Tourism means a great deal to our community. It is genuinely profitable and provides work for at least three thousand people, even though about three-quarters of the tourism businesses in Tamarindo are foreign-owned.
Most tourism workers are young people and women. Many are not only earning money for themselves; they support an entire family with that income. The benefits also reach beyond hotels. Sport-fishing crews, guides, taxi drivers, restaurants and shops all depend on visitors.
But those benefits are not shared equally. Older people receive very little from tourism, even though they face the same rising prices as everyone else. They may have sold land or lost their former livelihood without gaining a place in the new economy.
Land ownership worries me even more. Local people often cannot get the loans needed to keep, improve or develop their property. When they need money, selling to a foreign buyer can seem like the only realistic choice.
Once the land is sold, local control over Tamarindo becomes weaker. Sometimes I feel that the government makes things easier for foreign investors than for its own citizens. A Swiss investor, for example, was allowed to begin a tourism project without the permits that should have been required.
Local people and local businesses should have a real voice in the decisions made by our own municipality.
Development decisions affect our land, livelihoods and community. They should not be made only between officials and people with the most investment capital. Those of us who live and work here understand what Tamarindo needs and what it risks losing.
I know tourists cannot change municipal permit systems or decide who receives a loan. It would be unfair to place those responsibilities on visitors. But tourists do make an important decision several times each day: where to spend their money.
Many restaurants in Tamarindo are foreign-owned, but there are also places owned and operated by Costa Ricans. Visitors may have to ask around the village to find them. That small effort can make a real difference.
When you eat or drink at a Tico-owned restaurant, more of your money stays in the community.
Local spending helps businesses survive, keeps employment connected to the village and protects some of the area’s cultural identity. It also gives tourists an experience that is more closely connected to Costa Rican life.
Tourism can remain good for Tamarindo, but only if local people are more than employees in an industry owned by others. We need a seat at the decision-making table, and visitors can support us by deliberately choosing locally owned businesses.