seen in recent years ecotourism running into challenges, especially with the pandemic, tourism tends to be a more consistent form of income. With ecotourism being Costa Rica’s number one source of income, it makes sense why younger generations are gravitating towards that career path. The weather in Costa Rica is consistent year-round, which makes it great to have hotels, tours, and tourist attractions, and after taking the hit with the pandemic to the ecotourism sector of the Costa Rican economy, Costa Rica has bounced back better than ever.

So far on our trip we have seen how there is the possibility for a business to be both centered on farming and produce and creating a tourism sector off of that. From the pineapple plantation, to Sibö Chocolate, to Café Britt, it is evident that both farming and tourism can coexist in the same business.