Sustainable Tourism Certification and its Perceived Socio-economic Impacts in Costa Rican Hotels

In response to the negative impacts of the accelerated growth of tourism in Costa Rica, the Government created the Certificate for Sustainable Tourism (CST). This study examines whether certified hotels perceive greater socioeconomic benefits as a result of the certification and therefore its importance for their local communities. After review of the existing literature, six interviews and a trial run carried out in 35 hotels, a questionnaire was finally completed by representatives of 121 hotels. The main result shows that the CST is seen positively as improving the socioeconomic impact that hotels have in the communities where they operate, although these seem to be collateral effects and not the mainstream reason for adopting CST.