Today, we visited Arenal Mundo Aventura, or AMA, where we attended an informational lecture about the organization and went on a walking tour around the property. We were able to see both the nature surrounding the park and the different zip line courses throughout the rainforest, which I found very cool to see, as we were able to see one of the zip lines up close that we saw from a distance during our visit to the La Fortuna Waterfall on Saturday. While walking through the trails, I noticed how much of the land the organization has left untouched, like the large trees throughout the canopy tour. During our informational lecture with Hugo, the marketing manager, we learned about the park’s business model, and that it was primarily built around ecotourism and the preservation of their 560 hectares of land, along with the protection of the Maleku tribe. After doing some brief research on the company after our informational lecture, I found that their website states AMA was “created with a strong commitment to conservation and sustainable tourism.” I think this mission was very clear throughout our meeting and hike hike, as I felt that they were very focused on preserving the environment by providing nature focused attractions for tourists. Their more once-in-a-lifetime adventure focused activities, like the zip lines and tall ladder climb, are what bring tourists in and make money for the company, which is later used to fund the protection of their land. Bringing in tourists also allows them to support the Maleku culture, as they provide a space on their land for sales of their homemade products. While I personally believe that this is a smart way to fund the business, and protect their land, I do not feel that this commercialization is the best way to save nature.

Although I think that AMA’s business model is effective, I realized how dependent it is on tourists visiting Costa Rica. Since they rely on visitors to fund the conservation of their land, the slower season or things like a pandemic could create major challenges for the business. If tourists do not visit, there would be less money available to continue conservation efforts throughout the property. Because of this, I think that commercializing nature is not the best way to protect it, as it seems to be just a realistic option for areas like La Fortuna, who depends heavily on tourism. Even though there are other possible ways to fund conservation, like government support or environmental organizations, those methods may not provide enough consistent funding either. In AMA’s case, ecotourism seems to allow tourism to directly support the protection of the rainforest, but it can also cause their funding to be greatly effected when tourism is in the less busy season or when a major event occurs that effects travel abilities.