Today we visited AMA and honestly I thought we were just going to hear about ziplining and tourism, but the presentation ended up being way more interesting than I expected. AMA has been around for 21 years and protects about 90% of its 1,300 acres of rainforest, which is honestly crazy to think about. They explained how most of their money comes from tourism, especially their canopy and zipline tours, which make up around 80% of their revenue. Basically, people flying through the rainforest screaming their heads off are actually helping fund conservation projects and reforestation around La Fortuna. They also talked a lot about how competitive tourism is in Costa Rica and how businesses have to stand out. AMA’s biggest advantage is that they are the only zipline that actually goes over the La Fortuna waterfall since it is on their land, which is definitely something people remember. One thing I thought was really interesting was how much social media and reviews affect tourism now. Before coming to AMA I saw so many instagram and tiktok posts showing their experience of the zip lining over the waterfall. They explained that people book experiences based on what they see online, so having good digital content and creating experiences people want to post about is a huge part of the business.
What made AMA such a cool business to me was the fact that their whole company depends on nature staying protected. During the presentation they said that nature is basically the foundation of the business, so protecting it also protects the company long term. They also talked about how tourism helps support families and communities in the La Fortuna area while connecting visitors to local culture and indigenous traditions. At the same time, it made me think about how risky that can be too. If tourism slows down during low season or something big like the pandemic happens, then the money helping protect the rainforest slows down too. Our speaker, Hugo, told us that about 80% of people who come are from USA or Canada so when the rainy season hits it becomes unpopular and so they have to think of new remedies to compensate for it like a deal. Their deal happens in September and October which is if you go zip lining you get another excursion free. It kind of creates this weird balance where conservation depends on tourists constantly visiting. Still, I thought AMA did a really good job showing that tourism can be more than just fun activities. It can actually help protect the environment, support local communities, and keep important cultural traditions alive, all while people are ziplining over a waterfall trying not to lose their phones midair. So, using adventure tourism to make money is one of the most realistic and effective ways to protect nature because the environment is making money without being damaged.