Today, we visited Arenal Mundo Aventura, an adventure park that includes ziplining, waterfall rappelling, horseback riding, and more activities. Most of profits from these activities go towards the conservation of the national park and private area that the property is on. The property is over one thousand acres large and it includes one of Costa Rica’s famous landmarks, the La Fortuna waterfall. The company’s method of profiting off of the natural environment for conservation brings up the question of its practicality.

This method is useful by giving financial value to keep forests intact, especially in areas where the government doesn’t provide much funding. However, the monetization of nature can lead to over-saturation of tourists and harm to trails and wildlife. These business models are also vulnerable to situations like the pandemic or low seasons when there are less tourists. There are also alternative profit methods for conservation such as government funding (going to landowners to maintain their property) and private organization grants (for the same purpose). 

Overall, ecotourism is very beneficial because it balances supporting Costa Rica’s natural beauty with its growing economy. This balance is protected by companies, such as Arenal Mundo Aventura, who make it their mission to conserve as much as making profit.