Community-based rural tourism
When people mention Costa Rica, you hear words like ecotourism, sustainability and now geotourism. Traveling around the country, these terms become muddled as you wonder if dangling from a zip-line as you shoot over the treetops is really eco-friendly, or at all part of sustainable development. With that said, there is a new type of tourism developing here that does seem to fit the above definitions beyond a simple marketing ploy — community-based rural tourism.
“Rural community tourism consists of planned touristic experiences which are integrated sustainably with the rural environment and developed by local citizen organizations for the benefit of the community.” – Costa Rican Tourism Board, UNDP, and the Alliance for Rural Community Tourism
In the bilingual guidebook, The Real Costa Rica, there are six characteristics that define rural community tourism:
- Integrates natural beauty and the daily life of rural communities.
- Promotes productive sustainable practices within its tourism offerings.
- Adapts itself to the dynamics of rural life and preserves the idiosyncrasies and the welcoming, relaxed, rustic atmosphere that characterize the rural areas of the country.
- Is maintained by local initiative and participation, and strengthens local organizations, which are made up of various families or of the community as a whole.
- Integrates the local populace in this economic activity, distributes the benefits evenhandedly, and supplements farming income.
- Promotes land ownership by the local population.
The guidebook, Costa Rica Auténtica, can be purchased HERE. (p.s. I’m not making commission on this. It’s just to inform. 
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