Arenal Mundo Aventura (AMA) really stood out to me because it’s not just an adventure park; it’s a business built around protecting nature. The park was started in 2005 by four Costa Rican partners who wanted to show that tourism and conservation could work hand in hand. Of the 560 hectares of rainforest, only 10% is used for activities such as rappelling, horseback riding, and guided nature trails. The rest is preserved and reforested. AMA also works with the Maleku indigenous community, giving visitors a chance to learn about their traditions and culture, which adds a deeper layer to the experience.
We met Hugo, AMA’s marketing manager, who explained how the park’s business model works. The adventure activities are what bring in money, and that money goes directly toward protecting and replanting the rainforest. It’s a smart system for conserving tourism funds, but it also depends heavily on visitors. Hugo told us that during the off-season, when fewer tourists come, the park focuses on maintenance and replanting. During the pandemic, though, when tourism completely stopped, so did the funding. Hearing that made me realize how fragile this model can be.
That’s what makes AMA such an interesting case study. It raises a big question: Is commercializing nature the best way to save it, or just the most practical? On one hand, tourism gives people a reason to care about the environment, as they see its beauty firsthand and help fund its protection. On the other hand, it ties conservation to something unpredictable. If visitors stop coming, the money stops too. There are other ways to fund conservation, such as government support, NGO grants, or carbon credit programs, but they don’t always provide steady funding.
AMA shows both sides of the story. It’s proof that ecotourism can make conservation sustainable, but it also shows how vulnerable that sustainability can be. For us as business students, it’s a reminder that even good ideas have trade-offs. The challenge is finding ways to protect nature that don’t rely solely on tourism, so conservation can keep going even when the crowds don’t.
