Costa Rica tracks how many visitors come from each country per year. Some of the numbers have doubled between 2014 and 2018. Visitors from Asia and the Pacific numbered 27,592 in 2014 and 56,473 last year. The region includes countries like China, the Philippines, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, and more.
International arrivals from that region have grown even though the Costa Rican Tourism Institute has not focused on attracting tourists from that area yet. It was not a priority because it was a small percent of the total travelers. Travelers arriving from that region represent just 2% of the total international arrivals to Costa Rica, about the equivalent of how many Colombians visit Costa Rica or 10% of the amount of Europeans that visit.
The World Tourism Organization reported that citizens of Asia and the Pacific spent $502,000 million on international travel in 2017. This represents 37% of the total world expenditure on tourism. Statistics show that Asians prefer to travel within Asia or go to Europe. That the number of Asian tourists to Costa Rica has doubled, despite long travel and needing to process visas, points to the draw and reputation Costa Rica has.
