Tropical tourism as economic activity : OTS in Costa Rica

The study tests this hypothesis through estimation of spending attributable to the Organization for Tropical Studies, Inc. (OTS), with field stations in Costa Rica. The expenditures model contains the following components: the OTS budget, personal spending by OTS participants, expenditures by former participants making return visits, expenditures by other persons induced to visit Costa Rica through OTS contacts, and international airfares with the Costa Rican national airlines. Although simplified and containing wide margins of uncertainty, the model suggests that annual transactions in Costa Rica attributable to OTS are between US $2.9-$10.2 million. A maximum of $3.4 million is direct injection, and the remainder is secondary spending through a economic multiplier. OTS accounts for perhaps 2%-3% of Cost Rica"s national tourist receipts. Spending by students and junior scientists apparently exceeds that of senior scientists and other categories of OTS visitors and users. Low daily spending is more than outweighed by long stays. However, the socioeconomic determinants of spending, return visitation, and induced travel require additional study. The economic contribution of OTS is perhaps greatest in its qualitative dimensions. Favorable attributes include rapid growth, sustainable activity, and the likehood of relatively small economic leakages. OTS plays a major catalytic role in environmental education and in laying a base for management and visitation of Costa Rica"s wildlands. Hence the direct economic contribution may be less than the indirect. (Author abstract)