Costa Rica travelers unite! Support Costa Rica by postponing your trip instead of canceling.
To download the above video, please click here for both English and Spanish-subtitled versions. Please share where you can.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought something into our lives all too suddenly.
Uncertainty.
Mistrust.
Panic.
No one understands what’s happening and nothing is clear anymore.
And here you are, canceling your trip to Costa Rica.
You’re asking for your money back, which―of course―you’re fully entitled and within your rights to do so.
But we implore you to reconsider your decision to cancel.
Your cancellation multiplied by thousands of other cancellations can have such a ripple effect that eventually, it would cancel Costa Rica all together.
Yes, that’s right. It could finish this tiny country.
It’s a catch 22 when you think about it. An impossible paradox. On one hand, you’re canceling out of your fears and uncertainty over coronavirus. Not to mention the travel bans in place that would stop you traveling even if you wanted to.
And on the other hand is a small, developing country that relies on a unique form of tourism to keep the lights on. You want to do the right thing but you don’t know what it is.
Costa Rica has a fragile system and a noble vision of sustainable and responsible travel.
And that fragile system can collapse if we don’t support and trust each other. This Catch 22 WILL go away if we maintain our support and trust.
So we ask you to remember what made you book your Costa Rica vacation in the first place:
Pristine beaches, wildlife in its natural habitat, warm and welcoming people.
You fell in love with Costa Rica before you even visited. Don’t abandon it now.
What we, here in Costa Rica, ask for instead is:
Solidarity.
Support.
Kindness.
By… Postponing your trip.
The coronavirus crisis itself won’t last forever.
But the impact of a collapsed tourism industry in Costa Rica will last far longer than the pandemic. The country may never recover for decades.
So if everyone postpones rather than cancels, it will have a compound effect and a positive one at that.
Hotels and tour operators won’t go out of business, and Costa Rica’s dream to develop a responsible and sustainable tourism hotspot can survive.
Visiting Costa Rica is much more than just another beach vacation.
It’s a deeply transformational, life-changing experience, that has an equal impact on Costa Rica itself, and the people who live here.
So please, do the right thing.
Support Costa Rica by postponing your trip.
#SupportCostaRica
#DontCancelPostpone
