Today we visited Arenal, a popular tourist site in La Fortuna. We sat down with one of their leaders and learned more about how their business operates.  Costa Rica is split up into two seasons, a dry season and a rainy reason.  The dry season is from December to April, he was saying during April they brought in so much business that they had to shut down sales.  But unfortunately, during other months of the year they struggled because less tourists visit.  He said during September and October they would have special promotions just to try and get more people. 

            From what I saw and learned today I think that commercializing nature can bring lots of benefits, but I wouldn’t say it’s the best way.  I think Arenal brings lots of positives for nature, for example lots of the money they earn from tourists goes towards wildlife protection.  They highly value they animals because they’re a big reason tourists come in the first place.  Also, it gives the animals a safe place to stay.  They never have to worry about their habitats being taken down.

            Although I do think what Arenal is doing is great, I don’t think it’s the best for the wildlife.  I think having government protection and national parks can protect areas with strict laws and ultimately preserve ecosystems even when they’re not profitable.  Having the government step in and enforce laws where they give animals a safe place to live benefits the people and the animals.  A place like Arenal can have so much tourism foot traffic that it stresses out the animals while a national park can be a lot more quiet and easier for the animals to live.  I think the Costa Rica government needs to take a step make and realize how important biodiversity is to their country.  Costa Rica takes up 6% of the worlds biodiversity while only being .03% of the land mass.  Costa Rica thrives off of tourism and if they want to have a stable economy they need to step in to preserve the wildlife.