Welcome Birdwatchers!
Right now, we’re offering the ‘Lowest Rates of the Year’ and a free WazePhone during your rental period. This 3-in-1 device provides local calls, GPS and Wi-Fi hotspot.
Don’t let the mating season of the Resplendent Quetzal pass you by… Click to make a car reservation and travel to the cloud forests of Costa Rica today!
Please mention “BIRD” when booking online or over the phone.
For a small country, just the size of the state of West Virginia, Costa Rica has an incredible biodiversity. The country’s location on the isthmus between the land masses of North and South America has made it a bridge for continental species. The tropical climate provides many migratory bird species with their escape from the harsh winter, increasing the seasonal population. Costa Rica provides a habitat for an amazing 850 bird species alone, which represented 10 percent of the bird species found globally.
Visitors to the country are often hoping to see hummingbirds, toucans and macaws, but for bird watchers, this country is a feathered gold mine! Serious "twitchers" (as they’re known) flock to Costa Rica for a glimpse of the elusive Quetzal in the cloud forests, or the trogons and water birds that can be spotted from the Tortuguero canals, or the replenished Scarlet Macaw population that brightens the skies about Carara National Park.
Birdwatching isn’t the first thought in the search for strategies for the economic development of Latin nations. But some enthusiasts insist that there must be more attention giving to this pastime that generates millions in other parts of the world.
Latin American countries have an incredible biodiversity that makes them especially well-prepared for this activity.
The United Nations estimates that in the United States alone, birdwatching and other wildlife observation generates nearly $32,000 million annually. With 3 million and 46 million birdwatchers in the United Kingdom and the United States respectively, these two countries alone represent a substantial potential tourism market for Costa Rica to tap.
photo © Carlos Mario Wagner
In particular, the most economically profitable customer base would be the birdwatching safari photographers. These tourists are usually economically well-off and armed with sophisticated equipment as they enter the world of safari photography, snapping new species for their collection.
The country already attracts 4,000,000 visitors annually, visiting the country’s biodiversity and eco-friendly approach to tourism, but there’s real potential in investing into a niche market such as birdwatchers.
Want to know which birds not to miss and how to find them? See our ‘must-see’ bird tips for the most sought after feathered fauna in Costa Rica.
Read the original article in Spanish @ http://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2016/06/160531_economia_potencial_economico_avistamiento_aves_lf
