{
  "id": 7981157,
  "title": "Costa Rica Has More Tourists, More Dollars and a Record-Strong Colon",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/costa-rica-has-more-tourists-more-dollars-and-a-record-strong-colon",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-17T07:27:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Rio Times",
    "slug": "the-rio-times",
    "url": "https://www.riotimesonline.com/costa-rica-tourism-colon-record-arrivals-august-2026/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Costa Rica's tourism industry is thriving, earning more dollars than before the pandemic, despite a strengthening colon. The country welcomed 2,191,432 international visitors from January to August 2026, a 5.3% increase compared to the same period in 2025. Air arrivals rose 5.8% in the first quarter, setting a record for the country. However, air arrivals in August fell 5.9% compared to the same month last year, with visitors from the United States down 13.9%. Despite the strength of the colon, which has gained roughly 56% against the dollar since June 2022, tourism revenue has still increased. Short-term rental listings in Costa Rica have more than doubled since 2019, and occupancy across that inventory is at about 43.7%. The central bank has cut the policy rate to 3.00% and bought US$767 million in stabilisation operations since February. Despite the strong dollar, tourism employment in the second quarter of 2026 rose 1.7% year on year.",
  "summary": "Arrivals are up 5.3% this year and tourism revenue sits well above 2019. The colon hit its strongest level on record, and August arrivals fell. The post Costa Rica Has More Tourists, More Dollars and a Record-Strong Colon appeared first on The Rio Times .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}