Costa Rica Has More Tourists, More Dollars and a Record-Strong Colon
Key Facts
Costa Rica’s tourism industry is having a record year and says it is in trouble. Both of those things are true, and the exchange rate explains why.
The colon closed at 446.93 to the dollar on the Monex market on 16 September 2026. That is the strongest level since the central bank’s records began in December 2007.
The Currency Move, Measured Properly
The reference rate on 17 September was 443.43 colones to buy a dollar and 448.21 to sell one. The Monex close of 446.93 on 16 September was the fifth consecutive record session.
The comparison that matters is with June 2022, when the market peak was 696.76. From there to here, the dollar has lost about 36% of its value in colones.
Expressed the other way, the colon has gained roughly 56% against the dollar. Both numbers describe the same move, and coverage often mixes them up.
Why a Strong Currency Hurts a Tourism Business
Hotels, tour operators and restaurants take payment in dollars from foreign visitors. They pay wages, rent, electricity and food in colones.
When the colon strengthens, the same dollar of revenue buys fewer colones of costs. In the first quarter, tourism earned more dollars than two years earlier.
The colon equivalent rose under 2%. That is the whole grievance in one sentence, and it is a real one.
But the Volumes Are Up, Not Down
Costa Rica received 2,191,432 international arrivals from January to August 2026. That is 5.3% more than the same period of 2025.
Arrivals by air rose 5.8%; the first quarter was the strongest first quarter in the country’s history. It was also the first quarter of any year to exceed its 2019 equivalent.
Tourism revenue in 2025 came to US$5.571 billion, about 40% above the 2019 level. So the sector is earning more dollars from slightly fewer people than before the pandemic.
The Warning Sign in the August Numbers
August broke the pattern. Air arrivals fell 5.9% against August 2025.
Visitors from the United States were down 13.9% in the month. That matters because the United States supplies the majority of Costa Rica’s visitors.
June was also slightly negative; two negative months in three is not yet a trend, but it is not nothing. The growth this year has come from elsewhere.
Canada is up 24.8% and Europe 8.8%. Central America, the closest and most price-sensitive market, is down 5.8%.
The Jobs Figure That Is Being Misreported
A widely quoted number says Costa Rican tourism lost about 22,000 jobs. That figure comes from a university study published in November 2025, covering late 2024 to late 2025.
It is ten months old and describes a period that has since turned. The official series shows tourism employment at 167,661 in the second quarter of 2026.
That is 1.7% above the same quarter of 2025, the first annual increase since the decline began. It is still 11.3% below the peak of 189,093 reached in the third quarter of 2024.
The Part Nobody in the Sector Mentions
Short-term rental listings in Costa Rica have more than doubled since 2019. They went from about 22,500 to 48,985 by June 2026, across 243 local markets.
Occupancy across that inventory runs at about 43.7%. Falling occupancy with rising arrivals and doubled supply is an oversupply problem as much as a currency one.
The chambers complaining about occupancy are not the operators adding the listings.
What the Central Bank Has Actually Done
The policy rate was cut to 3.00% on 25 July 2026, from 3.25%. The stated reasons were negative annual inflation and slowing activity, not the exchange rate.
The larger response has been in the market itself; the bank bought US$767 million between February and April. That is within four million dollars of the record for a full year, set in 2017.
On 16 September it bought US$24.7 million in stabilisation operations, from US$58.87 million traded. Its position is that it smooths volatility rather than defending a level, and that is the sector’s complaint.
Why the Colon Keeps Strengthening
Private-sector income in Costa Rica is heavily dollarised, from services exports and foreign investment. State enterprises buy their dollars directly from the central bank rather than on the open market.
So the supply of dollars in the market chronically exceeds the demand for them. That is a structural feature, not a policy choice.
And it is why intervention alone has not reversed it. Unemployment, meanwhile, was 7.0% in the second quarter, with informality at 36%.
What It Means If You Run a Business There
If you earn dollars and spend colones, the squeeze is real and the central bank is unlikely to fix it. If you earn colones, the strong currency is quietly making imports and foreign travel cheaper.
A devaluation would transfer income from the second group to the first, which is why it is contested. For hotels, the more actionable variable is supply, not the exchange rate.
The number to watch is American arrivals in September and October, not the daily currency print.
What Is Not Yet Known
Whether the August decline in American visitors continues has not been established. No relief package for the tourism sector has been announced by the current government.
Third-quarter tourism employment has not been published. Whether the central bank changes its intervention approach is the open question, and it has signalled no change.
Frequently Asked Questions
How strong is the Costa Rican colon?
It closed at 446.93 to the dollar on 16 September 2026, the strongest level since records began in December 2007. The dollar has lost about 36% of its colon value since June 2022.
Are tourist arrivals falling in Costa Rica?
Not for the year, because arrivals from January to August 2026 were up 5.3%. August itself was down 5.9% by air, with United States visitors down 13.9%.
Did Costa Rica lose 22,000 tourism jobs?
That figure is from a November 2025 university study covering late 2024 to late 2025. Tourism employment rose 1.7% year on year in the second quarter of 2026.
What has the central bank done about it?
It cut the policy rate to 3.00% in July and bought US$767 million between February and April. It says it smooths volatility rather than defending a level.
Sources: Costa Rican Tourism Board, employment and arrivals statistics, El Financiero, the fall in air arrivals, La Nacion, the record exchange rate, Banco Central de Costa Rica, the July policy decision, La Nacion, the scale of currency intervention, INEC, the second-quarter employment survey, Tico Times, the sector’s account of the strong colon
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