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Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT)

The Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) applies technical regulations for sustainable criteria in public purchases; stimulates the elimination of plastics in the tourism sector from one category the Blue Flag Ecological Program to protect the country’s coastal ecosystem; created and promotes the Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) program that provides guidelines to build a business model based on sustainable tourism practices including social, environmental, governance, cultural and economic criteria and encourages to reduce waste applying reusing models and recyclable and compostable materials, applying the circular economy principles, among others; it also promotes sustainable practices by providing trainings and workshops for tourism companies to raise awareness about the importance of reducing the environmental impact of tourism activities; and it also supports Donatapa which is a campaign that collects plastic lids to transform them into 100% recycled plastic wood which is used in retractable walkways that support tourism for people with disabilities.
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Costa Rica

Role in programme(s):

Commitments:

We commit to have ambitious policies and measurable targets in place well ahead of 2025 in order to achieve and report tangible progress by 2025, at destination level, in each of the following areas:

 

  • Promote the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative in the tourism sector by: sharing through different media information about One Planet and its different initiatives, communicating directly with the companies that are certified with the Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) and by including it in the CST events as well as other spaces in which the tourist companies and other organizations participate.
  • Raise awareness about the need to eliminate or reduce problematic or unnecessary plastics through campaigns and through the Certification for Sustainable Tourism standard.
  • Encourage reuse models to reduce the need for single-use plastic packaging through creating a training process with strategic stakeholders and offering a permanent program in a Tourism Board platform.
  • Promote the use of reusable, recyclable, or compostable plastic packaging/items and sustainable practices in general by: applying environmental criteria in the acquisition of goods and services, publishing an updated list of the sustainable suppliers and good practices and implementing internally the Institutional Environmental Management System.
  • Support and promote initiatives that aim at increasing collection, sorting, reuse, and recycling.
Costa Rica has managed to position itself as a benchmark country in sustainable tourism worldwide thanks to a Sustainable Tourism Development Model chosen over 40 years ago and, along with the private sector, it is understood that sustainable tourism is a way of being and the path to develop tourism activities that protects, preserves and regenerates our biodiversity. 
The country has been recognized globally for its pioneering sustainability and conservation efforts, it has been awarded with the Champions of the Earth award on 2019, the United Nations’ highest environmental honor, for its role in the protection of nature and its commitment and ambitious policies to combat climate change. In November 2021, it was awarded The Earthshot Prize, by the Duke of Cambridge to recognize contribution towards environmental sustainability. The country’s successful Wildlife Protected Areas conservation model (ASP) and Environmental Services Payment (PSA) initiative were recognized in the ‘Protect & Restore Nature’ category.
Costa Rica is the first tropical country in the world to reverse deforestation since the 80’s and, today its forest coverage represents 57% along the territory. 
In February 2019, Costa Rica launched its National Decarbonization Plan, which outlines 10 stages or phasing out steps, with a goal to achieve complete decarbonization by 2050. As of February 2022, 61% of the goals stablished in the plan have been accomplished, aiming to comply an 83% of advance by the end of 2022.
Costa Rica has put into practice decades of efforts in the quest for environmental sustainability and well-being for communities depending on tourism, as one of the main engines of our economy, and it is committed to continuing implementing plans and policies towards a low-carbon tourism economy. 
The Costa Rica Tourism Institute (ICT) is the leading governing body that strongly promotes a series of programs to encourage tourism companies to reinforce sustainable practices in the industry and local communities, such as the Certification for Sustainable Tourism, Blue Flag Ecological, the Code of Conduct and the Integral Management of Destinations, among others. 
The ICT established the Costa Rica's National Tourism Plan 2022-2027 based on three pillars: sustainability, innovation, and inclusiveness, it seeks an equitable distribution of the sector's benefits to contribute to improving the quality of life to which Costa Rica aspires as a nation. Also, it is aligned with 14 SDGs, and addresses two relevant approaches regarding climate change and sustainable production and consumption.
Consequently, the ICT, as a governmental institution with over 200 collaborators, seeks to set an example and be consistent with the policies it promotes, it has been awarded annually with the Blue Climate Change Flag and it is in the process of being certified as a carbon neutral institution.
Therefore, based on the country’s efforts, experience and commitment, Costa Rica is proud to support and commit to the Glasgow Declaration initiative, looking forward to continuing efforts and plans put in place to advance climate change measures within the tourism industry and contribute to reach the goal of Net Zero emissions by 2050. 
The Costa Rica Tourism Institute is aiming to: 
a)    Provide continuity to the implementation of the National Tourism Plan 2022-2027 and its programs involving trainings, education, CST and Blue Flag (beaches). 
b)    Encourage tourism companies to measure, reduce, adapt, mitigate and compensate their footprint by implementing the Standard CST. 
c)    Promote the Carbon Offset Calculator among tourism companies and tourists, launched in conjunction with the National Forestry Financing Fund (Fonafifo).
d)    Contribute with the Ministry of Planning with data from CST Program in order to measure the impact and progress of CST certified companies towards the country’s SDGs.
Climate Action Plan Pending

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