From coffee tours to conservation, Costa Rica is a world leader in sustainable tourism.

For the first time since its creation in 2003, the Marrakech Process — a group of world leaders and business executives let by the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and affiliated with the United Nations — has moved its Meeting of the International Task Force on Sustainable Tourism Development outside of France, relocating to eco-friendly Costa Rica.

From June 8-12, the group will discuss sustainable tourism practices, sharing their headquarters between San José and Arenal. Participants come from all over the world, ranging from the United States and France to Cape Verde and Mali.

“It is an honor to host such and important international gathering in our country,” Minister of Tourism Carlos Ricardo Benavides said. “We believe that sustainable tourism is the only option for tourism development, and we look forward to sharing our experiences, challenges, goals, and our best practices.”

Currently, the Costa Rica Tourist Board (ICT) has several sustainable tourism policies and programs in place, including the popular “leaf” program, which assigns hotels and tour operators with a ranking — zero to five leaves — according to their sustainability practices. A 5-leaf rating requires a 95 percent approval, and all hotels and tour operators hosting the Marrakech Process attendees have received ICT’s seal of of approval including: Horizontes Nature Tours, Hotel Villablanca, Hotel Mountain Paradise, Hotel Arenal Springs, Hotel Arenal Kioro, and Hotel Ramada Herradura.

In addition to the leaf ranking system, Costa Rica has several other measures in place to rank and assure sustainable tourism practices, thus giving due credit to the companies that put in the extra effort to protect the environment. Once a lone Central American pioneer into this type of responsible tourism, Costa Rica has now proven itself a world leader, and the Marrakech Process hopes to learn from, as well as teach, Costa Rica.

Among Costa Rica’s list of bragging rights are the Ecological Blue Flag (BAE) and Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) programs. To earn a Blue Flag, Costa Rican beaches and their surrounding communities are tested on a variety of factors, including ocean water quality, drinking water quality, waste disposal and more. The CST program is even more world famous, adopted by both the United Nations and the World Tourism Organization as a model for world sustainability standards.

Costa Rica was ranked among the top five in the 2008 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), thanks to its sustainable practices not just in tourism, but in consumption. About 99 percent of the country’s electrical energy is generated from clean sources, such as solar power and geothermal energy, and Costa Rica is dotted with windmills, evidencing the nation’s interest in, and commitment to, wind power.

However, Costa Rica itself realizes that it has a long way to go, as only 94 of its existing 3,000 tourism establishments possess the Certification for Sustainable Tourism. During the Task Force meetings, ICT hopes to learn about additional sustainability techniques, and ways to motivate businesses to follow them. In addition, the organization plans to add additional staff, allowing it to assess applicants faster and more efficiently.

The International Task Force for Sustainable Tourism Development promises to both learn from Costa Rica’s sustainable practices, teach the nation new ways, and discuss further methods to protect the environment. With time, Costa Rica plans to grow into an even more eco-friendly country, taking the journey with many other sustainability-friendly countries from around the world.

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Filed under: Costa Rica News on June 10th, 2008