The National Tourism Chamber (Canatur) highlighted the importance for the country to respect the rights of the LGBTI population to prevent a decrease in the number of visitors to the country.

Sary Valverde, president of Canatur, affirmed that this doesn’t just affect the interest of LGBTI tourists, which represent a 10% of the total number of foreigners visiting the country, to visit the country, but also visitation linked to corporate tourism, this since many companies globally carry out conventions or send their employees to take part in events as an incentive of prize but only to countries that are respectful of human rights.

“The LGBTI tourism in Costa Rica represents 10% of all visitors, but it’s not just about the importance of LGBTI tourism, but also the inclusion of this population in our society and the respect for human rights”, commented Valverde.

Valverde had stated some weeks back that Canatur was concerned about the image of the country “We live off this. In reality, tourists come to Costa Rica not just for the green, but also because we are known for being a peaceful country, without army and ‘pura vida’ (…) The world could come to think that we are not entirely inclusive and transparent with this population”.

The president of the Diverse Chamber of Commerce, Julio Cesar Calvo, also raised his voice regarding this issue “The damage that this man (Fabricio Alvarado presidential candidate), has done, without being president, is incalculable”.

LGBTI tourism represents 3% of the volume of tourists worldwide (around 35 million people) and represent a 15% of the total expense in this industry according to a report on LGBTI tourism carried out by the World Tourism Organization. The growth of LGBTI is accelerated, of 10% in average every year.