As teachers, we see the influence of tourism on young people every day. Tourism provides real employment and income. Families can afford better food, and that helps children grow up healthier.
Education in this area has improved greatly. Tourism has contributed to that progress, but the community itself has also worked hard to create better schools and opportunities.
Still, we keep asking ourselves whether the money from tourism can truly guarantee our students a future. Economically, it offers possibilities. Socially and culturally, we see changes that make us worried.
One sign is the quiet disappearance of older traditions. Semana Santa, or Holy Week, has always been central to local life. More young people now ignore it while celebrating Halloween, a tradition adopted through American influence.
Culture always changes, but this change feels one-sided. Young people learn what comes from outside while becoming less interested in what already belongs to their own community.
Our strongest concern is the rise of alcohol and drug use. We connect this directly to tourism. Visitors created a demand, and suppliers followed them into Tamarindo.
It is not a coincidence that drugs are sold at the same souvenir stands where tourists shop.
Young people find work in hotels and other tourism businesses after school. The income can help their families, and many students handle that responsibility well. But we have also seen promising students lose their direction once their earnings begin going towards alcohol and drugs.
A job that should support a young person’s education can then become the reason they fall behind or leave school. We see the result in the classroom before many other adults notice it.
Sustainable tourism projects are still rare here. Foreign interests are powerful, and the local tourism scene is dominated by surfing. There is a national park where visitors can go with a guide to watch turtles laying eggs. It sounds like ecotourism, but experts have warned that this activity can also disturb the animals.
None of these concerns removes the positive side of tourism. Our students meet people from different countries and become more aware of the wider world. They understand that languages and education can open doors.
We want to offer language courses that give them stronger opportunities. We are already working towards that goal, although we will probably need income connected to tourism to make it possible.
Tourism can teach our students about the world, but visitors also teach through the example they set.
That is why our request to tourists is so simple. Be responsible with drugs and alcohol. Young people are watching, even when visitors do not notice them.
Setting a better example costs nothing. It can help ensure that tourism supports our students’ education and future instead of introducing the very habits that pull them away from both.